Asia Sunday, May 5, 2019 09

PMO monitoring Rafale deal not parallel Satisfaction with Duterte rule climbs to fresh record high: Survey to negotiations, govt tells top court philstar Filipino adults showed 81% “excellent.” The latest read- Indianexpress.com Office (PMO) cannot be ‘con- Hon’ble Raksha Mantri had re- MANILA of respondents satisfied and ing was two points above the islamabad strued as interference or paral- corded on file that …’it appears 9% dissatisfied with the per- previous record of “excellent” lel negotiations’, the Centre told that PMO and French Presi- Public satisfaction with formance of the Duterte gov- +70 in December 2017, and In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on Satur- dent’s office are monitoring the the administration of Presi- ernment. The remaining 10% six points higher than the the apex court, the govern- day, news agency ANI reported. progress of the issues which dent Rodrigo Duterte soared were undecided. “very good” +66 registered in ment said, “The monitoring Advertising In an affidavit was an outcome of the summit to a fresh record high in the That yielded a net satisfac- the preceding quarter. of the progress by PMO of this submitted to the apex court, the meeting’,” the affidavit read. first quarter, according to a tion rating — which the poll- Based on SWS methodol- Government to Government government said, “The moni- The Centre’s remarks came new Social Weather Stations ster calculated by subtracting ogy for net satisfaction rat- process cannot be construed as toring of the progress by PMO after a bench headed by the survey released more than a the proportion of respondents ings, a score of 70 and above interference or parallel negotia- of this Government to Govern- Chief Justice of India Ranjan week before the May 13 mid- who are satisfied from those is considered excellent, 50 to tions.” The ‘monitoring of pro- ment process cannot be con- Gogoi sought a response today term elections. Results of a who are dissatisfied — of +72, 69 is very good, 30-49 good gress’ of the contentious Rafale strued as interference or par- to petitions seeking review of its March 28 to 31 poll of 1,440 which the SWS classified as President Rodrigo Duterte. and 10-29 moderate. deal by the Prime Minister’s allel negotiations.” “The then December 14, 2018 order.

Over 1mn shifted to safety as Rahul accuses Indian poll body Cyclone Fani swipes B’desh; death toll in India climbs to 12 Reuters reported that at least 12 people BHUBANESWAR, India/DHAKA had died across the state, with of bias in giving Modi clean chit most deaths caused by falling The strongest cyclone to trees, but a mass evacuation hit India in five years killed of 1.2 million people in the 24 Congress chief alleges that BJP and RSS are putting pressure on all major institutions including EC at least 12 people in eastern hours before the tropical cy- Odisha state, before swinging clone made landfall averted a NDTV north-eastwards into Bangla- greater loss of life. New desh on Saturday where more The seaside temple town than a million people have of Puri, which lay directly Congress chief Rahul Gan- been moved to safety. in the path of Fani, suf- dhi today accused the Elec- Having hit land, tropical fered extensive damage, as tion Commission of being cyclone Fani had lost some winds gusting up to 200 kph “completely biased” against of its power and was down- (124 mph) tore of tin roofs, the opposition, a day after graded to a ‘Deep Depression’ snapped power lines, and up- the poll body gave clean chits by the Indian Meteorological rooted trees on Friday. to Prime Minister Narendra Department. A storm surge “Destruction is unimagi- Modi and BJP chief Amit still breached embankments nable... Puri is devastated,” Shah over allegations of poll to submerge dozens of villag- Odisha’s Special Relief Com- code violations. es on Bangladesh’s low-lying missioner Bishnupada Sethi The Election Commission coast, a disaster ministry offi- told Reuters, adding that 116 gave clean chits despite dis- cial in Dhaka said. people were reported injured sension from one of the elec- About 1.2 million people across the state. tion commissioners in the living in the most vulnerable Video footage taken from “full Election Commission” districts in Bangladesh had an Indian navy aircraft showed headed by Chief Election been moved to some 4,000 extensive inundation in ar- Commissioner Sunil Arora. shelters. eas around Puri, with wide “When it comes to issues The storm destroyed sev- swathes of land submerged in of the BJP, the EC is abso- eral houses in the Noakhali the aftermath