Tag: country-world news

Senior BJP leader and MP Sushil Modi took a swipe at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ahead of opposition parties’ meeting in Patna on June 12, saying his efforts are merely aimed at keeping him in headlines as the balloon of their unity exercise has already been punctured. Kumar, the face of the Janata Dal (United), may organise any number of meetings of opposition parties, but it is clear that his unity exercise is not working on the ground, he said.

Modi noted that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee got the lone Congress MLA in the state inducted into her party recently and was accused by Jairam Ramesh of being a B-team of the BJP. The Congress has been asked by its Punjab and Delhi leaders to have no truck with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he added, pointing out that the main opposition party and the BSP also ruled out any support to the Samajwadi Party in the recent MLC polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Kejriwal wanted to meet Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to seek support on the Delhi ordinance issue, but Gandhi went to the US without meeting him, the BJP leader said, highlighting the conflicts in the opposition ranks. “Kumar may organise as many meetings as he wants, but will the Left and the Congress join hands in Kerala, or the AAP and the Congress in Delhi, or the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Congress in Telangana,” the former Bihar chief minister asked, asserting that no regional party will cede any space to the main opposition party as it poses existential threat to them.

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing sexual harassment allegations, on Thursday said the women wrestlers are changing their demands since they started their protest against him, asserting that the charges are already being probed by the Delhi Police.

“Police is probing the matter. Let it complete. Whatever comes in it, I will act accordingly,” Singh, who is also the BJP MP, said at a press conference here. “I request you with folded hands that unnecessary questions should not be asked to me,” he told the reporters.

He reiterated that if the charges levelled against him by women wrestlers were proved in the Delhi Police probe, he would hang himself. The WFI chief claimed that the protesting wrestlers have been changing their demands. “When the wrestlers sat on a dharna at Jantar Mantar on January 18, they had put forward some demands. After some days, the demands were changed. They are changing their demands. I had asked women wrestlers what I did to them and when and where, but there is no concrete statement on this,” he said.

Replying to a question, the Kaiserganj MP said, “I have nothing to do with who is saying what against me and reacting to it will not going to be of any help.” On Tuesday, Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, and Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat went to Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar along with their supporters to throw their medals in the Ganga. However, they relented after khap and farmer leaders sought five days’ time to address their grievances. The Delhi Police has filed two FIRs against Singh. While the first FIR relates to allegations by a minor wrestler and has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the second is related to outraging modesty.

Tom Holland and Zendaya are set to reunite on-screen once again, as the fourth installment of Spider-Man is currently in the works. Producer Amy Pascal recently provided an update on the highly anticipated film. Pascal, who is currently busy promoting her film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, shared insights in an interview with Variety. She confirmed that Spider-Man 4 is indeed going to happen, but it is currently on hold due to the ongoing writer’s strike.

Pascal explained that the writer’s strike has temporarily halted the production of the movie, as no one is working during the strike. However, she expressed confidence in the project, assuring fans that another Spider-Man movie will be made. She emphasized that once the writers resolve the labor dispute and resume work, they will move forward with the production of Spider-Man 4. Pascal also hinted at two other exciting projects: a live-action movie featuring Miles Morales’ Spider-Man and a Spider-Woman film. She mentioned that the latter film is expected to arrive sooner than anticipated.

The writer’s strike, initiated by the Writer’s Guild of America in May 2023, has created an ongoing labor dispute with AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers), involving approximately 11,500 writers. Despite weeks of continuous discussions, no agreement has been reached thus far. As fans eagerly await the continuation of the Spider-Man franchise and the introduction of new characters, the industry remains hopeful for a resolution to the writer’s strike, allowing the production of these highly anticipated films to commence.

About Tom Holland and Zendaya’s relationship
Tom Holland and Zendaya fell in love while shooting for Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016. Soon, they began dating. The couple made their relationship official when Tom addressed Zendaya as “My MJ” in September 2021. The couple is going strong and is keeping their relationship away from the public eye. They avoid speaking about each other but their romantic gestures towards each other say otherwise.

On the work front, Tom is all set to appear in Crowded Room. The series stars Amanda Seyfried, Sasha Lane, Will Chase, Lior Raz, Laila Robins, Christopher Abbott, and Henry Eikenberry. It will air on June 9. On the other hand, Zendaya is busy with Euphoria season 3.

