KATHMANDU, Jan 10.2023: A liberal political party led by a former prime minister was set to form a new government in Bhutan after winning its fourth free vote since democratic elections began 15 years ago, provisional results by the country’s election body showed on Wednesday.
Nestled between China and India, Bhutan is known for its pioneering of a Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, an alternative economic gauge that takes into account factors normally ignored by gross domestic product measures, such as recreation and emotional well-being.
The tiny Himalayan kingdom of fewer than 800,000 people is struggling to revive its aid-and-tourism dependent economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 30 seats in Tuesday’s elections for the 47-member parliament, or National Assembly, with the remaining seats going to the Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP), an early tally by the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB} showed.
Final results are expected on Wednesday.
The BTP, formed in 2022 by a former bureaucrat, will be the main opposition in the parliament, analysts say.
The PDP was formed in 2007 by Tshering Tobgay, 58, who was prime minister from 2013 to 2018. Tobgay is set to become the new prime minister, for a second five-year term.
“Heartiest congratulations to my friend @tsheringtobgay and the People’s Democratic Party for winning the parliamentary elections in Bhutan,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X late on Tuesday. “Look forward to working together again to further strengthen our unique ties of friendship and cooperation.”
During campaigning, Tobgay has vowed to promote the investment needed to boost the country’s $3 billion economy and address the unemployment that is driving an increasing number of young Bhutanese abroad, mainly to Australia, in search of better opportunities.
Majority-Buddhist Bhutan, roughly the size of Switzerland, has deep economic and trade relations with its southern neighbour, India, which is also its biggest donor.
It has no formal diplomatic relations China but is in talks with Beijing to resolve border disputes.
SEOUL, Jan 10,2024: South Korea’s main opposition party leader, Lee Jae-myung, said on Wednesday he hoped a stabbing attack he suffered could mark the end of the “politics of hate” in the country.
He was speaking to reporters and supporters after he was discharged from a hospital in Seoul, where he has been recovering since last week’s attack in the southern city of Busan.
“I hope this case which shocked everyone can serve as a milestone to end the politics of hate and confrontation and restore proper politics,” said Lee, who thanked medical staff at the hospital and vowed to serve his country.
The attack was widely condemned as an “act of terror” and a challenge to democracy by President Yoon Suk Yeol and politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties.
Police are due to announce the outcome of an investigation into the attack later on Wednesday.
Earlier, the alleged assailant told reporters he was sorry over the fallout from the attack as he was leaving a police station.
Three members of the main opposition Democratic Party announced they would leave the party citing disagreements over Lee’s leadership while wishing him a swift recovery.
Though the Democratic Party and Yoon’s conservative People Power Party account for the majority of lawmakers in parliament, a number of politicians on both sides of the aisle have indicated they plan to break away to form new parties to run in general elections due in April.
WASHINGTON, Jan 10,2024: The United States and China wrapped up two days of military talks in Washington on Tuesday, the Pentagon said, the latest engagement since the two countries agreed to resume military-to-military ties.
Washington and Beijing are at loggerheads over everything from the future of democratically ruled Taiwan to territorial claims in the South China Sea. Ties are still recovering after the U.S. downed an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed late last year to resume military ties, severed by Beijing after a visit in August 2022 by then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
The 17th round of the talks saw Michael Chase, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, meet China’s Major General Song Yanchao, deputy director of the central military commission office for international military co-operation, the Pentagon said.
“The two sides discussed U.S.-PRC defense relations, and Chase highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication in order to prevent competition from veering into conflict,” the statement added, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
Pentagon officials say communication between the two militaries is key to preventing a miscalculation from spiraling into conflict.
The top U.S. military officer, General Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff held a virtual meeting last month with his Chinese counterpart, General Liu Zhenli.
China is willing to develop healthy and stable military-to-military relations with the U.S. “on the basis of equality and respect”, its defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, citing the meeting.
It urged the U.S. to cut military deployment and “provocative actions” in the South China Sea, as well halt support for such actions by “certain countries”, but did not identify them.
It asked the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle and stop arming Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, despite Taiwan’s strong objections, and vowed never to compromise on the issue.
“The United States should fully understand the root causes of the maritime and air security issues, strictly restrain its front-line forces, and stop hyping up (the issues),” it added.
Taiwan is holding presidential and parliamentary polls this weekend amid a ramped-up war of words between Taiwan and China.
U.S. officials have cautioned that even with some restoration of military communications, forging truly functional dialogue between the two sides could take time.
Jeruslem, Jan 8,2024: Israel’s military chief said on Sunday that the conflict in Gaza, persisting for three months already, would likely last throughout 2024 and spill over to other fronts.
