Jammu, July 26,2023: Stating that the term of Panchayat polls is ending this year, newly appointed State Election Commissioner (SEC), B R Sharma on Tuesday said that the elections to constitute the grass root body (Panchayat Polls) are expected to be held in November-December this year.
“The five-year term of Panchayats is ending by the end of this year, which earlier ended in 2018 and elections were held in January 2019 to restore democracy at the grass root level,” Sharma told a news channel.
He said, “we have to conduct the elections as per the schedule, which is expected to be conducted in November-December this year.”
The SEC said that his predecessors have done a lot of work and the voter list till January 2023 is ready, “if anybody has been left out or not included into the list, a special summary revision will also be conducted. Rest, all necessary arrangements are on track.”
July 25,2023:The Chinese government has removed Qin Gang from the post of foreign minister and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi, according to state media.
“China’s top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister … as it convened a session on Tuesday,” the Xinhua news agency reported. “Qin Gang was removed from the post of foreign minister.”
The announcement came a month after Qin’s last public appearance.
The 57-year-old, who was made foreign minister in December, has not since been seen in public June 25, when he held talks with counterparts from Russia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
Qin’s final appearance in state media was a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, who visited Beijing less than 48 hours after the Wagner mercenary group’s abortive rebellion against Moscow’s top military brass.
China then cancelled talks between Qin and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on July 4 without explanation.
Imphal, July 25,2023: Manipur government has asked the Assam Rifles and state machinery to take biometrics and push back 718 Myanmar illegal immigrants who came to Manipur during July.
Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi said in a press statement that Headquarters 28 Sector Assam Rifles informed that 718 fresh refugees crossed the Indo-Meridian Border (IMB) and entered New Lajang, Chandel District, on July 23 due to the ongoing clashes at Khampat, Myanmar.
The State Government had clearly informed the Assam Rifles, being the Border Guarding Force, to take strict action to prevent entry of Myanmar nationals into Manipur on any ground without valid visas or travel documents as per the instruction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, the Chief Secretary said.
The State Government views the fresh illegal entry of 718 refugees very seriously and with utmost sensitivity as the same may have international ramifications, particularly in view of the ongoing law and order issues, the statement said.
The State Government has sought a detailed report from the Assam Rifles Authority to clarify the facts and compelling circumstances or reasons as to why and how these 718 Myanmar nationals were allowed to enter India in Chandel District without proper travel documents, along with strict advice to push back those 718 illegal Myanmar nationals immediately.
The Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Chandel District have biometrics and photographs of all such persons.
Manipur Police, during a recent drive, found large numbers of Myanmar citizens in Churachandpur district, and ten Myanmar citizens were found at Churachandpur hospital. Most of the Myanmar citizens move towards Churachandpur district as they belong to the same ethnic group and speak the same language.
JERUSALEM,July 24,2023:Israel’s parliament on Monday ratified the first bill of a judicial overhaul sought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after last-gasp compromise efforts collapsed and failed to ease a constitutional crisis convulsing the country for months.
The amendment to a law enabling the Supreme Court to void some government decisions if it deemed them “unreasonable” passed by a 64-to-0 vote after opposition lawmakers abandoned the session in protest, some of them shouting: “For shame!”
More deadlock loomed, however. Within minutes of the vote, a political watchdog group and the centrist opposition leader said they would appeal against the law at the Supreme Court.
Hoping to encourage a stopgap deal between the religious-nationalist coalition government and opposition parties, the Histadrut labour union threatened to declare a general strike if what it called “unilateral” measures were pursued.
Still, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, an architect of the reforms package cast by Netanyahu as needed to create more balance among branches of government, sounded undeterred.
“We took the first step in the historic, important process of fixing the justice system and restoring powers that were taken from the government and the Knesset (parliament),” he said in a speech.
Critics worry that the reforms aim to curb judicial independence.
Lucknow, July 24,2023: In a major crackdown the Anti Terror Squad of Uttar Pradesh police on Monday arrested 74 Rohingya, including 55 men, 14 women and 5 children, living illegally in six districts of the state, an official spokesman said here.
The spokesman said that as per the directives of the UP government and Director General of Police (DGP) the ATS launched a state-wide campaign against Rohingyas living illegally in the state.
“Information was being received by the ATS that Rohingyas were settling in different districts of UP after crossing the border illegally,” he said.
He said that the information was verified by the district police and field units ATS.
“After verification a campaign was launched with the assistance of the district police in which 74 Rohingyas, residing illegally in the state, were arrested,” he said.
The spokesman said that a maximum of 31 Rohingyas, including 29 men and 2 women were arrested from Mathura.
Similarly, 17 Rohingyas, including 7 men and 10 women, were arrested from Aligarh. 16 Rohingya, including 12 men, a woman, 2 male children and a female child were arrested in Hapur,” he said.
He said that while 2 men were arrested from Saharanpur, 2 men, a boy and a girl were arrested in Meerut.
“Four Rohingyas, including a woman, were arrested from Ghaziabad. Legal action is being taken against the arrested Rohingyas after lodging cases under relevant section
PHNOM PENH, July 23,2023: The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) declared a landslide victory in a one-sided election on Sunday, clearing the path for a historic leadership transition and the end of the reign of one of the world’s longest-serving premiers.
