Page 911 - Politics
Supporters of new arms race have prevailed in US, alleges Russia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday (local time) said that Washington's actions with regard to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation show "that supporters of the new arms race have prevailed in the United States."The Russian minister made these comments at the 27th Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy (SWAP) here, according to TASS.He voiced his concern regarding the collapse of treaties with the United States and said: "Following the collapse of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, the Treaty on the Elimination of Medium and Short Range Missiles is now next in line. After that, it is possible that there will be problems with the extension of the Treaty on Measures for Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (SEDD).""All this will have disastrous consequences, not only for those areas of international life that were regulated by these treaties but also for the remaining mechanisms in the field of nuclear disarmament and ...
Saudi Arabia supports Sudan's transitional military council, pledges aid
Saudi Arabia on Saturday backed the transitional military council in Sudan, announcing an aid package for the African country which has seen protests for months now."The Kingdom expresses its support for the steps announced by the transitional military council in preserving the lives and property. It stands by the Sudanese people and hopes that such steps will achieve security and stability for Sudan," Saudi news outlet Al Arabiya reported, quoting the government.This comes as the new military council leader Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan lifted the curfew put in place by the old council, promising to bring in reforms across Sudan in his public address on Saturday.He also held talks with the protesters, who put their demands in front of the Burhan, according to Anadolu Agency.The Saudi aid package, meanwhile, includes wheat, petroleum products, and medicine. Riyadh, furthermore, called for all Sudanese people to prioritise national interest "in order to achieve their aspirations and ...
Love of Modi-Nitish Kumar is stronger than Laila-Majnu: Owaisi
Taking a jibe at the alliance between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday compared the duo with the love pair of Laila-Majnu."The love between Nitish Kumar and PM Modi is very strong. It is stronger than that love of Laila-Majnu. When the love story of Nitish Kumar and PM Modi will be written, do not ask me who is Laila and who is Majnu between the two. You decide," Owaisi said while addressing an election rally here."Listen Laila and Majnu, when your love story will be written then instead of love, hate will be written. It will be written since that time they came together, there is tension between Hindus and Muslims in India," he added.Nitish-led JD (U) contested the 2015 state Assembly elections in alliance with Congress and RJD. But later joined hands with BJP to run the government.Out of 40 Lok Sabha constituencies, BJP and the Janata Dal (United) will contest 17 seats each, while the remaining six would be .
Alpesh Thakor couldn't handle respect and power given by Congress: Hardik Patel
Congress leader Hardik Patel on Saturday said his party gave a lot of respect and power to MLA Alpesh Thakor which the latter could not handle."Congress party had given so much respect and power but he could not handle it. He started playing blame games," Hardik told ANI.Alpesh, who had joined the Congress party in 2017 ahead of last Gujarat Assembly polls, barely after 18 months tendered his resignations from all party posts on Wednesday evening.Hardik further alleged that the BJP tried its best to stop him from contesting the Lok Sabha polls."I am accepting the decision of the High Court. BJP lawyers tried their best so that I could not contest the ongoing elections. Congress wanted to take me to the Parliament. I am a 25-year-old young man and many elections will come in the future," he said.The Supreme Court had declined urgent hearing on Hardik's plea seeking suspension of his conviction in a case of rioting and arson in Mehsana district of Gujarat during the Patidar quota stir ..
Shivpal Yadav calls Yogi Adityanath 'honest'
Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav called Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath 'honest'."Yogi ji is honest, I agree to that but he does not have control over bureaucrats. Corruption has increased in Uttar Pradesh and the people of UP are in distress," Shivpal told ANI.The PSP chief attacked the BJP on Chief Minister's 'Ali-Bajrangbali' remark."We are secular people. Every religion has the right to live in this country. Whenever elections come, BJP incites a fight between Hindu-Muslim," he said.Addressing a rally in Meerut, Adityanath had said: "Mayawati in her speech in Saharanpur says that if they get Muslim votes, then they will not need any other's vote. If Congress, SP, and BSP trust Ali, then we have faith in Bajrangbali."Shivpal is contesting from Firozabad Parliamentary constituency against sitting MP and Prof Ramgopal Yadav's son Akshay Yadav.
SP-BSP alliance a mismatch, it will never win: Shivpal Yadav
Referring to SP-BSP alliance as a 'mismatch alliance' Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav on Friday said the Mahagathbandhan forged in Uttar Pradesh will not emerge victorious in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls."This alliance is 'bemel gathbandhan' and it will never be successful. No one will trust Mayawati ji. Tickets are being given after taking money. Where does this money come from? Nobody can trust her. Who knows where she will go after elections. She will go wherever she gets power," Shivpal told ANI.PSP chief hit out at SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav and Senior SP leader Prof Ramgopal Yadav for fielding Akshay Yadav from Firozabad constituency against him."I did not know that I will fight from Firozabad three months back. But people here asked me to contest from here. When I was contesting from here then Akhilesh and Professor should have fielded him from somewhere else. He should not have been contesting from here. When uncle is contesting, nephew should have .
