Where opposites meet sky

China’s top diplomat on Saturday arrived on his first visit to Myanmar since the military seized power last year to attend a regional meeting that the government said was a recognition of its legitimacy and opponents protested as a violation of peace efforts. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will join counterparts from Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam in a meeting of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation group in the central city of Bagan, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The grouping is a Chinese-led initiative that includes the countries of the Mekong Delta, a potential source of regional tensions due to an increasing number of hydroelectric projects that are altering the flow and raising concerns of ecological damage. China has built 10 dams along the upper stretch of the Mekong, the part it calls the Langcang. Military government spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told a news conference in the capital Naypyitaw on Friday that the attendance of the foreign ministers at the … [Read more...] about China’s top diplomat visits Myanmar amid opposition protest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing a public meeting titled as ‘Vijay Sankalpa Sabha’ at Parade Grounds in Secunderabad here on July 3. As the title of the meeting suggests, PM Modi may sound the poll bugle for the 2023 Assembly polls in Telangana to prepare the BJP cadre for the electoral contest. Modi, who landed here on Saturday to attend the BJP’s two-day National Executive Committee meeting, will address the rally on Sunday evening. During his last visit to the city on May 26, Modi, indirectly referring to TRS party, lashed out at family politics saying ‘parivaarvadi’ is democracy’s “greatest enemy”. He had expressed confidence that the BJP would storm to power in the state in the next assembly elections. According to political pundits, Modi is expected to continue his tirade against Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and the ruling TRS. Rao, popularly known as KCR, on Saturday in a party meeting in support of opposition parties’ presidential candidate Yashwant … [Read more...] about PM Modi to Address Public Meeting in Hyderabad on July 3

With the Capital receiving its first monsoon showers on Thursday, waterlogging was reported in many areas, including the Pragati Maidan tunnel, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on June 19, and its surrounding roads, leading to traffic congestion in many parts of Delhi. The 1.3-km-long tunnel, which is part of the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor project, is aimed at providing improved connectivity between the central and eastern parts of the Capital with the satellite towns of Noida and Ghaziabad. The project was entirely funded by the Centre and has been built by the Public Works Department (PWD) at a cost of over ₹920 crore. One of the men working at the site said the waterlogging was caused due to plastic waste clogging up the drains. “Two teams of five people each were involved in manually removing the waste from the drains. One set of workers attended to the waterlogging at the stretch towards ITO, while another was deployed on the stretch towards … [Read more...] about Traffic grinds to a halt as monsoon hits Delhi

Fintech unicorn RazorPay wants to install a statue of a “unicorn with wings/flying horse” in Cubbon Park, while the Consulate General of Switzerland wants to introduce “Barn Parcours”, a fitness training loop pathway. Walkers as well as environmental and heritage activists have opposed them. The Department of Horticulture, and the Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology jointly held a public consultation meeting on the unicorn with wings statue project on Saturday. A similar meeting will be held on Sunday morning over the Swiss consulate project, which is also called “Bengaluru Moves”. “There is widespread opposition to any private initiatives and interventions in Cubbon Park. We do not want any such corporate initiatives in the park area,” said S. Umesh, president, Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association. While there is widespread opposition to the statue coming up, many are open to the Bengaluru Moves project, which will only add a fitness trail … [Read more...] about Walkers, activists oppose private projects in Cubbon Park

A delegation of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) legislators on Saturday met the Opposition’s Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha and expressed their support for him, ahead of the election slated for July 18. “Four MLAs—Ahmed Balala, Kausar Mohiuddin, Mumtaz Khan and Moazzam Khan—met Mr. Sinha. They said that as per our party president’s decision, they would support him in the Presidential elections,” a party source familiar with the development told The Hindu . On June 27, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi announced that his party would support Mr. Sinha’s candidature. “AIMIM legislators will be voting for opposition candidate @YashwantSinha in the #PresidentialElections. Mr Sinha spoke to me on a call earlier as well,” Mr. Owaisi had tweeted. Party sources said that AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi was not present at the meeting as he was addressing a public meeting in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, where municipal polls are due on July 6. “We have fielded 11 … [Read more...] about Telangana: AIMIM extends support to Yashwant Sinha