of the storm. lutely on the straight line, district, where a two-year-old At least six people died in when it comes to the opposi- child was killed and about 30 Bhubaneswar, Odisha’s state tion’s issues, it is completely people were injured, local offi- capital, where fallen trees biased,” Mr Gandhi said at a cial Tanmoy Das told Reuters. blocked roads and electricity press conference in New Del- In India, authorities were supply was still to be fully re- hi today. assessing the casualties and stored. The Congress President damage left behind by cyclone Ashok Patnaik, director of also alleged that the ruling Fani, which had spent days Capital Hospital, one of the BJP and its ideological men- churning slowly, building pow- largest state-run hospitals in n tor, the Rashtriya Swayamse- er over the northern reaches of Bhubaneswar, said four people vak Sangh (RSS), are putting the Bay of Bengal before tear- were received dead on Friday pressure on all the major in- ing into Odisha. Indian media and two on Saturday. stitutions, including the Elec- (File photo) Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi accuses the Election Commission of being ‘completely biased’ against the opposition. tion Commission. “This is evident every- let PM Modi and Amit Shah questioned Rahul Gandhi’s Pakistan,” was also not unani- where–SC, EC, Planning Com- off the hook for their com- selection of the Wayanad Lok mous, NDTV has learnt. mission, RBI. That is their ap- ments. Sabha seat as pandering to Senior Congress leader P proach. We do not expect that The five rulings where dis- This is evident every- minorities, in speeches in Ma- Chidambaram said the dis- the EC will not be affected by sent was expressed included where–SC, EC, Planning harashtra. senting view showed “the that pressure,” Rahul Gandhi two separate instances where Commission, RBI. That is Decision on Amit Shah’s fear of Modi-Shah” is finally said. The recent clean chits by the Prime Minister sought their approach. We do comments in Nagpur, also weakening. The “full com- the poll body has raised ques- votes in the name of the sol- not expect that the EC on Wayanad, where he said, mission”, which takes such tions over its impartiality. diers killed in the Pulwama “Rahul Gandhi is contesting decisions, comprises Chief NDTV has learnt that terror attacks, in speeches in will not be affected by in such a place where it is Election Commissioner Sunil on five occasions, one of the Maharastra and Karnataka that pressure impossible to say when a pro- Arora and fellow election People gather next to storm-damaged buildings and palm trees in three commissioners dissent- and two separate instances Rahul Gandhi cession is taken out, whether commissioners Ashok Lavasa Puri in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, on Saturday, after Cyclone ed with the majority view to where the Prime Minister it is a procession in India or and Sushil Chandra. Fani swept through the area. (AFP)

News US ready for ‘all sides’ in Afghan Qureshi trashes reports China is building army bases in Pakistan in brief war to lay down arms: Khalilzad tribune.com.pk ship and similar strategic to list Jaish-e-Muhammad Former Philippine AFP Taliban security guarantees. islamabad interests, such as Pakistan, (JeM) chief Maulana Masood speaker Nograles Doha “All sides laying down arms is and in which there is a prec- Azhar as a global terrorist. passes away at 71 the outcome of any peace pro- Foreign Minister Shah edent for hosting foreign Commenting on Pash- The US special envoy tasked cess,” Khalilzad tweeted. Mehmood Qureshi has re- militaries. tun Tahafuz Movement MANILA: Former House with forging a peace deal with “All sides agreeing to re- futed reports that Beijing is “The baseless claims are (PTM), he said no one can Speaker Prospero Nograles the Taliban said Saturday that duce violence is a necessary mulling setting up military being spread by the enemies cast doubts on patriotism of has passed away, his family America stands ready for “all step toward achieving that bases in Pakistan. of Pakistan including India,” residents of erstwhile FATA, confirmed Saturday. He was sides” to lay down arms in the outcome and the morally re- On Thursday, the United Foreign Minister Qureshi who he added, had always 71.