Page 812 - Politics

Shiv Sena asks govt to take over Jet Airways

The Shiv Sena on Monday urged the NDA government to take over the temporarily grounded private carrier Jet Airways and save its staff from losing their jobs. It asked Prime Minister Modi to take a cue from the foresight shown by former PMs Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi in nationalising insurance and airline companies. Speaking about the impact of the temporary shut down of the 25-year-old airline, the Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', said the curse of those rendered jobless would be more powerful than that of a 'sadhvi'. It was apparently referring to remarks made by BJP leader Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, who recently claimed that senior police officer Hemant Karkare died during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she "cursed" him for torturing her. The cash-starved Jet Airways ceased all its operations temporarily last week. The airline had sought a Rs 400 crore emergency fund from its lenders to whom it ...

US warns India, other nations over Iranian oil imports

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will announce on Monday that all countries including India will have to completely end their imports of Iranian oil or be subject to American sanctions, The Washington Post reported.

Giuliani says not wrong to take information from Russians

President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani insisted there was "nothing wrong" with the president's 2016 campaign taking information from the Russians, as House Democrats pledged stepped-up investigations into campaign misconduct and possible crimes of obstruction detailed in special counsel Robert Mueller's report . Giuliani called the Trump campaign's effort to get political help from representatives of the Russian government possibly ill-advised but not illegal. "There's nothing wrong with taking information from Russians," Giuliani said Sunday, referring to a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting involving Trump's son Donald Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a lawyer linked to Russia. The Trump campaign was seeking harmful information on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Sunday news shows offered the latest back and forth following the long-anticipated release on Thursday of Mueller's 448-page redacted report on his ..

Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky will win Ukraine's presidential elections: Exit polls

Exit polls on Sunday predicted that Volodymyr Zelensky, a former television actor and comedian will win Ukraine's presidential elections.Citing results of the exit polls, Al Jazeera reported that the comedian will defeat incumbent President Petro Poroshenko with 73.2 per cent of the vote against 25.3 per cent.The ballots cast on Sunday were yet to be counted by Ukraine's Central Election Commission, but the exit polls coincided with the official results after the first round of elections which were held three weeks ago.Shortly after the poll results were announced on Ukraine's state broadcaster Ukrinform, Poroshenko, conceding defeat at a press conference, said that he would help the new President prepare for the role between the official announcement of the election results and his inauguration."Next month, I will leave the office of the head of state. This is the decision of the majority of Ukrainian people. I accept this decision. I am leaving the office, but I want to highlight ...

Possibility of Priyanka contesting from Varanasi does not affect BJP: Anil Jain

BJP National General Secretary Anil Jain said the possibility of Priyanka Gandhi contesting from Varanasi does not affect his party.Speaking to ANI here, Jain was replying to a question pertaining to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's comments about her contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi.He said, "Congress party is ruled by brother and sister. They can do whatever they want. We are not influenced by their decision."Commenting on Pragya Singh Thakur's comments on Sunday that she was involved in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Jain said: "I am not aware of that comment because I have not heard it. Lots of people participated in Kar Seva between December 2 to 8 in 1992, including me. But I cannot comment on what others say."On Election Commission of India (ECI) issuing two notices to Pragya Singh, he said, "The commission is doing its job and she will reply accordingly."Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments regarding warning Pakistan to release Wing Commander .

India tells China to be sensitive to its concerns

India on Monday told China to be sensitive to its concerns as Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale met Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi here, with whom he is likely to raise the issue of blacklisting Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar.

Gokhale hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang; Discuss post-Wuhan summit progress

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale on Monday held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussed the progress in bilateral ties since the Wuhan summit last year and said both sides were implementing the decisions in a manner in which "we are sensitive to each other's concerns". His meeting with Wang, who is also the State Councillor, a high-level post in the hierarchy of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), took place as both the countries grappled with a host of issues, including Beijing's continued attempts block efforts list Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar as global terrorist by the UN. In his opening remarks, Gokhale said it has been year since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met at the Chinese city of Wuhan where the two leaders reached many understandings. He said both sides were making efforts to implement the understandings reached at the Wuhan meeting. "As your excellency said we will work together with the

2 arrested for distributing liquor on behalf of PSPL candidate

Police have arrested two persons who were distributing liquor allegedly on behalf of Karan Singh Yadav, the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) candidate from Sambhal Lok Sabha constituency. Two cartons of liquor have been seized."We got information that liquor was being distributed in large quantities by two persons at Moradabad Road. They have been arrested and two cartons of liquor have been seized. Action is being taken for violating the Model Code of Conduct during elections. The candidate is Karan Singh Yadav," informed a police officer.10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will go to polls on April 23 in the third phase of elections. 8 seats each have already polled in the first and second phases of elections on April 11 and 18. Eighty seats in all are at stake in UP.

