CHANDIGARH, 27April, 2021 (TON): Punjab Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who faced criticism over his Congress government's 'failure' in cases of sacrilege as well as the associated police firing in 2015 resigned from his post in protest on Monday.

Also, the party's state unit chief, Sunil Jakhar, announced in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh that he is sending his resignation to party President Sonia Gandhi over the issue.

At the meeting, the Chief Minister, who tried to calm the situation, tore their resignations and assured them that the culprits would be brought to justice soon.

Two days ago, Randhawa had told the media, "Someone's responsibility has to be fixed for this inexplicable delay. Our own government is also responsible for it. Four years of our government gone, and we could not even submit challans in time."

However, even Amarinder Singh's former Cabinet colleague and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu had questioned him for 'evading' responsibility as the Home Minister in the 2015 sacrilege case.

COLOMBO, 27 April, 2021 (TON): On Monday, the Sri L:ankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa visited the village of Welanwita in Haldummulla of the Badulla District to observe the progress of  the “Discussion with the Village” program.

Uva Provincial Governor A.J.M. Muzammil, State Minister Thenuka Vidanagamage, Members of Parliament Sudarshana Denipitiya, Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, Tissa Kuttiarachchi, People’s Representatives of the area and government officials were also present.

Last year on 25 September, the President launched the ‘Discussion with the Village’ program with the aim of talking to rural communities living in remote and difficult areas about their long-standing unresolved problems without intermediaries and to present them directly to the officials in order to find solutions

Haldummulla Welanwita village, which was identified as the most difficult Divisional Secretariat Division in the Badulla District, was the first in the program.

During the visit to the village last year, the President instructed the relevant authorities to provide immediate solutions to the problems pointed out and identified by the people.

However, the purpose of the President’s visit to the village on Monday was to review the progress of the project after seven months.

SEOUL, 27 April, 2021(TON): On Tuesday, South Korea lodged a strong protest against Japan's renewed territorial claims to the Dokdo islets.

It called Takeshima by Japan lying halfway between the two countries.

The Seoul foreign ministry said in a statement that “The government strongly protests against Japan over its repeated futile claims to Dokdo, which is explicitly our inherent territory historically, geographically and by international law, through the diplomatic blue book.”

South Korea will sternly deal with any provocation of Japan against the country's easternmost islets, it added.

However, it gravely urged Tokyo to immediately retract the claims.

DHAKA/KUWAIT CITY, 27 April, 2021 (TON): The former Bangladeshi MP Mohammad Shahid Islam otherwise known as Kazi Papul will have to serve three more years in Kuwaiti jail for human trafficking and money laundering.

The media reported on Monday that an appellate court in the Middle-Eastern country extended his jail term to seven years.

Besides human trafficking and money laundering, the Kuwaiti prosecutors charged him with torturing employees of his company, Marafie Kuwaitia, based on the complaints from five Bangladeshi nationals subjected to trafficking.

Shahid won in the 2018 election as an independent candidate. He also launched a successful bid to bring his wife Salina Islam to parliament as a reserved-seat MP.

Shahid was arrested in Kuwait in June 2020 and sentenced by a criminal court in January this year.

Bangladesh parliament revoked his membership from Laxmipur-2 seat the next month.

However the court also sentenced Kuwaiti MP Salah Khorshid, who was acquitted of charges of taking bribes from Shahid, to seven years in jail, while, another Kuwaiti MP, Saadoun Hammad, was Shahid’s co-accused in the trial.

The appeals court also extended the jail of Major General Mazen Sheikh Mazem Al Jarrah, former assistant under-secretary of the interior ministry in Kuwait, and two other Kuwaiti officials to seven years from four years for assisting in Shahid Islam’s unlawful work.

ISLAMABAD, 27 April, 2021 (TON): The country would be happy to hold talks on all the differences with India and seek their resolution through dialogue if the latter shows its willingness to revisit its unilateral decisions taken on 5 August, 2019, said Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi during his two-day visit to Turkey.

