International Day of Democracy

COIMBATORE: Throwing a challenge to the DMK, BJP state president K Annamalai, who has been named as candidate from Coimbatore, on Friday said no force would defeat the BJP. Addressing media persons at the airport, Annamalai said,”Even if Chief Minister MK Stalin stays in Coimbatore for 40 days and campaigns, the BJP will win with a historic margin of votes.” When asked what made him change his earlier stance on contesting elections, Annamalai said “I am contesting because Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered me to.” Stating that political change in Tamil Nadu would start from Coimbatore, he said when Narendra Modi visits Coimbatore as Prime Minister for the third time, the city will be on the international map. “The BJP-led…

LONDON (AP) – A day of their own. Women around the globe marked International Women´s Day on Friday, taking part in strikes, marches and demonstrations that underscored efforts to combat discrimination and accelerate the drive for gender parity. The event, first celebrated in 1911, traces its roots to the early struggles for equal pay and votes for women. In Paris, supporters attended a ceremony formally enshrining a woman´s right to abortion in the French constitution. The initiative was overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers earlier this week, even as the U.S. and other countries restrict access to abortion. In Lebanon, one demonstrator brandished a handmade sign linking the struggle for equal rights to the war in Gaza, where Palestinian health officials say…

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 30th Jan, 2024) Kashmir Solidarity Day, observed on February 5 by Pakistan and Kashmiris worldwide, is a national holiday signifying solidarity and support for the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), who have been fighting for their right to self-determination for over 70 years. In addition, the day honours the hundreds of Kashmiris who have been martyred in the war and advocates for a diplomatic settlement that satisfies both the UN resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Kashmir Solidarity Day is not only a day of commemoration but also a day of action. It’s a day to bring attention to the predicament of the Kashmiris, who are subjected…

Islamabad, Feb 8 (PTI) Counting of votes began in Pakistan following conclusion of the polling on Thursday in an election marred by crackdown on jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s party, sporadic violence and connectivity issues after the government suspended mobile and internet services to foil suspected terror attacks. The polling started at 8.00 AM and continued without any break till 5.00 PM. A countrywide public holiday was declared to enable more than 12 crore voters to cast their ballots. The time for voting ended but the people present inside the premises of the polling stations were allowed to cast their votes. The polling percentage is not yet known. Also Read | Tesla Layoffs 2024: Elon Musk Asks Its Manager To…

Islamabad, Feb 8 (PTI) Jailed ex-premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party-backed independents were Thursday posing a tough challenge to candidates from three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s party in the crucial Punjab province, according to initial trends of the general elections marred by sporadic violence. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had deprived jailed 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician’s party of the electoral symbol of ‘bat’ over its failure to hold intra-party polls according to its Constitution, forcing it to field independent candidates. Also Read | Poop Problem: Mount Everest Climbers Asked To Bring Back Poo in Bags. The polling started at 8.00 AM and continued without any break till 5.00 PM. A countrywide public holiday was declared to enable more than…

Pakistan Elections: Independent candidates backed by jailed ex-premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are posing are a tough challenge to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N in the key Punjab province, as per initial trends of the Pakistan general elections marred by terror attacks and violence which left at least twelve people, including 10 security personnel dead. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had deprived jailed 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician’s party of the electoral symbol of ‘bat’ over its failure to hold intra-party polls according to its Constitution, forcing it to field independent candidates. According to initial trends reported by private news channels based on partial counting, Imran Khan’s PTI-supported independent candidates were neck-and-neck with Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in…

DHAKA, Jan 23, 2024 (BSS) – Ex-US security official Alexander B. Gray in a write-up said U.S. should remain engaged in Bangladesh and beyond simply one election, it must not lose sight of Bangladesh’s strategic importance while also encouraging its democratic evolution. Published in The National Interest, an American bimonthly international relations magazine, Gray in the article said that Beijing’s interest in Bangladesh is a direct threat to America’s Quad partner India, which is fending off China’s attempts at similar arrangements in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He said the United States has a vested strategic interest in ensuring the security of India’s flanks and the ability of U.S. naval and international commercial traffic to safely traverse the Indian Ocean without…

Beijing [China], January 23 (ANI): Following the Taiwanese people’s refusal to buckle to Chinese coercion in the January 13 elections, voting back into power the incumbent Democratic People’s Party (DPP) with its new leader Lai Ching-te, opinion varies as to what Beijing’s next course of action will be. Will China make a precipitative military move against Taiwan, or will it continue its policy of incessant coercion? China’s reaction has been rather subdued so far, though this does not preclude more vigorous actions before Lai assumes office in May. Notably, though, China hit back almost immediately by announcing on January 15 that Nauru was switching recognition from Taiwan to Beijing. Taiwan now has diplomatic ties with just twelve nations as China…