TMC MPs on Thursday walked out of a parliamentary standing committee meeting after their demand to discuss safegaurds provided for women sports persons by various sports federations in the light of the allegations made by protesting wrestlers was deemed to be “outside the meeting’s agenda” by its chairman BJP MP Vivek Thakur, sources said.

TMC MPs Sushmita Dev and Asit Kumar Mal staged the walkout after the party raised the issue of safety of women sports persons at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, and asked if internal complaints committees were formed at different sports federations and if they were active, they said.

Congress MP Akhilesh Singh, three others from the BJP and M Thambidurai of the AIADMK were present at the meeting attended by Secretary (Sports) Sujata Chaturvedi; Sandeep Pradhan, Director General, Sports Authority of India; Cdre (Retd) P K Garg, CEO, TOPS; R C Mishra, Vice Chancellor, National Sports University; Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, among others. Sources said the Secretary, Sports informed Dev that the government has no role in the functioning of sports federations and any interference by the dispensation in these federations will be against the spirit guiding sports administration globally.

Panel chairman Thakur is believed to have informed Dev that the issue was not on the agenda for the meeting. “This is not part of the agenda for the meeting and the matter is anyway subjudice so the committee cannot discuss it. It is clarified that today’s agenda is India’s preparedness for next Olympics,” the BJP MP is believed to have said in response to Dev’s queries.

Upon this, the duo of Dev and Mal walked out. While Congress’ Singh supported Dev, he did not follow them out, sources said. “When West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is on the streets, as a member of this standing committee on women and children, I felt compelled to walk out of the meeting because the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has failed to act. I could not have sat around as a mute spectator as the standing committee is a watchdog of public policy and not the ‘pet dog’ of the government,” Dev said.

The TMC MP had on May 9 written to Thakur on the allegations of sexual harassment by women wrestlers and said the committee should take a review of the implementation of all statutory laws that applied to the sports federations and other bodies and the role of the sports ministry in this regard. She also requested that a meeting of the committee be held with a specific agenda that ensures a thorough review of this issue.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 3rd June 2023 will virtually flag off the inaugural run of the Goa-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express from Madgaon railway station, officials said. It will be the 19th semi-high speed Vande Bharat train in the country; a fourth train to run from Mumbai and a fifth one to run from Maharashtra.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will be among those present for the function at the Madgaon railway station. The prime minister will show the green flag through video link to the train around 10.45 am and the train is likely to reach Mumbai around 6.30 pm, railway officials said here.

The regular service of the Mumbai-Goa train is expected to start from the next week. It will run six days a week except on Friday, railway officials said. Though its regular timetable has not been released, the train is likely to depart from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai at 5.25 am and reach Madgaon at 1.15 pm, they said.

The train will depart from Madgaon on the same day at 2.35 pm and reach CSMT at 10.25 pm. It is likely to halt at seven stations: Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Khed, Ratnagiri, Kankawali and Thivim. During a trial between CSMT and Madgaon on May 16, the train had covered the distance in around seven hours.

Telangana Chief Minister and BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao has given up his efforts to unite opposition parties against the ruing BJP at the centre and instead is focusing on presenting the ‘Telangana development model’ to the country, party working president and Minister KT Rama Rao said on Thursday.

Rama Rao’s comments came amid various efforts by his father KCR to spread the wings of his party BRS at the national level. Talking to reporters, KTR indirectly referred to the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said the country does not need opposition unity on the basis of blind hatred against one party or one man, but on a positive model of governance.

“What we are saying is after trying everything, after attempting everything, we have come to the conclusion that a new national party (will be taken to the national level), because there is a huge vacuum in this country. The principal has opposition failed miserably,” he said.

KCR had earlier met several leaders including some of the chief ministers of other states such as M K Stalin (Tamil Nadu), Nitish Kumar (Bihar) and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) in a bid to unite non-BJP non-Congress parties, alleging that both the national parties failed to develop the country. KCR has addressed three or four public meetings in Maharashtra since the announcement of his party’s national foray (then TRS) and several leaders from the neighbouring state have joined the BRS since then.

On the Karnataka Assembly poll results, he said it was not a congress victory but the rejection of the incumbent government. Exuding confidence that BRS will form the government in the next Assembly polls, KTR said his father would certainly become the chief minister for the third time and the party will win 90-100 seats in the 119-member House.