The contest was effectively a one-horse race, with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s CPP, a political behemoth with a vast war chest, facing no viable opponent after a ruthless, years-long crackdown that has seen hundreds of its rivals flee into exile.
The CPP was leading in ballot counting late on Sunday, with a turnout of 84%, according to the election committee, with 8.1 million people voting in a lopsided contest between the CPP and 17 mostly obscure parties.
“We’ve won in a landslide … but we can’t calculate the number of seats yet,” CPP spokesperson Sok Eysan said.
Self-styled strongman Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 38 years, had brushed off Western concern about the election’s credibility, determined to prevent any obstacle in his carefully calibrated transition to his anointed successor and eldest son, Hun Manet.
No time frame had been given for the handover until Thursday, when Hun Sen, 70, signalled that Western-educated military general Hun Manet “could be” prime minister next month.
A National Assembly seat would makes him eligible, if backed by the house. Party spokesperson Sok Eysan said it was “very clear” Hun Manet won a seat.
Hun Manet has given few media interviews and no clues over his vision for Cambodia and its 16 million people.
He earned a master’s degree at New York University and a doctorate at the University of Bristol, both in economics, and attended the West Point military academy, helping him rise through the ranks of Cambodia’s military to army chief and deputy armed forces commander.
CLOSELY-WATCHED TRANSITION
Major powers will be watching closely for signs of whether Hun Manet will maintain the authoritarian status quo of his father or pursue greater liberalisation and a more Western style of democracy.
After casting his vote on Sunday, Hun Manet ducked questions about becoming premier and whether he would rule differently from his father.
“No comment please. I’ve just come to vote,” he said in English, smiling.
Analysts had expected the transition to come mid-term, giving Hun Manet time to earn legitimacy with the public and political elite.
A key focus will be if he seeks to steer Cambodia out of the orbit of China and patch up ties with the United States that have perennially been strained by his father’s iron-fisted approach.
A CPP rout was never in doubt after preemptive strikes by authorities that included disqualifying the CPP’s only meaningful rival, the Candlelight Party, over a paperwork technicality.
Former Khmer Rouge guerrilla Hun Sen has been accused by activists of publicly threatening rivals and inciting violence, which led to Meta Platforms’ oversight board recommending his suspension from Facebook. The government has denied persecuting opponents.
Despite the CPP government’s stranglehold over independent institutions, including the poll body, and allegations by activists of complicity in land grabs and environmental destruction, the party has consistently won the rural vote, reflecting improvements in basic infrastructure.
Its selling point has been ensuring peace and stability after decades of war, which spurred average growth of more than 7% until 2019, creating jobs in garment manufacturing and construction.
Hun Sen said the turnout, the highest in three decades, showed his “extremist” opponents had failed to derail the election. He urged those who destroyed ballots not to flee the country and suggested they own up.
New Delhi, July 20,2023: India has sent out invitations to all G20 members, invitee countries and international organizations and is looking forward to welcoming their participation for the G20 Summit scheduled in the national capital this September.
Responding to a question on whether Russia has confirmed participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the G20 Summit, External Affairs Ministry official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said he cannot issue a response on any particular leader.
Putin had skipped the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia in 2022 and sent his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his place.
Earlier today, the office of South African President, Cyril Ramaphose had announced that Putin will not attend the BRICS nations summit. This will be the first summit hosted in person since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent global restrictions. The Summit will be attended by the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
Putin will instead deliver his speech at the summit via video conference, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency TASS. Peskov also confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Russia at the summit in-person.
Lavrov had this March participated in the G20 Foreign Ministers meeting in Goa. India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1.
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10. The meeting will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.
A G20 Leaders’ declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings, according to the official G20 statement.
The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States and the European Union. The invited countries are Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE.
July 20,2023:Iraq has expelled the Swedish ambassador only hours after Iraqi protesters angered by the burning of copies of the Quran in Sweden stormed the Swedish embassy in central Baghdad, scaling the walls of the compound and setting it on fire.
The Iraqi prime minister also recalled his country’s charge d’affaires in Sweden, the government said on Thursday, and suspended the working permit of Swedish telecom company Ericsson on Iraqi soil, according to state media.
Early on Thursday morning, demonstrators at the embassy waved flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shia religious and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr, according to Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed in Nasiriya, southern Iraq.
The burning of the embassy was called by supporters of Sadr to protest the second planned burning of a Quran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm on Thursday. While protesters in Sweden kicked and partially damaged a book they said was the Quran, they did not burn it as they had threatened to do.
In Baghdad, all embassy staff were safe, the Swedish foreign ministry press office said in a statement, condemning the attack and highlighting the need for Iraqi authorities to protect diplomatic missions.
Iraq’s foreign ministry also strongly condemned the attack.
“The Iraqi government has instructed the competent security authorities to conduct an urgent investigation and take the necessary security measures in order to uncover the circumstances of the incident and identify the perpetrators of this act and hold them accountable according to the law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
However, a statement later on Thursday from the government said that it would sever diplomatic ties with Sweden if a second Quran burning takes place in the country.
“The Iraqi government has informed the Swedish government through diplomatic channels that any recurrence of the incident involving the burning of the Holy Quran on Swedish soil would necessitate severing diplomatic relations,” the statement from the prime minister’s office said.