Beijing [China], January 23 (ANI): Following the Taiwanese people’s refusal to buckle to Chinese coercion in the January 13 elections, voting back into power the incumbent Democratic People’s Party (DPP) with its new leader Lai Ching-te, opinion varies as to what Beijing’s next course of action will be. Will China make a precipitative military move against Taiwan, or will it continue its policy of incessant coercion? China’s reaction has been rather subdued so far, though this does not preclude more vigorous actions before Lai assumes office in May. Also Read | ‘Zombie Viruses’: Climate Change Unleashes Ancient Threat As 48,500-Year-Old Virus Resurfaces From the Depths of Arctic Ice- Experts Warn of a Potential Global Pandemic Risk. Notably, though, China hit…

THE state of Pakistan had a rough birth in 1947. Displacement, religious violence, and a massive exchange of populations between India and Pakistan with the partition of British India left indelible wounds on the psyches of the two countries. Pakistan’s survival and unity was made even harder by geography, economic disparities, and cultural differences between its two wings that came together under a single banner, as a last-minute arrangement of a united Pakistan because of the Muslim Bengali elite in Dhaka at that time who had played a key role in the freedom movement, and the British decision to partition Bengal. It did not take too long before internal tensions between the two wings laid the ground for the demise…

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s president on Tuesday defended the high taxes the government recently imposed, calling them a “necessary sacrifice “in helping the country deal with ballooning foreign debt which now stands at $70 billion. Speaking at celebrations marking 60 years since Kenya’s independence from Britain, President William Ruto said East Africa’s largest economy was no longer at risk of defaulting on bond payments following economic reforms his government had undertaken since taking power last September. “Though painful, the sacrifices we have made will not only make our freedom fighters proud,” Ruto told tens of thousands of people in the capital, Nairobi. He added: “I can now confirm without fear of any contradiction that Kenya is safely out of…

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Kenya’s president on Tuesday defended the high taxes the government recently imposed, calling them a “necessary sacrifice “in helping the country deal with ballooning foreign debt which now stands at $70 billion. Speaking at celebrations marking 60 years since Kenya’s independence from Britain, President William Ruto said East Africa´s largest economy was no longer at risk of defaulting on bond payments following economic reforms his government had undertaken since taking power last September. “Though painful, the sacrifices we have made will not only make our freedom fighters proud,” Ruto told tens of thousands of people in the capital, Nairobi. He added: “I can now confirm without fear of any contradiction that Kenya is safely out of…

Nairobi, Dec 12 (AP) Kenya’s president on Tuesday defended the high taxes the government recently imposed, calling them a “necessary sacrifice” in helping the country deal with ballooning foreign debt which now stands at $70 billion. Speaking at celebrations marking 60 years since Kenya’s independence from Britain, President William Ruto said East Africa’s largest economy was no longer at risk of defaulting on bond payments following economic reforms his government had undertaken since taking power last September. Also Read | Japan’s Oldest Person Dies: Fusa Tatsumi, Passes at Age of 116 in Osaka Prefecture. “Though painful, the sacrifices we have made will not only make our freedom fighters proud,” Ruto told tens of thousands of people in the capital, Nairobi.…

NAIROBI: Kenya’s president on Tuesday defended the high taxes the government recently imposed, calling them a “necessary sacrifice “in helping the country deal with ballooning foreign debt which now stands at $70 billion. Speaking at celebrations marking 60 years since Kenya’s independence from Britain, President William Ruto said East Africa’s largest economy was no longer at risk of defaulting on bond payments following economic reforms his government had undertaken since taking power last September. “Though painful, the sacrifices we have made will not only make our freedom fighters proud,” Ruto told tens of thousands of people in the capital, Nairobi. He added: “I can now confirm without fear of any contradiction that Kenya is safely out of the danger of…

Hi, China Watchers. Today we decode the outcome of the meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s meeting in San Francisco yesterday and explore the controversy over Xi’s top dollar business banquet. We’ll also check in on Beijing’s “socialist modernization” of Tibet and profile a book that warns that the U.S. government is ignoring Chinese-backed hacker penetration of “thousands of American computing systems.” Let’s get to it. — Phelim Programming note! China Watcher won’t publish next Thursday, Nov. 23 due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Biden and Xi — A day of diplomacy and a few seconds of honesty President Joe Biden walked out of a four-hour meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping yesterday afternoon and labeled…