Shivpal Yadav open to alliance with Akhilesh, rules out dissolving PSP
Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP) chief Shivpal Singh Yadav on Friday clarified that he will not dissolve his party and return to the Samajwadi Party.Though, Shivpal told ANI that he is open to forging an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav-led party."After elections, if he (Akhilesh) communicates with us, give me respect then I will think about it. I can only be an alliance partner. My party will remain and I cannot include my party with SP," Singh told ANI.Shivpal also denied allegations of being a B-team of the Bharatiya Janata Party."I have always worked with SP and worked against BJP. When Akhilesh announced the alliance, I asked him to make me a part of the alliance. My demand was not that big. Then I tried with Congress. I have talked with the leaders of Congress. I asked them two seats - Firozabad and Etawah. Besides this, I told them to give me those seats where they don't have candidates. I asked 15-20 seats. I was ready to defeat BJP," he said."They got pressure from Mayawati ...
Reveal names of corporates whose loans written off: Congress
The Congress on Saturday accused Modi government of writing off Rs 5.5 lakh crore in loans of its "blue-eyed boys" and asked it to reveal the names of those corporate companies in respect of whom the loans were written off.
Reveal names of corporate whose loans waived off: Congress
The Congress on Saturday accused Modi government of writing off Rs 5.5 lakh crore in loans of its "blue-eyed boys" and asked it to reveal the names of those corporate companies in respect of whom the loans were written off.
US seeks USD 10 bn trade finance fund for Venezuela: Mnuchin
The United States is working with a group of countries to build a USD 10 billion fund to help Venezuela rebuild trade once a new government is in place, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said. The United States has joined dozens of other countries in recognizing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president but embattled President Nicolas Maduro remains in power. Mnuchin said Saturday that, during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, officials had discussed how to aid in the Caribbean country's recovery. But those institutions must sit on the sidelines until there is clear international recognition of a government in Caracas and a way to put funds into use in the country which has seen its economy collapse, while people are fleeing because they cannot get basic food and medicines. "Every single time I've had one of these meetings I can't believe how much worse it gets on the ground for the people of Venezuela. This is a ...
Mohammed Ishtaye sworn in as new Palestinian PM
New Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye and his cabinet members were sworn in before President Mahmoud Abbas at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, the official television reported.
Assam will vote for Cong, BJP committed to bring citizenship
The Congress-in-charge of Assam, Harish Rawat, on Saturday claimed that the people of Assam will not vote for the BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, as the saffron party is committed to bring the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. The general secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC) was optimistic that the Congress had put up a good show in the five constituencies where polling was held during the first phase of the elections on April 11. Confident that the Congress will win all the five seats, he said, "According to ground reports the people in Assam voted against the BJP as they want to punish the party for bringing the anti-constitutional bill." Addressing a press conference here, Rawat asserted that this trend will also follow in the second and third phase of elections to be held on April 18 and 23. "Our president Rahul Gandhi has been voicing the agenda of our party that if voted to power, we will throw the bill into the dustbin. We have clearly .
1,000 youth IPFT workers join Congress in Tripura
Over one thousand Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) youth workers joined the opposition Congress in the state on Saturday, its leaders said. Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Pradyot Kishore Deb Burman said 300 youth IPFT supporters joined the Congress from Khowai district, while another group of 700 at Kamalpur in Dhalai district. Addressing a press conference, he said leaders of the regional party have "betrayed" its supporters, and failed to deliver on the promises for the development of indigenous people of the state. "IPFT supporters are coming to us because they have realised that IPFT supremo N C Debbarma, who is not even campaigning, submitted a nomination to cut down on votes of the Congress and help the BJP," Deb Burman claimed. The IPFT-BJP alliance formed the government in Tripura in 2018, ending the 25-year rule of the Left Front. Earlier this month, IPFT vice-president Ananta Debbarma and its Youth wing general secretary ...
US, China nearing 'concluding issues' in trade talks: Mnuchin
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saturday trade talks with China were getting close to their conclusion. Since January, shuttle diplomacy between Washington and Beijing to resolve their nine-month trade war has dragged on longer than officials had expected. Both sides have continued to project cautious optimism without predicting success. "It is more important to get it right than have arbitrary date," Mnuchin told reporters. But "I'm hopeful we're getting close to the final round of concluding issues." A sticking point in the talks has been American officials' insistence that any final agreement have teeth -- and that they retain the ability to impose fresh tariffs should Beijing backslide on its commitments. Mnuchin declined to get into details on Saturday. "There are certain commitments the United States is making in this agreement and there are certain commitments that China is making," he said. "And I would expect that the enforcement mechanism works in both ...