Accusing the State government of not delivering on the promises made, pourakarmikas have decided to continue their strike indefinitely till all assurances have been committed to in writing. They alleged that promises made by the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in the meeting on Friday found no mention in the minutes of the meeting officials shared with them on Saturday. The strike will continue for the third day on Sunday. “The Chief Minister had agreed to bring pourakarmikas on payroll and bring loading and unloading helpers on direct payment. He had also agreed to provide ₹10 lakh to those pourakarmikas who retire after 60 years. We also received assurances on scholarships for children of pourakarmikas and others. But when we received the letter, there was no reference about these promises made and many things have been left out. We want the State government to include all the promises that were made, and the Chief Minister must come in person and give the letter. We will continue … [Read more...] about Pourkarmikas say promises not kept; decide to continue strike

Fissures in the Telangana Congress came to the fore yet again when the former MP V. Hanumantha Rao went to the Begumpet Airport to welcome the Opposition parties’ Presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha despite the party deciding to stay away from his meeting. While Mr. Rao’s act evoked a strong response from the supporters of Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president A. Revanth Reddy, who said it was acting against the party’s interests. What was the need for Mr. Hanumantha Rao to go to the airport when he was not even a voter in the Presidential election, and also after the party took a decision to stay away from the event, which the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had made a personal affair, argued the party leaders. However, Sangareddy MLA, T. Jayaprakash Reddy did not find anything wrong in Mr. Rao’s move stating that Mr. Sinha was supported by the Congress. “In fact, I also wanted to meet him as an MLA and sought an appointment, but could not get one due to paucity … [Read more...] about Sinha visit: Differences in Congress come to the fore

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K. Chandrasekhar Rao has appealed to the electors of the Presidential election, scheduled to be held on July 18, to vote as per their conscience after weighing the two candidates in the fray, and not based on their political affiliation. Addressing a meeting of TRS MPs, MLAs, MLCs, its State executive committee members and other senior leaders of the party convened in support of Yashwant Sinha, the candidate fielded by the Opposition, here on Saturday, the Telangana Chief Minister said Mr. Sinha’s candidature outweighs that of his rival’s as he was a towering personality. “He (Mr. Sinha) is an honest politician and an able administrator who handled the key portfolios of finance and external affairs in the Union Cabinet in the A.B. Vajpayee Government,” Mr. Rao said. In an appeal to all Parliamentarians in the country, the TRS chief said that there was a democratic practice in the country of voting as per conscience on some occasions and … [Read more...] about Telangana: KCR asks TRS legislators to vote as per conscience during Presidential poll

Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived Thursday in Hong Kong to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the British handover of a city that his rule has transformed from a global hub known for its political freedoms to one that is much more tightly controlled by the Communist Party. In a staged event carried live on Chinese TV, students and others lined the platform of a high-speed rail station and packed a red carpet to greet the leader making his first trip outside of mainland China in nearly 2 ½ years — a choice that underscored Hong Kong's ever-closer ties to the mainland. Waving small red Chinese and Hong Kong flags, the students chanted “Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!” while city leader Carrie Lam greeted Mr. Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. Under Mr. Xi's leadership, China has reshaped Hong Kong, cracking down on protests, imposing a strict national security law used to silence dissent, introducing a more "patriotic" curriculum in schools, and revamping election laws to keep opposition … [Read more...] about China’s Xi visits changed Hong Kong for handover anniversary

BJP State general secretary S. Vishnuvardhan Reddy has said that leaders of all political parties have been invited to the programme being attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bhimavaram on July 4 as it is an official event being organised under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture. Addressing the media here on Saturday, Mr. Vishnuvardhan Reddy said that Mr. Modi would reach the Gannavaram airport from Begumpet in Hyderabad at 10.10 a.m. and leave for Bhimavaram by a helicopter to participate in the 125th birth anniversary celebrations of freedom fighter Alluri Sitharama Raju. He would unveil a bronze statue of the revolutionary freedom fighter at 11 a.m. and address the gathering. Mr. Vishnuvardhan Reddy said invitations were extended to poets, artistes, and singers as well. N. Chandrababu Naidu was invited not as TDP president but as Leader of the Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Similarly, Union Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy … [Read more...] about Andhra Pradesh: Leaders of all parties invited to PM’s programme, says BJP leader