Herzi Halevi, the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), made the remarks during a visit to the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
Halevi said 2024 would be “challenging” and that Israel would “certainly be involved in fighting in Gaza throughout the year,” implying that the current full-scale conflict with Hamas, the Palestinian faction that rules Gaza, could ease but not end.
He also warned of a possible flare-up in violence “on other fronts, especially the West Bank,” where tensions have risen since the start of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which started on Oct. 7, 2023, following a surprise attack from Hamas.
Halevi also said the IDF would increase “the pressure it exerts” on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where it has traded fire with Hezbollah, a Shi’ite militant group, in recent months.
“Hezbollah has decided to join this war. We are increasingly exacting a toll on them,” he said, adding that the army had “a responsibility, a duty, to securely return northern residents to their homes.”
The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip rose to 22,835, and the injuries have reached 58,416, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said Sunday. Additionally, around 1,200 people in Israel have lost their lives due to the Hamas attack.
New Delhi, Jan 7,2024: The government of Maldives on Sunday “denounced” the statement made by its politicians on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Lakshadweep, saying “These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the Government of Maldives.”
In an official statement, the Maldives government said, “The freedom of expression should be exercised in a democratic and responsible manner, and in ways that do not spread hatred, negativity, and hinder close relationships between the Maldives and its international partners”.
A massive row erupted between India and Maldives after Maldives Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment Mariyam Shiuna made some derogatory remarks against PM Modi over his recent visit to the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
Shiuna’s now deleted post featured photos of Modi from his recent visit to Lakshadweep.
Former Foreign Ministers of Maldives Abdulla Shahid termed the comments against PM Modi as “reprehensible and odious” and called upon the government to reprimand these officials.
On Social media post on X, Abdulla Shahid said “Public figures must maintain decorum”.
He added that, “India is a time-tested friend and an unwavering ally. They have historically been the first to respond in our time of need”…. adding that our close relationship has been bound by mutual respect, history, culture and strong people-to-people relations.
In the wake of the ongoing controversy, celebrities and online influencers have joined calls to boycott Maldives.
The latest to join the bandwagon is former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra. On Saturday, Chopra took to X and posted: “‘India Out’ was a part of the manifesto. Maldives voted for it.
Actor Akshay Kumar also condemned the comments from the junior minister of the island nation and reiterated the importance of dignity.
He also emphasised the need to support Indian tourism and explore islands in the country.
“Came across comments from prominent public figures from Maldives passing hateful and racist comments on Indians. Surprised that they are doing this to a country that sends them the maximum number of tourists” he said on X.
Cairo, Jan 5,2024: Kuwaiti Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah appointed former Foreign Minister Mohammed Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah as the country’s new prime minister, the Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA reported Thursday.
Earlier, the Kuwaiti government submitted its resignation to the country’s new emir shortly after he was sworn in before parliament.
According to the news agency, the emir issued a decree to appoint Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah as prime minister. He was instructed to appoint new government members.
The new prime minister of Kuwait earlier served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister.
Emir Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah died at the age of 86 on December 16, 2023.
Tokyo, Jan 5,2024: The death toll from a powerful earthquake and a series of strong aftershocks that hit Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture on New Year’s Day has risen to 91, while another 179 are still missing, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Friday.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has earlier said that the earthquake in Ishikawa claimed the lives of 78 people, while 29 people were seriously injured and another 231 sustained minor injuries.
There are 179 people listed as missing, but the list could also include people who moved to another place but were not listed as having moved, the report said.
Over 40 people have been reportedly buried alive under the rubble in the city of Wajima and the death toll may therefore increase.
Some 89,000 households in three earthquake-hit prefectures, namely Ishikawa, Toyama and Niigata, remain without water supply, and more than 30,000 households have been cut off from electricity supply. Authorities have established 370 evacuation points in Ishikawa and have so far evacuated 33,000 people, the report said.
The report added that 4,600 servicepeople of Japan’s self-defense forces are taking part in search and rescue operations.
Japanese newspaper Nikkei reported Thursday, citing a senior Japanese government official, that Japanese authorities were planning to work with the US military to deal with the aftermath of the earthquake in Ishikawa, which would include transportation of humanitarian supplies and people displaced by the disaster. Other countries have also offered their help to Japan, but Tokyo plans to get support only from the United States for now, the report said.
US Defense Department spokesperson Pat Ryder said Thursday that US forces in Japan stand ready to provide all necessary assistance following the deadly earthquake.
On Thursday, Kishida on X expressed gratitude to world nations, including the G7 Countries, the US, China and Taiwan, for the condolences and offers of assistance from abroad in the wake of the devastating earthquake.
