Thailand’s Senate passed the final reading of a marriage equality law on Tuesday, paving the way for it to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex couples. The bill comes after more than two decades of effort from activists and politicians, after previous drafts did not reach parliament. With the support of nearly all lawmakers in the upper house, the law next needs royal approval. It will come into force 120 days after it is published in the royal gazette. LGBT advocates called the move a “monumental step forward,” as Thailand would be the first nation in…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
South Korea’s military fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line near the border on Tuesday, according to the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Some 20 to 30 soldiers breached the line by 20 metres inside the demilitarised zone on Tuesday morning and briefly moved back north after warning shots were fired by the South, according to a JCS official. The JCS does not think the breach was intentional, the Yonhap news agency reported. North Korean soldiers also suffered multiple casualties while working due to the explosion of landmines in the demilitarised zone, the JCS official told…
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has chosen to represent his family bastion of Raebareli in parliament as his Congress Party seeks to build on the stronger-than-expected showing of opposition groups in the national election. India allows people to stand in multiple constituencies but they can only represent one in parliament and which seat Gandhi would choose to retain has been the subject of keen interest as commentators examine the election fallout. The political scion of a dynasty that has given India three prime ministers, Gandhi contested Raebareli and his previous constituency of Wayanad, in Kerala, in the recently concluded polls and…
Saudi Arabia on Monday warned of a temperature spike in Makkah as pilgrims wrapped up the Haj in searing conditions, with more than a dozen heat-related deaths confirmed. One of the world’s largest religious gatherings unfolded during the oven-like Saudi summer again this year, and authorities recorded more than 2,700 cases of “heat exhaustion” on Sunday alone, the Saudi health ministry said. On Monday, according to the Saudi weather service, temperatures reached 51.8°C at Makkah’s Grand Mosque, where pilgrims circle the Kaaba. In nearby Mina, where a spokesman for the national meteorology service said the temperature was 46°C, other pilgrims were throwing stones at…
An Indian man suspected by the US of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil has been extradited to the United States from the Czech Republic, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons website and a source familiar with the matter. Nikhil Gupta has been accused by US federal prosecutors of plotting with an Indian government official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. Gupta travelled to Prague from India last June and was arrested by Czech authorities. Last month, a Czech court rejected his petition to…
The Italian coastguard on Monday searched off the coast of southern Italy for survivors or the bodies of dozens of migrants feared missing after two shipwrecks left 11 people dead. With up to 60 migrants potentially lost at sea, the coastguard said it has been looking for “possible missing persons” since late Sunday, “following the shipwreck of a sailing boat with migrants on board, presumably departing from Turkey”. Rescue efforts began after “a ‘mayday’ from a French pleasure boat” some 120 nautical miles off the Italian coast, it said. The French vessel alerted authorities to “the presence of the half-sunken…
Russia said on Monday that a Swiss-hosted conference on the Ukraine war had produced negligible results and showed the futility of holding talks without Moscow. The Kremlin was commenting on a weekend summit where Western powers and their allies denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but failed to persuade major non-aligned states to join their final statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the results of the meeting, to which Russia was not invited, were “close to zero”. At a daily briefing with reporters, Peskov was asked if the fact that countries such as Hungary, Serbia and Turkey had taken part in the meeting…
Millions of people dependent on Himalayan snowmelt for water face a “very serious” risk of shortages this year after one of the lowest rates of snowfall, scientists warned on Monday. Snowmelt is the source of about a quarter of the total water flow of 12 major river basins that originate high in the region, a report said. “This is a wake-up call for researchers, policymakers, and downstream communities,” said report author Sher Muhammad, from the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). “Lower accumulation of snow and fluctuating levels of snow pose a very serious increased risk of water shortages, particularly…
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday assured that other sectors would be brought into the tax net, while also highlighting the need to reduce tax exemptions. His remarks come days after the government presented the federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year (FY2024-25) with a total outlay of Rs18.9 trillion, which analysts said was broadly “in line with International Monetary Fund (IMF) guidelines”. Pakistan’s budget for the upcoming year aims for a modest 3.6 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and sets an ambitious Rs13tr tax collection target, raising taxes on salaried classes and removing tax exemptions for the rest. Aurangzeb,…
LAHORE: Industry representatives and public have criticised the government over its plans to impose 18 per cent General Sales Tax (GST) on locally produced infant formula milk and baby food. They said the heavy taxation would worsen malnutrition among infants and children as parents would be compelled to choose cheaper and unhealthy alternative feeding solutions. According to the budget proposal presented by the finance minister last week, the government intends to withdraw the zero-rating status of locally produced infant formula, baby food and fortified child nutrition milk powders and impose 18pc GST on it. “In other countries, governments reduce taxes on such products,” said…
