US' Georgia announces hand recount of votes
Washington: The US state of Georgia on Wednesday announced a hand recount of votes as President-elect Joe Biden has a narrow lead of over 14,000 over President Donald Trump.
With the margin being so close, there is a need to recount, Georgia's secretary of state Brad Raffensperger said. He is from the Republican Party.
The hand recount of votes, however, will be only for the presidential election, he said. Georgia has 16 electoral college votes. Trump has alleged there has been massive voter fraud and electoral malpractice.
State officials, according to The New York Times, have said that there has been no such evidence so far. As of Wednesday, President-elect Biden had 279 of the 538 electoral college votes, with 270 being the halfway mark.
Biden has enough electoral votes to be the president even without Georgia, The New York Times reported.
Along with Georgia, Trump has filed lawsuits in the state of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona and sought recounting of votes in Wisconsin.
With the margin being so close, it will require a full by-hand recount in each county, Raffensperger told reporters at a news conference in Atlanta.
Such a decision has been made because of the national significance of the outcome of the election results in the state, he said.
It will be a heavy lift. This will help build confidence. It will be an audit, a recount and a recanvass all at once. We have all worked hard to bring fair and accurate counts to assure that the will of the voters is reflected in the final count, he said, adding that observers from both the political parties would be present during the hand recount.
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Tell US President Donald Trump to stop West Asia conflict: Owaisi to PM Modi
Hyderabad (PTI): AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to "break his silence" on the conflict in West Asia and ask US President Donald Trump to end the war.
Addressing a gathering here, he also asked the PM to provide a full account of the sinking of an Iranian ship, IRIS Dena, off Sri Lanka by a US military submarine two days ago.
Taking strong exception to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's recent announcement regarding Indian oil imports, he said the BJP-RSS should give a strong response to the American official and assert that India would purchase oil according to its own will.
He accused the BJP-RSS combine of being "scared" of US President Donald Trump.
"This war should end. Prime Minister should break his silence. Take the phone and tell Trump to stop this tamasha. They (US) are not suffering any losses. Our citizens are suffering. Who is dying there? Indians are dying. You maintained silence over Gaza," he said.
Owaisi dismissed the argument that the Iranian vessel sank outside the Indian waters, saying it is important to realise that it occurred close to India.
"If a Chinese ship comes close to our nation, what would you do? You say that it was not in Indian waters. Water does not have borders. You see how close the enemy has come. It is the Constitutional responsibility of the Prime Minister to tell the country what happened. We are with America in Quad," he said.
Pointing to India's strategic agreements with the US, the AIMIM leader said the Iranian frigate had visited Visakhapatnam at the invitation of India, while America had refused to participate in the naval exercise there.
Highlighting that one crore Indian citizens work in the Gulf region, a widening war lead to job losses for Indian diaspora.
He alleged that Israel aims to create a 'Greater Israel', encompassing much of the Arab region.
"The evil eye of these oppressors extends up to the holy city of Madinah."
Responding to US Treasury Secretary's comments that America is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, Owaisi wondered if India truly is a sovereign country.
"Have you mortagaged India before US. Speak out BJP-RSS people. A (US)minister says you purchase for a month. Is this what we have secured freedom from the English that a white-skinned person says you purchase for a month ? But, they will not speak. They are scared of Trump," he said.
Quoting America's trade minister as saying that the US would not let India emerge like China, the AIMIM leader asked whether "India is a slave of America?"
He further questioned, "What is America's role in the progress of India?"
"BJP and RSS people are terrified of speaking against the white-skinned officials," he alleged.
He also hit out at the Centre for allegedly providing funds to a right-wing organisation to hold an event.
The organisation has openly favoured making India a 'Hindu Rashtra', "converting the religion of Muslims and throwing away 25 crore people," he alleged.
