IND

Trending Now

International News

Nawaz Sharif’s party now in talks with smaller parties to form coalition government

by Leave a Comment

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Wednesday held talks with smaller parties as part of its efforts to form a coalition government led by party president Shehbaz Sharif at the Centre.

Nawaz Sharif

In Short

  • PML-N hold talks with smaller parties to form coalition government
  • PML-N and MQM-P agree to collaborate within government framework
  • This comes after power-sharing deal with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Wednesday held talks with smaller parties as part of its efforts to form a coalition government led by party president Shehbaz Sharif at the Centre.

Following a power-sharing deal with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the PML-N representatives held meetings with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Istekam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) to finalize plans for the coalition government.

Senior leaders, including Kamran Tessori, Mustafa Kamal, and Dr Farooq Sattar, from MQM-P and Ishaq Dar, Ayaz Sadiq, Azam Nazir Tarar and Muhammad Ahmed Khan from PML-N were present at the talks held in Islamabad, according to a statement issued by the PML-N.

The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the PML-N and MQM-P agreed to collaborate within the government framework. The agreement underscores a commitment to foster reconciliation and cooperation, with a focus on enhancing political, democratic, and economic stability across the nation.

Central to their discussions was the imperative of ensuring equitable distribution of resources and powers, laying the groundwork for future deliberations on critical issues such as the protection of urban rights in Sindh, particularly in Karachi, and the restoration of the port city’s economic prominence.

Simultaneously, a meeting between the coordination committees of PML-N and BAP convened, affirming their dedication to addressing the challenges confronting Balochistan and the federation, according to another statement.

Representatives from both parties, including Ishaq Dar, Ayaz Sadiq, Azam Nazir Tarar, and Malik Ahmad Khan from PML-N, alongside Khalid Magsi, Sadiq Sanjrani, and Kauda Babar from BAP, reiterated their commitment to establishing robust democratic governments at federal and provincial levels.

A meeting of the PML-N and IPP leaders was held in Islamabad where IPP president Aleem Khan was present, while Ishaq Dar led the PML-N team.

Khan assured full and unconditional support to the PML-N at the federal and provincial levels, according to a separate statement.

Separately, delegates from the PML-N and JUI-F met for talks regarding government formation in the Balochistan province.

According to sources, JUI-F sought support to form a government but the PML-N refused to oblige by saying that it had already agreed with the PPP to build a coalition government in Balochistan.

However, the PML-N and the JUI-F in a statement underscored the necessity of collaborative efforts towards the prosperity of Balochistan, affirming their cooperation towards this shared goal.

Both MQM-P and BAP have already pledged support for the coalition government of the PML-N with Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister. However, the JUI-F refused to become part of the government at the federal level.

This article was published on India Today.

Also Read: Farmers’ protest: Who was Shubhkaran Singh? How did he die during Khanauri protest?

Opposition protesters in Albania hurl petrol bombs at government building

by Leave a Comment

The anti-government protesters accuse Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama of nepotism and corruption.

In Short

  • Opposition protesters hurl petrol bombs at Albania’s government building.
  • Thousands gather at Tirana, no reports of injuries or arrests.
  • Opposition accuses PM Adi Rama of nepotism and corruption.

Opposition protesters pelted Albania’s government building with petrol bombs and rocks late on Tuesday, accusing state officials of involvement in organised crime and corruption after their leader was placed under house arrest.

Thousands gathered in front of the government headquarters in the capital Tirana as riot police officers were called in to cordon off the office of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, serious damage or arrests.

The main opposition Democratic Party accuses Rama of nepotism and corruption, which it says are prompting many young people to emigrate for a better life in Western Europe.

Protesters chose Tuesday for the rally in remembrance of February 20, 1991, when pro-democracy demonstrators tore down the statue of Albania’s longtime communist dictator Enver Hoxha.

“Today we are here to bring down Rama’s regime, which is worse than Enver Hoxha’s regime,” said Syle Xhebexhia, who said he travelled over 100 km to attend the protest in Tirana.

Opposition leader Sali Berisha addressed the protesters via a video link from house arrest. He is being investigated for alleged corruption while Prime Minister between 2005-2013.

Berisha has denied wrongdoing, accusing Rama of a political vendetta meant to silence opponents. Rama denies this.

