Page 969 - Politics
Trump, Saudi Prince discuss Iran, human rights
US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have discussed issues relating to regional security, human rights, and Iran.
UN ignores Imran Khan's claim on Kashmir annexation
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's assertion that India was going to "annex" Kashmir has failed to evoke any reaction from the UN's leadership.
Sena gives '200 out of 100' to BJP's LS poll manifesto
The Shiv Sena on Wednesday hailed the BJP's manifesto and gave it "200 out of 100" marks for promising to scrap Article 370 of the Constitution, providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Sena, an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, said the country's integrity cannot be compromised and that 2019 is the last chance to construct the Ram temple. History will not forgive those who compromise with the Uniform Civil Code and Article 370, it said. "The BJP's 'sankalp patra' is one that encapsulates the feelings of the nation. Even the Shiv Sena's demands have been included in it. We, therefore, give the manifesto 200 out of 100 marks," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'. It criticised National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who have threatened that if Article 370 is scrapped, it would lead to freedom for Jammu and Kashmir from India, and suggested a ...
Arun Shourie delighted on SC verdict on Rafale
Former union minister Arun Shourie, one of the review petitioners in the Rafale case, Wednesday said he was delighted by the unanimous verdict of the Supreme Court dismissing Centre's "peculiar argument" on admissibility of privileged documents. The apex court on Wednesday dismissed preliminary objections raised by the Centre that documents on which claimed"privilege" cannot be relied upon to re-examine the verdict in the Rafale fighter jet deal with France. "We are delighted it is an unanimous verdict dismissing Central government's peculiar argument on admissibility of documents. Centre's argument meant no wrong can be done in the defence deal," he told PTI. Shourie is one of the review petitioners along with former union minister Yashwant Sinha and activist advocate Prashant Bhushan.
Adityanath to visit Amethi to accompany Irani during nomination filing
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be visiting Amethi Thursday where he will accompany Union minister and BJP candidate Smriti Irani, who will be filing her nomination papers, a party spokesperson said. The chief minister will also participate in a road show before the nomination and later address an election meeting, BJP's Amethi media in-charge Govind Singh said. Irani was to file her nomination on April 17, but since it is a holiday, she will now file the papers on April 11. The Amethi parliamentary constituency, represented in the Lok Sabha by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, has four Assembly segments -- Tiloi, Gauriganj and Jagdishpur (reserved) in Amethi district and Salon (reserved) in Raebareli. Congress nominee Gandhi is filing his nomination on Wednesday. The district administration has made all the arrangements for the nominations, District Magistrate RM Mishra said. Amethi goes to polls on May 6 in the fifth phase.
Caste dynamics may change poll equation in AP (IANS Exclusive)
Andhra Pradesh will vote for the state Assembly and Lok Sabha simultaneously on April 11 and caste arithmetic will again play a key role in deciding the winner. But it is to be seen if the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) would retain its hold over Kamma, Kappu and Other Backward Castes (OBCs) and whether its rival, the YSR Congress would get support from Reddy, Schedule Caste (SC), Muslims and Christians.
Poll code violation: EC notice to producers of 2 serials
The Election Commission (EC) has issued show cause notices to producers of two TV serials following allegations that the shows were violating the model code of conduct by promoting various government schemes. Maharashtra's additional chief electoral officer Dilip Shinde on Wednesday said complaints were received of violation of the poll code by two serials being aired on Zee TV and &TV. "Taking cognisance of the complaints, the EC on Tuesday issued notices to producers of the respective serials, asking them to reply within a day," Shinde said. Further action will be taken after receiving their replies, he said. The Congress on Monday approached the EC, demanding a ban on two channels for allegedly violating the model code of conduct by airing content that praised the central government's schemes and ruling party leaders. The Maharashtra Congress said the EC should file cases against the makers and actors of the two serials, as well as the BJP. State Congress general ..
Rahul to file nomination for Amethi on Wednesday
Congress President Rahul Gandhi will file nomination papers for Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.