“Our family would like to 17-year conflict. sponsible choice to make. We States Defense Department said while speaking to the been a part of Pakistan. express our deepest grati- Peace envoy Zalmay Khal- stand ready.” Khalilzad’s com- had stated that China was Pakistan FM Shah Mehmood Qureshi. media in Multan on Satur- “[However] our secu- tude to all of you for being ilzad is leading the latest round ments come a day after Af- seeking to establish military day. rity agencies have evidence a part of Papa Boy Nogie’s of talks with the Taliban, ghan President Ashraf Ghani bases around the world to port said that China will The minister said that against certain individuals life and journey,” read a where the two foes are pursu- said he was prepared to call an protect its investments in seek to establish additional had also failed to for receiving funding from statement from Nograles’ ing a deal that would see the “immediate” and “permanent” its ambitious One Belt One military bases in countries link the Pulwama incident Afghan and Indian intelli- son, Cabinet Secretary Karlo withdrawal of foreign forces ceasefire -- but the Taliban ap- Road global infrastructure with which it has a long- with the United Nations Se- gence agencies … they want Nograles. “Papa passed away from Afghanistan in return for peared to rebuff the offer. program. The Pentagon re- standing friendly relation- curity Council resolution to destabilise the country.” peacefully, surrounded by his family. May we please ask for your continued prayers,” he added. (philstar) Ban on Azhar not to Thai king crowned amid dazzling pomp and pageantry impact ties with US: Pakistani envoy AFP since 1782. He ascended the topped by a diamond from emotions,” said Jakarin Kerd- Bangkok throne over two years ago fol- India. Uttering his first, brief chok, 16, a volunteer student WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s lowing the death of his beloved royal command he vowed to taking photos near the palace. ambassador to the United King Maha Vajiralongkorn, father, but waited until after a reign “with righteousness” for Hundreds of state officials States Dr Asad Majeed Khan Rama X of Thailand, was long mourning period before the benefit of the Thai people. in immaculate white uniforms said that the United Nations crowned Saturday in a daz- setting his coronation date. His fourth wife, Suthi- lined the streets around the sanctions on Jaish-e-Moham- zling show of pageantry, laced Saturday’s sombre cer- da –married in a surprise Grand Palace. But only a mod- med Chief Masood Azhar will with Hindu and Buddhist emony opened with the white- ceremony days before the est number of civilians braved not affect the relations be- ritual, vowing to reign “with gowned king–the folds of his coronation–was invested as the hot sun for the royal convoy. tween the US and Pakistan. righteousness” on behalf of robe leaving one shoulder Queen, kneeling in respect “I’m really happy and “We want good relations with the Thai people. bared–receiving sacred wa- in front of her husband who proud because as citizens, we US,” Dr Majeed said. “Paki- Starting at the auspi- ter from across Thailand and sat on a throne. have the best king and queen stan is against terrorism and cious time of 10:09 am (0309 dabbing it gently across his For most Thais, it is the in Thailand or even the world,” we are taking steps to curb GMT), the public was granted face at a shrine inside the Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn is transported on the royal palanquin first time they have witnessed said Pornthip Pongsai, a resi- terrorism in the country ac- a rare window into the clois- Grand Palace complex. during his visit to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha to proclaim himself the pomp and grandeur of a dent of Ang Thong province cording to the National Action tered halls of Thai power as A cannon salute marked the Royal Patron of Buddhism, in Bangkok, on Saturday. (REUTERS) coronation–the last was in who travelled hours to catch a Plan.” “Those steps are not the key rituals of the three-day the moment as pipes played 1950 for the king’s beloved fa- glimpse. The king held a grand to make anyone happy but it coronation began. and Buddhist monks chanted. ny, which symbolises Rama der the umbrella of state and ther Bhumibol Adulyadej. audience with members of the is for our own need,” he as- King Vajiralongkorn is the Several grey-haired Hindu X’s transformation from a hu- was handed the Great Crown “I’m excited to have a royal family, the privy council serted. (ARYNEWS) tenth monarch of the Chakri Brahmins were also in attend- man to divine figure. of Victory, a tiered gold 7.3-kil- chance to be a part of this... and senior officials later in the dynasty, which has reigned ance at the syncretic ceremo- He later took his seat un- ogram (16-pound) headpiece I’m here to capture people’s afternoon at the Grand Palace.