Page 809 - Politics
Sudan army rulers order protesters to remove blockades
Sudan's army rulers on Monday demanded protesters remove blockades on roads leading to the military headquarters where thousands of demonstrators have camped for days calling on them to step down. The order came a day after protest leaders suspended talks with the ruling military council about transferring power to a civilian administration -- the key demand of demonstrators. Protesters have massed outside the army complex since April 6, putting up barricades on roads leading to the area as well as checkpoints to frisk people coming to the rally. "The roads have to be opened immediately to facilitate the movement of trains, and all means of transport in the capital and other states so as to help movement of essential items," the military council said in a statement. On Sunday Sudan's new military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan voiced dissatisfaction with protesters setting up checkpoints and searching those who come to the sit-in. "It can't continue like this because security is
India raises blacklisting of Masood Azhar with China (2nd Lead)
India on Monday raised the issue of blacklisting Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar with China as Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale met Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi and told him that Beijing needed to be "sensitive" to New Delhi's concerns.
We took bold steps to counter terror, Cong response timid: PM
Targeting the UPA regime on national security issues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said his government took bold steps to counter terrorism, compared to the timid approach adopted by the Congress-led regime. Modi's remarks at a poll rally here in Nashik district of Maharashtra came a day after a terror attack in Sri Lanka killed 290 people in a series of eight blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in the island country. The prime minister said that due to the bold approach adopted by his government, terrorism has been curbed in India and is confined only to some parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Under attack from the Congress for not letting the Rafale contract go to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Modi accused the opposition party of destroying the state-run enterprise. The HAL has a unit in Nashik. The prime minister said his government has increased defence production under the 'Make in India' programme. Campaigning for BJP-Shiv Sena alliance ...
Rahul's nomination for Amethi LS seat found valid: Returning officer
The returning officer (RO) of Amethi Monday set aside objections on Congress president Rahul Gandhi's nomination papers filed for the seat and held the document valid, after scrutinising allegations of discrepancies over citizenship and other issues. After hearing K C Kaushik, the Congress leader's counsel, RO Ram Manohar Misra declared Gandhi's nomination papers for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat as valid. An Independent candidate and three others had on Saturday raised objections over the Congress president's nomination from the constituency, alleging discrepancies over citizenship and educational qualifications in his election affidavit. "There is no relevance for rejecting the nomination papers and therefore all the objections are being rejected," Misra said in his order issued Monday. Complainant Dhruv Lal's lawyer Ravi Prakash had also submitted before the RO purported copies of a certificate of incorporation of a UK-registered company in which the Congress leader is stated to be a ..
4 JD-S workers from Karnataka dead in Colombo blasts
Four activists of the ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) died in Colombo's serial bomb blasts on Sunday, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Monday.
Iran, Pakistan to set up border 'reaction force' after attacks
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani announced Monday that he and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan agreed to set up a joint border "reaction force" to counter terrorism. "We agreed to create a joint rapid reaction force at the borders for combatting terrorism," Rouhani told a joint news conference, following months of increased tensions over attacks on both sides of the two countries' frontier. The border skirts the volatile southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan which has been the scene of frequent attacks on Iran's security forces. Khan's visit to Iran, the first since he took office last year, comes after gunmen who Islamabad says were based in Iran killed 14 members of Pakistan's security forces last week in its own Balochistan province. "The security chief will sit down with his counterpart here and discuss (security) cooperation," Khan said, although no details were given on the joint force. "We trust that both countries will not have terrorist activities ...
Bengal's democracy threatened by Trinamool: Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday accused West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress of threatening the democratic set up through its policies of appeasement and hooliganism and urged people to choose the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in the 2019 general elections.
Terrorists plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka: US
The US State Department has said that terrorist groups continued to plot possible attacks in Sri Lanka and urged Americans visiting that country to exercise increased caution.
India, China should be sensitive to each other's concerns, Gokhale tells Chinese foreign minister
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Monday held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here and reviewed the progress of bilateral ties post Wuhan summit, emphasising that both countries should be sensitive to each other's concerns. Gokhale's visit for bilateral consultations is taking place amid renewed optimism that the vexed issue of listing of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by UN, which has been stalled by China, is headed for a resolution in the coming weeks. Gokhale met Wang, who is also the State Councillor, a high-level post in the hierarchy of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), at the sprawling Zhongnanhai complex, the seat of power of China as it houses the offices and residences of the country's top leaders. In his opening remarks, Gokhale said both sides were making efforts to implement the understandings reached at last year's informal summit at Wuhan between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi .
Shah slams Sonia for shedding tears for slain terrorists but
BJP president Amit Shah Monday hit out at UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for allegedly shedding tears for terrorists killed in the Batla House encounter of 2008, but not for the policeman who lost his life in the same incident. He defended the party's decision to nominate Sadhvi Pragya as a Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal saying the allegations against her are false and the real culprits in the Malegaon blast case have evaded the law. On contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and NRC, the BJP president asserted that after coming to power again his party will pass the Bill and implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) across the country to provide Indian citizenship to refugees and weed out infiltrators. He made blistering attack at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for raising accusing fingers at Election Commission out of fear of losing polls. "The Batla House encounter happened during the UPA rule. Sonia Gandhi had shed tears for the terrorists killed
Notice issued over MGP breakaway group merger
The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday issued notices to office of the state Assembly Speaker following a petition seeking the quashing of an order signing off on the merger of a breakaway group of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) into the BJP.
Inquiry will be ordered in Rafale deal soon after Congress comes to power: Rahul to PM Modi
Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that an inquiry will be ordered on it if Congress returns to power after the Lok Sabha elections.While addressing a rally here, Rahul said, "When BJP leaders and the Prime Minister come here and give false speeches, then for once ask him why he gave Rs 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani. Also, ask him what did Anil Ambani do for him in return? Kyunki muft mei thodi hota hai... What did you get in return?"He added, "Jaise hi hamari sarkar ayegi na... jo chal raha hai Rafale ka... Inquiry hogi. Inquiry hogi Modi ji. Inquiry hogi aur sachai bahar ayegi. What French President said will come out. The whole country will get to know what is written in the files of the Defence Ministry. Only two people's names will come out - Anil Ambani and Narendra Modi."Rahul also claimed that the BJP has done "step motherly treatment towards Amethi.""My plan is to make Amethi the education centre of the ...
US to ask India and four others to end completely Iranian oil imports: report
The US on Monday is set to ask five nations, including India and China, to completely end their imports of Iranian oil or be subject to US sanctions, a media report said, a decision that comes about a year after America quit the Iran nuclear deal and imposed toughest ever sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation. The move which is seen as an escalation of the US President Donald Trump administration's "maximum pressure" on Iran comes after it last year gave temporary 180-days waiver to eight countries, including India, China and Japan among others. The decision allowed them to continue buying Iranian oil as they showed "significant reduction" in oil purchase from Tehran, the Washington Post reported on Sunday. "On Monday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce to the media that, as of May 2, the State Department will no longer grant sanctions waivers to any country that is currently importing Iranian crude or condensate," two State Department officials were quoted as saying .
Notification for last phase of Lok Sabha polls issued
The Election Commission Monday issued the notification for the seventh and last phase of the Lok Sabha elections in which 59 constituencies spread across eight states and union territories will go for polls. While the first phase of election was held on April 11, the last phase will be held on May 19. So far, two phases have taken place, while the third phase of polling is on Tuesday. All the 13 seats of Punjab, four in Himachal Pradesh and one in Chandigarh will go for pols in a single phase on May 19. The Election Commission had on last Tuesday postponed polling in the Tripura (East) Lok Sabha seat to the third phase on April 23 (Tuesday) from April 18, saying the prevailing law and order situation there is not conducive for holding free and fair polls. With the issuance of the notification, the nomination process has started. April 29 is the last date of filing nominations and the scrutiny of papers will take place on April 30. The last date to withdraw from the electoral battle is
Traders protest in Srinagar against suspension of cross-LoC trade
Traders affected by the suspension of cross-LoC trade by the Centre held a protest march here in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir Monday. Scores of traders engaged in cross-LoC trade on the Uri-Muzaffarabad route took part in the march, demanding revocation of the suspension order, and sought a fool-proof mechanism for smooth operations. "Our demand from the very first day of the trade has been that a fool-proof mechanism be put in place. We have made huge investments and are suffering losses of crores of rupees. We appeal to the Ministry of Home Affairs to review the suspension order," Hilal Ahmad, Cross-LoC Traders Association chairman, told reporters. Ahmad said the government should have held discussions with the traders before taking such a decision. "Our livelihood depends on this trade. Thousands of people are associated with it. They earn their livelihood and feed their families. This ban has rendered them unemployed," he said. The Centre last week suspended cross-LoC ..