He narrated the achievements of the BRS government in the past nine years and said that the KCR regime had proved that it did better than what the previous government accomplished. The BRS leader also said the Modi Government could not achieve anything by implementing demonetisation in 2016.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” in New Delhi on Thursday, June 1, 2023, and inaugurated the e-plaque for the Kurtha-Bijalpura stretch of the Indian Railways. The Indian Railway cargo train from Bathnaha in Bihar to the Nepal Custom yard was jointly flagged off by the two leaders.

The integrated checkpoints, which were constructed with India’s support and are located at Rupaidiha in India and Nepalgunj in Nepal, were jointly opened by PM Modi and Dahal. The integrated checkpoints at Sonauli in India and Bhairahawa in Nepal were also unveiled by the two heads of state.

“The religious and cultural ties between India and Nepal are very old and strong. To further strengthen this beautiful link, Prime Minister Prachanda ji and I have decided that projects related to Ramayana Circuit should be expedited. We will keep working to take our relationship to the height of the Himalayas. And in this spirit, we will resolve all the issues, be it boundary related or any other issue,” PM Modi said.

Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, on Thursday, met with veteran BJP leader and former CM BS Yediyurappa at the latter’s residence in Dollars Colony in Bengaluru. This was the first meeting of Shivakumar with the Lingayat strongman since Congress registered a historic victory in the Karnataka assembly elections on May 13.

Both Shivakumar (61) and Yediyurappa (80) are credited with expanding the Congress and the BJP respectively in Karnataka. While Yediyurappa made parts of Karnataka a stronghold for the BJP long before 2007 when the first of his four CM terms began, Shivakumar brought the Congress party back to power in 2023. In the 2023 assembly elections, Shivakumar asserted his dominance as a strongman thanks to his victory in the Kanakpura constituency with a margin of over one lakh votes. On the other hand, Yediyurappa did not contest the election but his influence in the Shikaripura constituency was visible since his son BY Vijayendra won by a margin of over 81,000 votes.

Outside of the political front, both Shivakumar and Yediyurappa have maintained cordial relations with each other. This is not the first time Shivakumar paid a visit to Yediyurappa as he met the latter in January 2022 to express condolences to the BJP veteran on the demise of his granddaughter. Besides, Shivakumar has also alleged in the past that the former CM was being harassed by BJP members. He even claimed that “tears of BSY have flown on the streets of Karnataka. BSY is under huge pressure from his own party and agencies.”

Yediyurappa, on the other hand, is hopeful about the BJP’s return in Karnataka. “We will introspect the party’s setback,” he said after the results were announced. Experts believe that his inactivity in campaigning for the BJP due to old age cost the saffron party its government in the southern state.

Ridiculing the Rajasthan government’s decision to provide 100 units electricity free per month to every household, the opposition BJP on Thursday claimed Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot keeps on making such announcements without fulfilling them. Earlier, only households consuming up to 100 units got electricity free.

Gehlot had on Wednesday announced waiving charges for the first 100 units of electricity for households irrespective of total consumption per month. BJP MLA and party spokesperson Ramlal Sharma said all three DISCOMs in the state are under heavy debt and the Congress government’s latest offer will only add to their woes.

Countering the charges, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said the move is aimed at providing relief to people from inflation. “The announcement will certainly provide relief to people who are reeling under high inflation due to the policies of the central government. The Rajasthan government, on the other hand, is working on giving relief to people and carry out development work,” he said.

Hitting out at the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused it of following a policy of misleading the poor and keeping them deprived during its rule.

“Fifty years ago, the Congress guaranteed that it will remove poverty. But it turned out to be their biggest betrayal to the poor,” he said at a rally in Ajmer.

The rally was organised to mark the completion of nine years of the Modi government across its two terms.

The nine years of the BJP government were dedicated to the service of people, good governance, and welfare of poor, he said.

Modi said that before 2014, people were on the streets against corruption and terror attacks rocked major cities while the Congress ran the government by remote control.

During its rule, the Congress developed a corrupt system that “sucked the blood of the country” and hindered development, he said.

Now, the prime minister said, people across the world are talking about India, and experts are saying India is very close to ending extreme poverty.