On Monday afternoon, a powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake, followed by a series of aftershocks, struck near the city of Suzu on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, resulting in casualties and buildings collapsing, although no nuclear power plant failures were registered.
The earthquake on January 1, 2024, became the most powerful for the Noto Peninsula region since records began in 1885.
New Delhi, Jan 4,2024: The Indian government has 60 days to appeal in the highest court against the varying quantum of sentences awarded by the Qatar’s Court of Appeal which has commuted the death sentence handed down to the 8 Ex-Navy personnel in an alleged espionage case a week ago, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday.
The verdict of Qatar’s Court of Appeal came weeks after the family members of the Indians filed an appeal against the earlier order by another court.
The Navy veterans were on October 26 given death sentences by Qatar’s Court of First Instance in the case.
Addressing a weekly press conference, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “The legal team has the order of the court, and the government is in touch with the legal team and family members for further action.”
“The court order clarifies that the death penalty is overturned and there are varying quantums of sentences. We have 60 days to appeal in the highest court,” said Randhir Jaiswal.
The statement comes after the death sentence of eight former Indian Navy officials commuted by a court of appeal in Qatar on December 28.
The former Indian Navy officers were employees of Al Dahra Global Technologies. It is a private firm that provides training and other services to Qatar’s armed forces and security agencies.
DHAKA, Jan 2,2024: As general elections approach this week in Bangladesh, opposition leader Abdul Moyeen Khan says he had to hide out in the homes of a string of acquaintances until nominations closed, trying to escape a government crackdown.
The former minister and his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are not running in the Jan. 7 vote, in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is chasing a fourth straight term, despite a bleak economy that needed an IMF bailout last year.
“We’re not even in the election, but they are still not sparing us,” Khan, 77, said in Dhaka, the capital, on his return home in December after nominations closed and removed any risk that he could pose an electoral threat.
His party boycotted the vote after Hasina refused to cede power to a caretaker government to run the poll. Now it says 10 million party workers are on the run after the arrests of nearly 25,000 following deadly anti-government protests on Oct. 28.
“Police and other government agents were hunting for our leaders, particularly in their homes,” said Khan. “The situation instilled fear in our minds.”
Conditions were worse than at the time of the last election in 2018, when attacks on party workers kept him from holding even a single rally, he added.
Bangladesh’s interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Hasina and her Awami League have repeatedly condemned the BNP as troublemakers out to sabotage the elections, rebuffing warnings by rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) that the crackdown aimed to subdue the opposition.
The BNP contested the last election but kept out of the fray in 2014. And New York-based HRW has said Bangladeshis will again be denied the right to freely choose their leaders.
In a November report, the rights group put the number of arrests of BNP activists at 10,000, with two police officers among at least 16 dead and about 5,500 injured in the violence.
“The jails are overcrowded, with statistics showing the number of inmates is double capacity,” said Khan, who wore a mask, cap and sunglasses to obscure his identity as the pace of arrests picked up.
Police ransacked the homes of BNP leaders and workers in frequent nighttime raids, he said, even detaining family members of those who evaded them. Some hid out in forests, paddy fields and cemeteries to escape, two other party leaders said.
However, police say they arrested only those involved in the violence, with one senior officer rejecting the opposition estimates as incorrect.
“Police are arresting only those involved in killings and attacks, vandalism and arson,” said the officer, who sought anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The crackdown comes at a time when the opposition leadership finds itself in disarray, as ailing party president Khaleda Zia, herself a former prime minister famed for a bitter, decades-long rivalry with Hasina, keeps out of active politics.
Although her son has temporarily taken the mantle, he is in exile, and the party’s next most senior leader, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, has been in jail since Oct. 29.
Tokyo, Jan 1,2024: The death toll has risen to 30 after a series of powerful earthquakes hit the area in central Japan and the vicinity, national news agency Kyodo citing local authorities.
A series of building collapses and fires left at least 30 people dead in the most-hit Ishikawa prefecture.
As more damage reports and information about people trapped continued to come in regarding other municipalities, injuries were reported in Niigata, Toyama, Fukui and Gifu prefectures due to collapsed or damaged buildings.
Calling the rescue of those impacted by the earthquakes a battle against time, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that the government has already dispatched a number of self-defense force troops to the impacted areas and will continue to provide assistance.
A series of strong earthquakes, with major ones of up to a preliminary 7.6 magnitude, hit on Monday at a shallow depth on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture. The Japan Meteorological Agency has officially named it the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
Since Monday, Japan has been hit by at least 155 quakes.