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to file formal charges against Berisha or drop them.

“Edi Rama, similar to the other dictator (Hoxha), has concentrated all powers in his hands and wants an Albania without opposition,” Berisha told the protesting crowd.

erisha has been regularly addressing supporters from the balcony of his apartment in downtown Tirana.

This article was originally published on India Today.

Also read: 2 for 82: IPL’s most expensive duo Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins fail to keep NZ in check at Wellington

Putin gifts North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Russian-made car!

by Leave a Comment

The Russian-made car was delivered to Kim’s top aides by the Russian side on Feb. 18, official KCNA news agency said.

Putin gifts North Korea's Kim Jong

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has received a car from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as a gift “for his personal use,” official media reported on Tuesday, in what could be a violation of U.N. ban that Moscow had joined to adopt against Pyongyang.

The two countries have forged closer ties since Kim and Putin met in September and pledged to promote exchanges in all areas as their international isolation deepened over Russia’s war in Ukraine and the North’s nuclear weapons development.

The Russian-made car was delivered to Kim’s top aides by the Russian side on Feb. 18, official KCNA news agency said.

Kim’s sister “courteously conveyed Kim Jong Un’s thanks to Putin to the Russian side, saying that the gift serves as a clear demonstration of the special personal relations between the top leaders,” KCNA said.

The report did not describe the car or how it was shipped from Russia. Kim is believed to be an avid automobile enthusiast and has a large collection of luxury foreign vehicles believed to be smuggled in.

In September, while visiting Russia’s space launch station in the far east, Kim inspected Putin’s presidential Aurus Senat limousine and was invited by the Russian leader to climb into the back seat.

Kim himself drove to the site in a Maybach limousine brought onboard a special train he travelled in from Pyongyang.

That vehicle and others he had been seen in including several Mercedes limousines, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Lexus sports utility vehicle fall under luxury goods that U.N. Security Council resolutions ban from export to North Korea.

Exchanges between the two countries have grown increasingly active and North Korea is believed to be supplying artillery, rockets and ballistic missiles to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine.

The Kremlin has not denied nor confirmed its use of North Korean-made weapons. North Korea denies the accusation of arms shipment to Russia, which would also be violations of U.N. sanctions.

On Tuesday, KCNA separately reported that a delegation of North Korea ruling party officials returned from Russia and three delegations, representing information technology, fisheries and sports, departed for Russia.

This Article Was Originally Published on Hindustantimes News!

Also Read : Who is Ashwin Ramaswami? First Gen Z Indian-American runs as Democrat for Georgia State Senate!

Maldives Sitting on a debt pile, not bankrupt as of now!

by Leave a Comment

Even though Mohammed Muizzu has sought financial help from Turkey and China, no one is seen forthcoming as the island nation reels under an economic crisis.

Mohammed Muizzu

Even though Maldives has not gone bankrupt as media reports would have us believe, Male is heavily leveraged with external debt mounting to nearly USD 4.038 billion and the internal debt nearly matching the figure with debt crisis looming ahead in 2026. The gross national income of Mohammed Muizzu ruled Maldives is USD 5.6 billion as per official figures.

While Muizzu with his overt anti-India stance is asking for debt relief from his close friend Xi Jinping and Islamic emirates in the Middle-East, the Chinese debt of USD 1.3 billion constitutes nearly 30 per cent of its external debt with sovereign bonds maturing in 2026. Even though Muizzu sought financial support from the likes of Turkey and China, none is seen forthcoming as the Island nation reels in a fully blown economic crisis.

The Chinese surveillance ship Xiang Yang Hong 03, which was scheduled to dock at Male seaport for operational turnaround on February 8, is still awaited by the Maldivian authorities. The spy ship is currently located 20 hours from Male in the south Indian Ocean, well outside the EEZ of the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India.

For the record, the Chinese surveillance ship was only allowed to use the Male port for OTR and not conduct any survey or ocean bed mapping in the EEZ of Maldives and beyond.

While India is expected to replace the military crew of one ALH helicopter flying Maldivian flag by the end of this month or early March, the Modi government is on a wait and watch mode but fully prepared to help Maldives in case of an humanitarian disaster.

