China warns US against Taiwanese minister meet
Beijing, July 18: China warned the US government on Wednesday against top US officials meeting Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Minister who is on a visit to Washington.
Taiwan's Chen Ming-tong began his visit to the US capital on Monday and was set to speak at a think tank seminar and meet academicians as well as hold meetings with government officials, according to the Taiwanese government.
"We firmly oppose any formal ties between the US and Taiwan," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was quoted as saying by Efe news.
"We hope the US can properly handle Taiwan related issues, take concrete actions to uphold the overall picture of China-US relations," Hua further warned Washington.
The Donald Trump administration reached out to Taiwan after a telephone conversation in 2016 with President Tsai Ing-wen, by selling arms to the island and approving a law that did away with restrictions on official visits between the US and Taiwan.
Last month, Washington inaugurated a new de-facto Embassy in Taipei -- officially called the American Institute in Taiwan -- as the US does not maintain official diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The mission has more than 500 employees.
The US State Department had requested the Pentagon to assign Marines for the security of the building, a move opposed by Beijing.
China, which maintains that Taiwan is a rebellious island since the end of the 1949 civil war, demands that countries should not maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, under its "One China Principle".
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BJP accuses Karnataka govt of 'failing' to prevent noise pollution caused by 'azaan'
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Members of the Opposition BJP on Tuesday slammed the Karnataka government for not taking measures to prevent the alleged noise pollution caused by 'azaan', the Islamic call to prayer.
BJP MLC D S Arun raised the issue in the Legislative Council during the question hour, accusing the ruling Congress of "appeasement" by failing to take action against mosques that are violating the Supreme Court's directives.
Karnataka Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre, responding to the question, said, as per the directives of the Supreme Court in sensitive zones, the noise level should not exceed 50 decibels during the day and 40 decibels at night, and in residential areas, 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night.
In commercial areas, the noise should not exceed 65 decibels during the day, 55 at night, and in industrial areas, 75 during the day and at night 70 decibels, he said.
Pointing out that the Karnataka government had issued an order in 2022, assigning responsibility to a committee headed by a DySPs or ACPs for the effective implementation of the rules, the minister said when a complaint is received about noise pollution, the Pollution Control Board will inspect it and provide information about the decibel level to the police to take further action, including filing of criminal cases.
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"Not only during azaan, but also during bhajans held in temples and marriage events, among others, the violations happen. There is a need to spread awareness. The Supreme Court has ordered against bursting firecrackers, but it is being violated. Efforts will be made to implement the rules effectively," he said.
Several BJP MLAs, including Arun, Bharathi Shetty, among others, were not satisfied with the minister's reply. They took strong exception to it.
Arun noted that in the last three years, only 52 cases have been taken, and said there are clear violations by almost all mosques, but no action has been taken. "The decibels have in fact increased under this government. The government is giving protection to them."
Reacting to this, Khandre, calling it a "sensitive matter", said, "It is not right to politicise the issue. The law of this land is equal for everyone."
Hitting back, Arun asked, "Why is the matter sensitive? What is preventing you (the government) from implementing the Supreme Court directives?"