Air strikes, explosions rock Tripoli suburb

Several air strikes and explosions shook Libya's capital Tripoli on Sunday.Residents said that they saw an aircraft circling for more than 10 minutes over the city and explosions were heard across Tripoli's southern districts.This comes a day after clashes broke out in Tripoli after the forces loyal to Libya Unity Government on Saturday launched a counterattack against renegade General Khalifa Haftar's fighters.Libya has been largely divided into two factions ever since the death of its dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The LNA-backed parliament controls the east of Libya, while the UN-backed interim Government of National Accord (GNA) governs Libya's western region from Tripoli.Military sources have said that both sides are using ageing Soviet and Russian fighter jets.More than 200 people have lost their lives and 913 have been wounded ever since clashes erupted in the region as Haftar's Libyan National Army advanced towards Tripoli. According to the United Nations, nearly 30,000 have been ..

Sudan military leader vows to hand power over to people

In an effort to placate angry protesters, Sudan's interim leader Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday vowed to transfer the power to a civilian authority."The transitional military council is complementary to the uprising and the revolution. The council is committed to handing over power to the people," Al Jazeera quoted Lieutenant General Abdel as saying."We are not greedy at all to want to stay in power more than the time we agreed upon with the opposition parties. We are waiting for the opposition to submit their proposal," he added.But opposition leaders claim that the military is planning to stay in power. "The military council is still not serious about handing power over to civilians. This council is also representing part of the old regime," said Mohamed al-Amin Abdulaziz, the spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA)."We will continue our protests and we will escalate our protests. We will boycott talks with the military council," he ...

AP sources: US to sanction nations for importing Iranian oil

The Trump administration is poised to tell five nations, including allies Japan, South Korea and Turkey, that they will no longer be exempt from US sanctions if they continue to import oil from Iran, officials said Sunday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to announce on Monday that the administration will not renew sanctions waivers for the five countries when they expire on May 2, three US officials said. The others are China and India. It was not immediately clear if any of the five would be given additional time to wind down their purchases or if they would be subject to US sanctions on May 3 if they do not immediately halt imports of Iranian oil. The officials were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of Pompeo's announcement. The decision not to extend the waivers, which was first reported by The Washington Post, was finalised on Friday by President Donald Trump, according to the officials. They said it is intended to further

Sudan protest leaders halt talks with military

Sudanese protest leaders Sunday suspended talks with military rulers, after the army failed to meet their demand for an immediate transfer to civilian rule. The protest leaders had planned to name members of a civilian body to take over from the ruling military council which took power on April 11 after ousting veteran leader Omar al-Bashir. The momentum had been building all day Sunday as a sea of protesters waited outside army headquarters for the planned unveiling of the civilian council, but by nightfall it was clear it would not happen. "We are suspending our talks with the military council," Mohamed al-Amin, a spokesman for the protest movement, told the tens of thousands of protesters gathered at the army complex. He said the weeks-long sit-in will continue, and accused the military council of being little different from Bashir's ousted regime. "We call for escalating and continuing the demonstrations until the demands are met," said Amin. "We are treating the military council .

Odisha: Bomb hurled at vehicles of BJD and BJP MLA candidates

In two separate incidents of polling related violence in Bhubaneswar, bombs were hurled at the vehicles of Biju Janata Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA candidates from Bhubaneswar Central - Anant Narayan Jena and Jagannath Pradhan, respectively - here on Sunday night.Jena, who is also a former Mayor of Bhubaneswar, was attacked in Jharpada. He has sustained minor injuries and has been admitted to a hospital.The BJP leader's car was attacked near his party office. This is the third time he has been attacked.Meanwhile, BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Election Commission officials here demanding an investigation on the attack on Jagannath Pradhan."Violence in Odisha is increasing day by day. Today, BJP MLA candidate from Bhubaneswar Central, Jagannath Pradhan was attacked for the third time. A bomb was hurled at his car. We met EC officials and demanded that an investigation should be ordered," the Union Minister said.BJD, however, alleged that the attack on the ...