SC refuses to entertain petition seeking prosecution of voters indulging in electoral malpractices
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a petition seeking direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to prosecute the voters who indulge in electoral malpractices during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told the petitioner to approach the High court with their plea.The petition in this regard was filed by a Karnataka-based society Lancha Muktha Karnataka Nirmana Vedike.In its plea, the petitioner had stated that it is an offence for a voter to demand or receive money in exchangeor gratification to cast or otherwise deal with his vote.The petitioner pleaded the ECI to exercise its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution and prosecute voters who indulge in electoral malpractices."The Parliament of India has empowered the Election Commission of India through the enactment of the Representation of People Act and various rules and regulations," the petition read, adding that these laws and provisions would stand "frustrated" so
Senior officials of RCEP countries to meet in Bangkok on May 24
Senior officials of the 16-member RCEP group, who are negotiating a mega free trade agreement, will hold meetings in Bangkok from May 24 to iron out issues pertaining to the goods and services sector, an official said. "It is not a full-fledged round but an inter-sessional meeting, where senior officials would hold detailed discussions on issues of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement," the official added. The meeting assumes significance as the member countries are aiming to conclude the negotiations by end of this year. A joint statement issued after a ministerial meeting of RCEP trade ministers in March in Cambodia has said that in order to ensure progress is made towards meeting the leaders' mandate for conclusion in 2019, the ministers agreed to intensify engagement for the remainder of the year (including by convening more inter-sessional meetings). The proposed free trade agreement, which is officially dubbed as RCEP, to cover goods, ...
BJP says Rahul 'liar of first order' after he expresses regret in SC on Rafale remarks
BJP demanded an apology from Rahul Gandhi and said he is "liar of the first order" in public opinion after the Congress president expressed regret in the Supreme Court on Monday over his remarks in connection with the Rafale judgment. The apex court on April 15 had given a categorical clarification that in its Rafale judgment there was no occasion for it to make a mention of the contemptuous observation that "chowkidar Narendra Modi chor hain" as has been attributed to it by Gandhi. Addressing a press conference here, BJP spokesperson G V L Narsimha Rao said, "Today, by filing an affidavit in the honourable SC, Rahul Gandhi accepted that he had lied on his allegations against PM Modi on the Rafale deal." "This was an attempt by Rahul Gandhi to manufacture a lie and create a controversy in the Rafale deal... He should apologise to the people of this country," he added. "In public opinion, Rahul Gandhi is a liar of the first order," Rao said. Stating that Gandhi stands guilty in the ...
EC approves repolling in 12 booths of Inner Manipur LS seat
The Election Commission has approved re-polling in 12 booths of Inner Manipur parliamentary constituency, where the voting process was disrupted or stalled during the second phase on April 18. Noting that the polling undertaken in these 12 booths has been declared "void" by the EC, Chief Electoral Officer PK Singh said Monday fresh elections will be held on April 24 amid enhanced security arrangements. He asked the polling agents to take necessary measures to ensure free and fair polls. "There will be arrangements for webcasting and CCTV coverage both outside and inside the polling stations. The police department will provide adequate security arrangements for fresh polls," Singh said in a statement. Repolling was necessitated in the 12 booths, five of which come under Chief Minister N Biren Singh's home constituency Heingang, after multiple complaints of EVM rigging and booth capture were registered with the state election office. Violence had broken out in two polling .
Arab League pledges USD 100 million to Palestinians, rejects Trump's 'deal'
The Arab League has pledged to pay USD 100 million a month to the Palestinian Authority to plug the gap left when Israel blocked tax transfers earlier in the year. "We confirm that Arab countries will support the Palestinian state's budget... (to) resist the political and financial pressure it faces," the League said Sunday following a meeting in Cairo. Israel collects taxes on behalf of the PA, but withheld USD 138 million in transfers in February over Palestinian payments to political prisoners jailed for attacks against Israelis. The Arab League's move comes as the Trump administration prepares to unveil a much-touted "Deal of the Century" for peace between the Palestinians and Israel in the coming months. The Palestinian leadership, which has boycotted Washington over a series of moves including recognising the bitterly disputed city of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, says it can no longer trust the United States as a broker. The Arab League said the deal "will not succeed in ...