Rather than get worked up with Muizzu’s anti-India posture for his own political survival, the Modi government has given a green signal to Indian Navy to extend the air strip at Agatti islands in next door Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands with a new air base sanctioned for Minicoy islands. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will commission the first squadron of MH-60 R Sikorsky helicopters in Kochi on March 4-5 and then head towards Maldives on board India’s two aircraft carrier strike forces to Minicoy to commission a new base called INS Jatayu.

Even though Muizzu’s anti-India political posturing is aimed at the Majlis elections in April, the public mood towards China’s Belt Road Initiative (BRI) for infra development in Maldives is at best lukewarm. This is after a number of countries like Pakistan, Kenya and Tanzania are reeling under BRI debt after taking high interest loans from Chinese EXIM banks.

This Article Was Originally Published on Hindustantimes News!

Also Read : India’s First Spy Satellite Made By Tata Advanced Systems & Satellogic Sent To SpaceX For Launch!

Amid the housing crisis, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pauses the immigration effort!

by Leave a Comment

Justin Trudeau

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has relied on immigration to drive economic growth and plug labour gaps, but now he is hitting the brakes after a seismic shift in public opinion that could undermine his chances to win the next election.

Also Read: Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister of Canada) Biography

It was Trudeau’s father, Pierre, who championed immigration as prime minister in the early 1970s, promoting “multiculturalism” as government policy. Over time, Canadians have come to see the country’s diversity as part of its identity, like the maple leaf and hockey.

But when international students led a surge in immigration in the wake of the pandemic, the public mood soured as rental costs soared and services like healthcare came under strain.

“One of the reasons why we got here in the first place was that (provincial and federal) governments just didn’t want to touch this issue out of a fear of looking xenophobic,” said Mike Moffatt, founding director of the Place Centre, a thinktank focused on sustainable housing.

Immigration went from historically high levels of support among Canadians in 2020 to a three-decade low at the end of 2023, according to Ekos Research polling company data provided exclusively to Reuters.

In October, 44.5% of Canadians told Ekos there were too many immigrants, citing lack of affordable housing as their main reason, up from a 30-year low of 14% in February 2022. Rental inflation hit 7.8% in the final quarter of last year.

Also Read: Suhani Bhatnagar, 19, passes away after playing young Babita Phogat in Aamir Khan’s Dangal!


For Trudeau, the stakes are high, as his main rival, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has taken a commanding lead in opinion polls. Trudeau has to win back millions of voters to pull off a fourth national election victory, most likely next year.

“The chickens are coming home to roost,” said Kareem El-Assal, an immigration expert and consultant in Toronto. “There was a bit of hubris, thinking that we can just increase our immigration and temporary resident levels in perpetuity without there being any blowback whatsoever.”

Since taking power in 2015, Trudeau’s Liberal government has progressively ramped up immigration in a country where already more than a fifth of the citizens are foreign born. Last year the population grew at its fastest pace in more than six decades due almost exclusively to immigration.

Poilievre has said that he will link the number of newcomers to available housing, without providing details. But Poilievre has not pounced on the immigration issue like Republican politicians in the United States have done because he needs to win votes in immigrant communities to defeat Trudeau.

Also Read: Chandigarh mayor resigns ahead of Supreme Court hearing, 3 AAP councillors quit to join BJP

“The Conservatives, in my view, can’t exploit this issue,” said Hassan Yussuff, a senator and former labor leader. To win the election, Poilievre will be need to win urban centers that are filled with second- and third-generation immigrants, Yussuff said.

Still, the shift in public mood prompted the federal government to cap those granted permanent resident status at 500,000 starting next year and to cut study permits for international students by 35% to 360,000 starting in April.

Those moves are part of the effort to significantly reduce “the sheer volume” of newcomers “that has just gotten out of control”, Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Reuters in an interview last month.

There is a need to address the backlash because Canada is not immune to the polarisation seen in the United States, Miller said.

Also Read: Elvish Yadav-Rave Party Case: YouTuber In Legal Trouble As FSL Report Confirms Snake Venom In Samples!

This Article Was Originally Published On DNAIndia.com!

Israel raids largest Gaza hospital over hostage concerns, Hamas denies allegations

by Leave a Comment

Israeli forces conducted a precise and limited raid on Nasser Hospital in Gaza, alleging Hamas terrorists’ presence and hostage-keeping.