Pakistan claims India suspended trade citing 'groundless accusations'

Pakistan on Sunday "deplored" India's decision to suspend all cross LoC trade, claiming New Delhi has taken this action unilaterally on the basis of "groundless accusations".It has also urged the Indian government to "resolve differences through constructive engagement"."Pakistan deplores the unilateral Indian decision to suspend cross LoC trade and rejects the allegations regarding its misuse. The Indian action is based on groundless accusations that this mechanism is being used for smuggling, narcotics, fake currency and terrorism," read a statement released by Pakistan Foreign Ministry."We urge India to refrain from taking unilateral measures and resolve differences through constructive engagement with a view to transitioning from conflict to cooperation," the statement added.This comes days after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued orders to suspend the cross LoC trade in Jammu-Kashmir with effect from April 19.MHA had said in a statement that this action has been taken as ..

Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky set to take over presidency in Ukraine vote

Zelensky's victory is expected to open a new chapter in the history of a country that has gone through two popular uprisings

I will be happy to contest from Varanasi if asked by Rahul: Priyanka Gandhi

She was responding to a question whether she will contest the poll from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from where Modi is seeking re-election

BJP claims NLFT campaigning in favour of Congress in Tripura

The BJP on Sunday claimed that that the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) was campaigning in favour of the Congress in the East Tripura Lok Sabha constituency, where polling was rescheduled from April 18 to April 23. The saffron party has also filed a complaint with the Election Commission in this regard. "NLFT's self-styled secretary Utpal Debbarma alias Uthai has asked people to vote for the Congress. We have got records of his appeal," BJP spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya told a press conference here. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sriram Taranikanti said his office has received a complaint from the BJP on the issue, and necessary action would be taken after scrutinising the documents. Bhattacharya also alleged that state Congress president Pradyot Kishore Debburman was spotted with Ranjit Debbarma, a former underground leader and supremo of the banned All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) during poll campaigns. Pragya Deb Burman, sister of the TPCC ...

Trump lawyer attacks Mueller report, sees nothing wrong in taking Russian info

Donald Trump's top lawyer on Sunday attacked "calumny, lies and distortions" in the Mueller investigation report, and said there is "nothing wrong" with taking hacked information from Russia. Rudy Giuliani mounted a combative defense of the president in Sunday talk show appearances that took aim at Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators, the evidence they amassed and the witnesses they cited. The former New York mayor heaped special scorn on Senator Mitt Romney, a former Republican presidential candidate who said Friday he was "sickened" by the report's findings and "appalled" that Trump's election campaign "welcomed help from Russia." "What a hypocrite. What a hypocrite. Any candidate in the whole world in America would take information," Giuliani said of Romney on CNN's "State of the Union." He was referring to Democratic emails that were hacked by Russian operatives and disseminated by WikiLeaks in 2016 to hurt Trump presidential rival Hillary Clinton. "Who says it's even ..

BJP fields Puri from Amritsar, repeats four Delhi MPs

A day after actor Sunny Deal met BJP President Amit Shah, giving indication that he may be fielded from Amritsar, the party on Sunday announced Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri as its candidate from the seat.

Madagascar president announces constitutional referendum

Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina has called a May 27 referendum on changing the constitution, to do away with the country's Senate and give more powers to the regions. Rajoelina made both issues part of his campaign platform in the run-up to his election in December. A statement issued over the weekend announced the referendum to change the constitution, which he himself introduced in 2010 during his first term as president. The date set is the same on which the country will vote in legislative elections, in what the official statement said was designed to cut the "exorbitant costs" of holding them separately. Rajoelina first ruled from 2009 until 2014 after he was installed by the army when then president Ravalomanana was ousted following violent protests. In his inaugural address Rajoelina pledged to fight corruption in the Indian Ocean island nation, which is a former French colony.