BJP going all out to make dent in Cong fortress Nanded
TheBJP is making a determined bid to wrest Maharashtra's Nanded Lok Sabha seat, a citadel of the Congress from where its state president and former chief minister Ashok Chavan is seeking a re-election. Nanded, located in Marathwada region, is one the two seats that the Congress managed to win out of the total 48 constituencies in the state in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when it faced a drubbing at the hands of the BJP. Chavan, the sitting MP from Nanded, is pitted against BJP's Pratap Chikhalikar, who is his staunch rival and currently an MLA from Loha seat in Latur district. Both of them hail from the Maratha community and are trying their best to woo voters in the constituency. Talking to PTI, Chikhalikar said, "Fortunately or unfortunately, I have been part of all the major parties." He was earlier a Congress MLA from 1995 to 2004. However, in 2004, he left the party over differences with Chavan and contested as an Independent, but supported the Vilasrao Deshmukh-led ...
Yasin Malik brought to Delhi; to be quizzed in terror-funding case
Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik was brought to Delhi from a Jammu jail on Tuesday evening after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) secured a production warrant against him in connection with an alleged terror and separatism funding case.Malik will be quizzed by the NIA on Wednesday on charges of funding terror activities in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. He will face questions related to funding to his banned organisation Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).The separatist leader was arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in February and lodged in Kot Balwal Jail in Jammu.The central government had banned the JKLF last month, saying the outfit is actively engaged in inciting secession and is illegally funnelling funds for fomenting terrorism.Malik also faces charges of involvement in the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in December 1989.
BSNL seeks action against Varun Gandhi for non-payment of phone bills
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has sent a letter to the Pilibhit District Election Officer seeking necessary action against BJP MP Varun Gandhi for not paying telephone dues of over Rs 38,000 outstanding against his official phone number.The BSNL, in its letter dated March 30, said the telephone dues billed during Gandhi's 2009-2014 tenure as Pilibhit MP could not be realised despite several attempts.The letter reads, "An amount of Rs 38616.00 is lying outstanding against telephone no. 05882-256525 provided for constituency office of Varun Gandhi, ex-MP Pilibhit during his previous term w.e.f 2009 to 2014."The state telecom service provider has further noted in the letter: "After a long chain of correspondences made by the Lok Sabha secretariat, it has been intimated that the due amount might be pertaining to broadband services which is required to be paid by the MP himself."Gandhi filed nomination for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls from Pilibhit without obtaining a No Objection ...
Latin American countries seek funds for Venezuela migrants
Several Latin American countries and the representative for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido sought more international funds Tuesday to manage the millions of migrants fleeing crisis-hit Venezuela. An estimated 2.7 million people, an average of 5,000 every day in 2018, have left Venezuela, according to the United Nations which has noted that neighbouring countries especially Colombia have taken on most of the burden. Venezuelans are escaping an economy in tailspin, with hyperinflation and shortages of basic necessities including food and medicine. "Concrete actions" of financial support are necessary, Ecuadoran vice minister of human mobility Santiago Chavez told reporters at the meeting in Quito. It was also attended by representatives from the UN, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. "We are not really satisfied with what the banks have done in terms of financial cooperation and have asked them to do more. This serious and urgent situation demands it," Chavez .
N Korea convenes top-level meeting over 'tense situation': KCNA
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called a full meeting Wednesday of a top committee of the ruling Workers' Party to address what he described as the "prevailing tense situation", state media reported. The gathering of the Central Committee comes after Kim's Hanoi summit with US President Donald Trump broke up without agreement in February, and as South Korean President Moon Jae-in flies to Washington for talks with the US leader. But the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) appeared to indicate that Kim may be focussing on Pyongyang's continued push to develop its economy. In a meeting with senior officials Tuesday, Kim ordered them to display "an attitude befitting the masters of the revolution and construction under the prevailing tense situation and thus follow through on the new strategic line of the Party", KCNA reported. Last April Kim declared that the ruling party's "new strategic line" would be "socialist economic construction" and its quest for nuclear ...
Netanyahu, challenger both claim victory in Israeli elections
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party had a lead of less than two per cent over the centrist Blue and White coalition in early results from Israel's general elections, officials said on Wednesday.