In Short

  • Israeli forces raid Gaza’s largest hospital, Nasser Hospital, alleging the presence of Hamas terrorists
  • Chaos, gunfire reported as health staff, patients, and individuals forced to evacuate
  • Hamas denies allegations, accusing Israel of spreading lies and displacing medical personnel and patients

Israeli forces said on Thursday they had raided the biggest functioning hospital in Gaza as footage showed chaos, shouting and gunfire in dark corridors filled with dust and smoke.

Israel’s military called the raid on Nasser Hospital “precise and limited” and said it was based on information that Hamas militants were hiding and had kept hostages in the facility, with some bodies of captives possibly there.

Hamas called that lies.

Health authorities in the Hamas-run Palestinian enclave said Israel had forced out dozens of staff, patients, displaced people and families of medical staff sheltering in the hospital. Some 2,000 Palestinians arrived in the southern border city of Rafah overnight while others pushed north to Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, they said.

The war began on October 7 when Hamas sent fighters into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s air and ground offensive has since devastated tiny, crowded Gaza, killing 28,663 people, also mostly civilian, according to health authorities, and forcing nearly all of its more than 2 million inhabitants from their homes.

In a new operation, the Israeli military said it carried out an air strike that killed a Hamas commander who had participated in the October 7 attack. He had also held captive a female Israeli soldier who was executed by Hamas, the military said.

Separately, medical officials said an Israeli strike killed three Palestinians in a car in Gaza City. Their identities were not immediately clear.

The Israeli military said a soldier was killed in fighting in southern Gaza, bringing its total losses since ground incursions began on October 20 to 235.

The medical charity Medicins San Frontieres said Israel shelled Nasser Hospital in the early hours, despite having told medical staff and patients they could remain.

“Our medical staff have had to flee the hospital, leaving patients behind,” it said on social media platform X, adding a member of its staff was detained at an Israeli checkpoint set up to screen those leaving the compound.

Fighting at the hospital comes as Israel faces growing international pressure to show restraint, after vowing to press its offensive into Rafah, the last relatively safe place in Gaza.

Attacks that have destroyed the majority of Gaza’s medical facilities have caused particular concern, including Israeli raids on hospitals in other cities, shelling in the vicinity of hospitals and the targeting of ambulances.

As massive bombardment destroyed swathes of residential districts and forced most people from their homes, hospitals quickly became the focus for displaced people seeking shelter around buildings they thought more likely to be safe.

Israel accuses Hamas of regularly using hospitals, ambulances and other medical facilities for military purposes, and has aired footage taken by its troops that it says shows tunnels containing weapons below some hospitals.

The Israeli military said it apprehended various suspects at Nasser Hospital and that its operations there were continuing.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Israel was lying about Nasser as it had about other hospitals.

VIDEO SHOWS HOSPITAL CHAOS

Speaking about the hospital raid, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said “This sensitive operation was prepared with precision and is being conducted by IDF special forces who underwent specified training”.

One objective of the operation was to ensure the hospital could continue treating Gazan patients and “we communicated this in a number of conversations we had with the hospital staff,” he said, adding there was no obligation to evacuate.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said the hospital would run out of fuel within the next 24 hours, threatening the lives of patients, including six in intensive care and three infants in the neonatal ward.

Hagari said Israel had arranged the transfer of medical supplies and fuel to the hospital in coordination with international organisations.

Videos that Reuters verified on Thursday as having been filmed inside Nasser Hospital – though it could not check when – showed chaos and terror.

Men walked through corridors using phone lights, with plaster dust swirling around and debris lying about, at one point wheeling a bed through a damaged area.

In one video, gunshots rang out and a doctor shouted: “Is there anyone still inside? There is gunfire, there is gunfire – heads down”.

Another man in a video said the Israeli army had surrounded the hospital and nobody could get out.

Mohammad al Moghrabi, who had been sheltering in the compound, said some people who attempted to leave on Wednesday were shot at and so returned to the hospital.

“This morning they said there was a safe passage, so we left, but it wasn’t safe. They approached us with a bulldozer and a tank, they insulted us and left us for four hours under the sun.”

This article was published on India today.