Democrats demand Trump tax returns by April 23
Democratic lawmakers on Saturday gave the Internal Revenue Service a final deadline of April 23 to hand over President Donald Trump's tax returns, which Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the administration was diligently considering. "I am aware that concerns have been raised regarding my request and the authority of the Committee. Those concerns lack merit," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal said in a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig after an initial April 10 deadline lapsed. On Wednesday, Mnuchin said the Treasury was handling the request and that a deadline set for that date would be missed, citing possible constitutional issues raised by the Democratic request. But on Saturday, he said the administration would respond by the latest target date. "I'm sure we'll respond by that deadline, not going to make a commitment prematurely whether we'll be able to conclude a legal review by that deadline," Mnuchin said. "We have people working on it ...
Thousands protest against Serbian President Vucic
Thousands of people on Saturday rallied in Belgrade against President Aleksandar Vucic who they accuse of authoritarianism and muzzling the media. Police put the number of demonstrators at 7,500, while the opposition estimated tens of thousands had turned out. Protests have been held weekly in the Balkan country since December against what critics describe as Vucic's slide towards autocratic rule. Protesters blew whistles and chanted "thieves, thieves!" as speakers, who addressed the crowd, accused the regime of corruption and oppression of media freedoms. The crowd then marched from the national parliament to the government building. Local media reported that in many Serbian cities and towns transport companies had refused to rent buses to opposition supporters, fearing reprisals from the authorities. Vucic, an ultra-nationalist-turned-pro European, has rejected claims he has become autocratic. In response to Saturday's protest he has scheduled rally of his own supporters for next .
Oram urges Dilip Ray to re-join BJP ahead of polls on Apr 18
The political equation in Odisha's tribal dominated Sundergarh district is changing fast after Union minister Jual Oram Saturday urged former Rourkela MLA Dilip Ray to re-join BJP ahead of the second phase of polling in the state on April 18. "The issues raised by Dilip Babu has been solved as the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has assured him that the work of the second bridge across Brahmani river and conversion of the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) into a super speciality hospital are being expedited," Oram said. With the fulfilment of Ray's demand, there should be no hindrance for the former MLA to re-join the BJP, Oram said. Ray had quit the BJP last year. He had also resigned from the membership of the state legislative assembly over the non-fulfilment of promises made to the people of Rourkela. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the steel city in 2015 had promised a second bridge over the river Brahmani and upgradation of IGH into a super speciality ...
Have written to LG, chief secy on Mayapuri sealing issue: South Delhi Mayor
The mayor of BJP-led South Delhi Municipal Corporation Saturday slammed the AAP government over the sealing issue in Mayapuri that led to clashes in the area, and said he has written to the Lt Governor and the chief secretary in this regard. Mayapuri falls under south zone of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). Mayor Narender Chawla also said he has issued orders to the commissioner so that "no employee of the SDMC participates or assists in the sealing process". "Today, I also wrote to L-G (Anil Baijal) and the chief secretary over this issue. What happened today was unfortunate," Chawla said, while alleging that the move was made keeping in mind the Lok Sabha polls nomination filing dates in mind". Around 14 officials, including an ACP, were injured after clashes broke out between security personnel and local scrap dealers during a sealing drive in west Delhi's Mayapuri area Saturday, leading to a political slugfest between the ruling AAP and the BJP. The Aam Aadmi Party ..
Who is your CM candidate for Odisha: Patnaik asks BJP
Odisha Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday asked the BJP to name its chief ministerial candidate for the state. "The people of Odisha want to know who is the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, from where s/he is contesting the elections," Patnaik said, addressing an election meeting at Daspalla under Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency, which is going to polls in the second phase on April 18. Alleging that the BJP was afraid of announcing the name of its leader in Odisha, he also took a dig at the saffron party's "double engine" slogan. Patnaik was referring to BJP leaders' frequent call to the people of Odisha to ensure a "double engine" government (the government in Odisha as well as in Delhi) for better development of the state. "That Delhi engine did not come to the state when people were encountering calamities like cyclone and floods. Though the Delhi engine came after calamities, it went to Andhra Pradesh and not to Odisha," the CM ...
This election will decide if J-K will be able to remain part of Union with dignity: Farooq Abdullah
National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah Saturday said this parliamentary elections will decide whether Jammu and Kashmir will be "able to remain a part of the Union with dignity". Addressing election meetings in at Babademb in Khanyar and Kangan in Ganderbal, Abdullah, who is contesting from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, said people have to vote for preserving the country's secular disposition, integrity and unity. "This election shall decide if the state of Jammu and Kashmir is able to remain a part of the Union with dignity. The people of state are directly fighting the BJP and their cronies here through ballot for the protection of their identity," he said. "This election will decide if we are able to live with our neighbouring country in peace. The general elections are also significant since it is a direct fight between falsehood and truth. However, no matter how much they try, falsehood is bound to perish," the NC president said. Abdullah also said the ongoing general ...