Trump, Saudi Crown Prince discuss Iran, human rights
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) had a telephonic conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, where the two leaders discussed Iran and human rights issues."They (Trump and Saudi Crown Prince) discussed Saudi Arabia's critical role in ensuring Middle East stability, maintaining maximum pressure against Iran, and the importance of human rights issues," The Hill quoted the White House as saying in a statement.The telephonic call between Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince comes after Riyadh's human rights issues came under the lens following the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.The Donald Trump administration has been facing immense criticism from lawmakers for its response to Khashoggi's murder.Khashoggi, who was a journalist with The Washington Post and a vocal critic of the Saudi regime, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 last year, where he had gone to obtain paperwork certifying his divorce with his former ...
Japan extends sanctions on N Korea for 2 years
Japan on Tuesday (local time) decided to extend its sanctions on North Korea for two more years, in a bid to pressurise Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and to resolve the long-standing issue of abduction of Japanese nationals.The sanctions impose a blanket ban on bilateral exports and imports and bars the entry of North Korean-registered vessels into Japanese waters, as well as ships which have stopped at a North Korean port, Japan Times reported.Japan first slapped sanctions on North Korea in 2006 after the communist country's first nuclear arms test. In recent times, Tokyo extended the sanctions several times, in addition to the sanctions imposed in line with the UN Security Council resolutions.Japan has blamed North Korea for the abduction of its 17 nationals and suspects Pyongyang's involvement in more disappearances of its citizens.The move comes as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed his keenness to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim ...
TMC writes letter to CEC opposing transfer of Cooch Behar police chief
Trinamool Congress (TMC) has written a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner expressing discontent over the transfer of Cooch Behar Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Gupta.In the letter which was submitted on Tuesday night, TMC termed the transfer "an arbitrary and biased order" of the Election Commission of India. The party also alleged that the transfer was done on the behest of the BJP."From the events unfolded in the recent past, it is amply clear that such order of transfer has been passed at the behest of the ruling party at Centre i.e. BJP, its national leaders as well as its local representatives in West Bengal, especially in view of the statements issued by its leaders during the recent election meeting held at Cooch Behar," the party claimed.TMC also alleged that BJP leaders during an election meeting on April 7 had threatened Gupta of "dire consequences.""In the presence of the Prime Minister, Mukul Roy has hinted that Abhishek Gupta, the Superintendent of Police ..
Pompeo agrees Kim Jong-un is a 'tyrant'
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Tuesday (local time) acknowledged that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a "tyrant".Pompeo made the comments after he was quizzed at a Senate hearing whether he would use similar language for Kim as he has used for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro."Sure. I'm sure that I have said that," Yonhap News Agency quoted Pompeo saying before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee while discussing the State Department budget request for 2020.The comments made by Pompeo is in direct contrast to what US President Donald Trump had said. He has described his relationship with Kim as "very good", going as far as cancelling new sanctions against the reclusive state.No joint statement was released following the second round of talks, as it is reported that the two countries could not resolve their differences on sanction waivers.The remarks may irk North Korea which has signalled its intent for a third summit between Kim and Trump after the February meeting ...
Gujarat: Former Cong MLA Jodhaji Thakor joins BJP
Former Congress MLA Jodhaji Thakor joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday.Jodhaji, who is considered to be a prominent face of the Thakor community, joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala.It is believed that Jodhaji's entry into the BJP can help the party gain significant support in North Gujarat.The 26 parliamentary constituencies of the state will go to polls in the third phase of elections on April 23. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
Another IPS officer transferred in Andhra Pradesh
The Election Commission has issued orders for the transfer of yet another IPS officer in Andhra Pradesh, just two days before the state is set to go for polls.The EC on Tuesday issued transfer orders for Prakasam district SP Koya Praveen. This comes two weeks after it had issued transfer orders for three IPS officers, namely Intelligence Director General AB Venkateswara Rao, Kadapa Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahul Dev Sharma and Srikakulam SP Venkata Ratnam, after YSR Congress Party leaders accused them of working in favour of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP).The poll body also ordered the transfer of Srinivas Rao, the Circle Inspector of Tadepalli in Guntur district.Speaking to ANI, EC officials, while confirming the transfers, said the two officers have been assigned non-election duties.It may be noted that Tadepalli falls under Mangalagiri assembly constituency, the seat from where the state's IT minister Nara Lokesh will be contesting in the impending polls.Earlier, the ...