He said, the decisions of 5 August, 2019 resulted in the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A of the Indian Constitution that granted special status to the erstwhile state of J&K.

"If India is willing to revisit some of the decisions that it took on August 5, 2019, Pakistan will be more than happy to engage, sit and talk and resolve all the outstanding issues," the Pakistan Foreign Minister said.

"India's unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 were against international law and UN Security Council resolutions," he added.

Qureshi went on to say that there are many pending issues between India and Pakistan, including Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, water and other matters, adding that the only workable and sensible way forward is through dialogue.

The minister however, believed that the option of war would not be beneficial for either side and would be suicidal for both the neighbors.

MOSCOW, 26 April, 2021 (TON): On Saturday, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation unanimously re-elected Gennady Zyuganov.

Zyuganov got re-elected during party’s 18^th national congress.

The number of first deputy chairmen has been raised to two.

Ivan Melnikov retains this post and Yuri Afonin, who was previously deputy chairman, has been promoted to first deputy chairman.

The deputy chairmen of the party's central committee now include the first deputies Melnikov and Afonin, Vladimir Kashin, Dmitry Novikov, and Leonid Kalashnikov.

However, for the next four years, the congress has decided to increase the number of central committee members to 188.

MALE, 26 April, 2021 (TON): MMPRC scandal details cannot be kept a secret and that even some parliamentarians could lose their seats for their part in the scandal, the Speaker of the Maldivian Parliament Mohamed Nasheed said on Monday.

Nasheed said, "No matter how big the lawmaker is, no matter how big of a prince that person may be, as long as I am sitting here, I will find the truth about it."

Nasheed, in today's sitting, said that the scandal cannot be kept a secret as long as he remained presiding over the legislature.

"I have no doubt in my heart that those charges will go forward. Some honorable lawmakers may lose their seats. Some members may lose their positions. Others may face other consequences," said Speaker Nasheed.

Nasheed said that the parliament and the government were formed to find the truth behind the scandal and recover the missing funds and said that the cooperation of everyone was to be received for the purpose.

However, until now, only one individual is currently in prison for the MMPRC scandal and that is former President Abdulla Yameen who is in prison for money laundering charges.

Other known figures include ex-Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and ex-MMPRC head Abdulla Ziyath and businessman Hamid Ismail. They were both convicted of crimes related to the scandal but their sentences were later shifted to house arrest.

CHENNAI, 26 April, 2021 (TON): EC is responsible for the today’s situation, Madras Court said.

While hearing the plea moved by state Transport Minister MR Vijaybhaskhar said, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said, "You (EC) are the only institution responsible for the situation we are in today and You have been singularly lacking any kind of exercise of authority. You have not taken measures against political parties holding rallies despite the court saying "Maintain Covid protocol, maintain Covid protocol." 

"We assure you that we will stop counting if we do not find before May 2 a blueprint on how proper maintenance of COVID protocol is assured so that this state does not succumb to the idiosyncrasies any further," court observed.  

The Chief Justice also observed that Public health is of paramount importance.

However, Tamil Nadu state transport minister had petitioned the court seeking direction to the Election Commission, to follow the measures in ensuring fairness during the counting of votes on 2 May for Karur constituency.

MOSCOW, 26 April, 2021 (TON): Russia and the U.S. had not yet agreed on a date and place for the summit meeting, said the Kremlin on Monday.

Before finalizing the summit date between Biden and Putin, there are many factors that still need to be looked at, it added.

On Sunday, a Kremlin aide said that the meeting could happen in June.

However, citing unnamed sources, media reported that Biden had offered Putin to meet on 15-16 June in a European country.

DUBAI, 26 April, 2021 (TON): On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Iraq.

The visit is a part of an official visit to discuss relations between both countries.

Zarif will be meeting several Iraqi officials, and will visit the cities of Najaf and the Kurdistan region, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said during a press conference.

Zarif also said Iran supports a stronger role for Iraq in bringing stability to the region,

However, during a press conference, Zarif also said Iran supports a stronger role for Iraq in bringing stability to the region.