Political News – Newsletter for November 29, 2010

Assam polls: Congress, ally in ‘friendly contest’

GUWAHATI – The ruling Congress party and its coalition partner Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) would put up candidates against each other in next year’s elections to the Assam assembly although it would be a “friendly contest”.

“We would be fielding our candidates in the Bodo heartland and same time the BPF would also be …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Assam polls: Congress, ally in ‘friendly contest’.

CPI-M wants Kerala assembly polls in April

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM – The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Monday informed the visiting Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla that it wanted the forthcoming Kerala assembly elections to be held in a single phase in April next year.

Elections should not happen during the months of February or March because parents and children would be busy …. Original article  : CPI-M wants Kerala assembly polls in April.

Haiti Elections 2010 Claimed As Fraud

PORT-AU-PRINCE (GaeaTimes.com)- Much anticipated election of 2010 at Haiti ended on Sunday but within the hours of its successful ending, the candidates demanded a re-election calling it to a “massive fraud”. The candidates claimed that President Rene Preval tried his best to steal the election and choose his best candidate Jude Celestin for the … Read more »».

Visit visas misused for illegal migration, says minister

NEW DELHI – Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi Monday called for a check on the “misuse of visit visas”, citing it as one of the main reasons for illegal migration to Arab countries.

“The agents fleece the workers, issuing them these visas and once the visa expires, they become more or less like indentured …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Visit visas misused for illegal migration, says minister.

Full text of Jaganmohan Reddy’s letter to Sonia Gandhi

HYDERABAD – The following is the text of an open letter written by Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy to Congress president Sonia Gandhi Monday while resigning from the Congress party and parliament:

Respected Madam,
I am writing this letter to you with a very heavy heart and deep anguish. I have been suffering humiliation in silence during … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Full text of Jaganmohan Reddy’s letter to Sonia Gandhi.

Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy Resigns

HYDERABAD, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- Congress leader Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy gave his resignation as the party Member of Parliament on Monday. The Congress leader who is also the son of the former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, announced that he was resigning from the post of the party MP in a letter that was … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy Resigns.

President Lee Myung-bak Criticizes North Korea’s Attack

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (GaeaTimes.com)- With tension heightening in the Korean peninsula in the wake of the artillery duel between North Korea and South Korea, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak addressed the nation on Monday in which he described North Korea’s attack as ‘inhumane.’ The South Korean President had come under the scanner supposedly for … Read more >>>.

Geelani rubbishes Kashmir interlocutor’s suggestion

SRINAGAR – Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani Monday said there was no ambiguity in his five-point proposal on Kashmir and interlocutor Dilip Padgaonkar was trying to create confusion just like the central government had done for decades.

“There is no ambiguity in my proposals as these are clear,” said Geelani, a hardline separatist, reacting to … Read more »»».

Jaganmohan’s resignation will not affect us, says Congress MP

NEW DELHI – Congress leader V. Hanumatha Rao Monday said the resignation of party MP Jaganmohan Reddy will have “no effect on the Congress” in Andhra Pradesh, adding that the party was “very strong”.

Rao, a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh, said only a few people close to Jaganmohan may quit following his resignation, [..] Read the original article: here.

WikiLeaks Publishes U.S. Diplomatic Cables

WASHINGTON (GaeaTimes.com)-The whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks is hogging the spotlight once again after it published about a quarter-million of United States diplomatic cables that are highly confidential. The whistle-blowing site had revealed late last week that it was all set to bring into the limelight certain confidential documents of the U.S. State Department that would …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Tony Blair ‘loved to drink while travelling’

LONDON – Journalist Robert Harris has revealed that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair loved a tipple while travelling.

Harris said in an interview for BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs how the former Labour Prime Minister felt the lack of a drinking companion – neither his wife Cherie nor his former communications chief Alastair Campbell … Read more »».

Parliament closes without business for 12th day

NEW DELHI – Both houses of parliament were adjourned Monday, again without conducting any business, as the stalemate over appointing a joint parliamentary committee to probe the alleged scam in 2G spectrum allotment continued for the 12th day.

The government’s every effort to break the logjam has yielded no result and question hours in … Original source on Gaea Times at : Parliament closes without business for 12th day.

Jagan quits Congress with mother, also resigns as MP

HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI – Fourteen months after Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash, his son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy Monday resigned from the Congress and from parliament. Jagan’s mother Vijayalakshmi also quit the Congress as well as her Andhra Pradesh assembly seat.

However, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters in the national capital that he … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Jagan quits Congress with mother, also resigns as MP.

Mandela was angry at being banned from meeting UK PM Thatcher

LONDON – Former South African President Nelson Mandela was furious that he was banned from meeting former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and wanted to criticise her policies to her face, according to a leaked secret cable from WikiLeaks.

Plans to meet Mrs Thatcher in 1990 just months after he was released after 27 years in …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Mandela was angry at being banned from meeting UK PM Thatcher.

WikiLeaks: Physically and politically weak Berlusconi had wild parties in Italy

LONDON – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is said to have hosted numerous “wild parties” to cover his physical and political weaknesses, cables of the secret web site WikiLeaks reveal.

American diplomats, who interacted with him during their postings in Rome, describe Berlusconi as a “feckless, vain, and ineffective” leader in modern Europe.

They also accuse him … Read : WikiLeaks: Physically and politically weak Berlusconi had wild parties in Italy.

Escort reveals Berlusconi’s ‘bunga bunga’ parties full of young girls

LONDON – An escort, who was apparently paid 8,500 pounds to spend two nights with the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has revealed that his parties were ‘full of young girls’.

Nadia Macri said she was personally called by Berlusconi, and invited to a party he was hosting and how he described himself as “the dream … Read more >>>.

WikiLeaks Disclosure: Sarkozy, an emperor sans clothes, Putin, an alpha dog

LONDON – Disclosures by the secret web site WikiLeaks have revealed that the Obama administration and its representatives in various foreign capitals described French President Nicholas Sarkozy as an “Emperor without clothes”, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as ‘Hitler’ and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as an “Alpha Dog”.

The disclosures, which have left Washington red-faced and …. Source  : WikiLeaks Disclosure: Sarkozy, an emperor sans clothes, Putin, an alpha dog.

Jagan quits Congress and parliament, mother resigns as MLA

HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI – Unhappy with the appointment of Kiran Kumar Reddy as the Andhra Pradesh chief minister and attempts to split his camp, Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Monday quit the Congress and from parliament. His mother Vijayalakshmi has also resigned as member of the state assembly.
… Original article on : Jagan quits Congress and parliament, mother resigns as MLA.

No question hour in parliament for 12th day

NEW DELHI – Question hour was derailed in both houses of parliament for the 12th day Monday as an unrelenting opposition persisted with its demand for a parliamentary panel probe into the controversial 2G spectrum allotment.

Peace prevailed briefly in the Lok Sabha when Speaker Meira Kumar asked MPs to join her in congratulating Indian …. Read the original article  : here.

WikiLeaks disclosures involve 3000 cables from Delhi to Washington

WASHINGTON – Among a cache of a quarter-million State Department cables released by WikiLeaks, 3,038 are from the US embassy in India, but no details were immediately available on the whistleblower website. Other cables pertain to communications from US missions in Islamabad, Colombo and Kathmandu.

India was one of the countries reached out by [..] Read the original article: here.