India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh began voting on Thursday in the first of a series of local elections that will be a key test of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling party. With a population almost as big as that of Brazil, keeping power in the bellwether state would give the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a boost in its bid for a third successive victory at nationwide parliamentary polls due by 2024. Television footage from polling stations showed queues of people bundled up against the winter cold as they waited to cast their votes.…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
Democratic standards across the world fell again in 2021 amid the pandemic and growing support for authoritarianism to leave just over 45 per cent of the world’s population living in a democracy, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said on Thursday. As in 2020, less than half of the world’s population is living in a democracy but the trend has deteriorated further, the London-based analysis group said. Its annual democracy Index “sheds light on continued challenges to democracy worldwide, under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic and increasing support for authoritarian alternatives,” the group said. Its annual index, which provides a measurement…
With American consumers spending freely and many supply chains still snarled, year-over-year inflation may have notched yet another four-decade high in January. The factors that have accelerated prices since last spring remain largely in place: Wages are rising at the fastest pace in at least 20 years. Ports and warehouses are overwhelmed, with hundreds of workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s busiest, out sick last month. Many products and parts remain in short supply as a result. And reports indicate that the expiration of stimulus checks and other government aid has yet to slow…
The United States remains focused long-term on the Indo-Pacific region despite concerns over Russian aggression towards Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. Blinken is in the Australian city of Melbourne for a meeting on Friday with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan. The four nations form the so-called “Quad”, a bloc of Indo-Pacific democracies that was created to counter China’s regional influence. “There are a few other things going on in the world right now, some of you may have noticed. We have a bit of a challenge with Ukraine and Russian aggression. We’re working 24/7…
United States President Joe Biden and King Salman of Saudi Arabia discussed energy supplies in the face of soaring fuel prices and developments in the Middle East, including Iran and Yemen, in a telephone call on Wednesday. “The two leaders committed to ensuring the stability of global energy supplies,” the White House said in a statement. Salman, head of the largest crude exporter in the Opec oil production group, spoke about maintaining balance and stability in the petroleum markets, Saudi state news agency SPA said. He emphasised the need to maintain the supply agreement Opec has with its allies including Russia, a…
Pakistan categorically rejected on Thursday the “unwarranted and preposterous” comments by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on the joint statement issued by Islamabad and Beijing following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent visit to China. The joint statement was issued as PM Imran concluded his visit after meeting President Xi Jinping on February 6. According to the statement, PM Imran highlighted during his meeting with President Xi that the persecution of minorities in Indian-occupied Kashmir was a threat to regional peace and stability. He also pointed out that the rapid militarisation of India was undermining regional peace. The statement said the two…
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday dropped contempt charges against federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry and prime minister’s former special assistant Firdous Ashiq Awan after the two tendered unconditional apology for passing ‘derogatory’ remarks against a special court, which sentenced former military ruler retired General Pervez Musharraf to death for committing high treason. A bench consisting of Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Syed Arshad Ali disposed of two petitions against Fawad, Firdous, federal law minister Barrister Farough Naseem, former special assistant to the prime minister Shehzad Akber and former attorney general for Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan over the alleged contempt…
LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday dared Prime Minister Imran Khan to dissolve the National Assembly and announce a fresh election if he believed the public was still on his side. “Imran is a coward and is running away from elections,” the PPP chairman roared while addressing party workers in Multan. He said Imran Khan would not dissolve the assembly because he did not have any public support. Commenting on the disqualification of Senator Faisal Vawda by Election Commission, Mr Bilawal used cricket jargon and said the “wickets of Kaptan” had started falling and the process would…
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan on Wednesday unanimously condemned the world’s human rights organisations and the United Nations (UN) for their “intentional silence over the vicious acts” of New Delhi in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The committee, which met under its chairman Rana Shamim Ahmed Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), through the resolution also condemned the Indian forces for their “brutal activities” in IIOJK and expressed solidarity with the innocent Kashmiris for their unshakable resolve of self-determination, says an official handout issued by the National Assembly Secretariat. Generally,…
ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday announced that 190 million Covid-19 vaccines had so far been administered in the country. In a separate development, world leaders have launched a campaign to collect funds amounting to $16 billion that would go towards eradicating the pandemic as a global emergency in the current year. According to the NCOC data, over two million doses were administered for the second consecutive day, taking the total number of doses of seven different vaccines given so far to 190,001,984. On the other hand, 50 patients lost their lives to the virus and…