Also Read: Honor X9b, Choice Watch, and Choice X5 earbuds launched in India: Price and other details

Putin says he prefers ‘more predictable’ Biden over Trump

by Leave a Comment

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that he preferred Joe Biden to Donald Trump but was willing to work with any U.S. president.

Putin says he prefers 'more predictable' Biden over Trump

Putin was asked by interviewer Pavel Zarubin who was “better for us” out of Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, a Republican.

Putin replied without hesitation: “Biden. He is a more experienced, predictable person, a politician of the old school.”

Smiling slightly, he added: “But we will work with any U.S. president who the American people have confidence in.”

It was the first time Putin had publicly commented on the 2024 U.S. election race in which Biden and Trump are expected to face each other for the second successive time.

At a time of high political uncertainty in the U.S., and with relations between the two countries at their lowest point for more than 60 years, his comments were more likely to be perceived as mischief-making than taken at face value.

Biden has led the Western response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, including the expansion of the NATO alliance, the imposition of successive waves of sanctions on Moscow and the provision of billions of dollars’ worth of aid and weapons to Kyiv.

Based on Trump’s reluctance to criticise Putin in his first term and his more recent comments – including a weekend interview where he said he would encourage Russia to attack NATO members that failed to spend enough on their own defence – his many critics believe he would give the Kremlin leader a much easier ride.

Putin allowed himself to opine on the two candidates, and even to discuss the sensitive issue of Biden’s mental fitness, despite saying it would be wrong to interfere in the campaign.

“When I met with Biden in Switzerland – true, that was several years, three years ago – people were already saying he wasn’t up to it. I didn’t see anything of the kind,” Putin said.

While appearing to defend Biden, he brought up an episode that embarrassed the U.S. leader, when he banged his head while getting out of a helicopter in June last year.

“Well, which of us hasn’t banged his head somewhere?” Putin said.

Trump, he said, “has been called a non-systemic politician; he has his own view on the topic of how the United States should develop relations with its allies.”

Putin has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, but at 71 he is a decade younger than Biden and six years younger than Trump. He is certain to win a new six-year term in an election next month, from which two candidates who opposed the war in Ukraine have been disqualified for presenting invalid documentation.

In 2020, a report by the U.S. Senate intelligence committee found Russia had tried to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election in order to help Trump, who defeated Hillary Clinton.

Also Read | Unexpectedly entering a recession, Japan loses its ranking as the third-largest economy in the world to this nation!

Unexpectedly entering a recession, Japan loses its ranking as the third-largest economy in the world to this nation!

by Leave a Comment

Japan Two consecutive quarters of contraction are typically considered the definition of a technical recession.

Japan

Japan unexpectedly slipped into a recession at the end of last year, losing its title as the world’s third-biggest economy to Germany and raising doubts about when the central bank would begin to exit its decade-long ultra-loose monetary policy.

Some analysts are warning of another contraction in the current quarter as weak demand in China, sluggish consumption and production halts at a unit of Toyota Motor Corp, opens new tab all point to a challenging path to an economic recovery.

Also Read: Democrat Suozzi wins US House election in New York, eroding Republican majority

“What’s particularly striking is the sluggishness in consumption and capital expenditure that are key pillars of domestic demand,” said Yoshiki Shinke, senior executive economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.

“The economy will continue to lack momentum for the time being with no key drivers of growth.”

Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell an annualised 0.4% in the October-December period after a 3.3% slump in the previous quarter, government data showed on Thursday, confounding market forecasts for a 1.4% increase.

Two consecutive quarters of contraction are typically considered the definition of a technical recession.

While many analysts still expect the Bank of Japan to phase out its massive monetary stimulus this year, the weak data may cast doubt on its forecast that rising wages will underpin consumption and keep inflation durably around its 2% target.

“Two consecutive declines in GDP and three consecutive declines in domestic demand are bad news, even if revisions may change the final numbers at the margin,” said Stephan Angrick, senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.

Japan

“This makes it harder for the central bank to justify a rate hike, let alone a series of hikes.”

Economy minister Yoshitaka Shindo stressed the need to achieve solid wage growth to underpin consumption, which he described as “lacking momentum” due to rising prices.

“Our understanding is that the BOJ looks comprehensively at various data, including consumption, and risks to the economy in guiding monetary policy,” he told a news conference after the data’s release, when asked about the impact on BOJ policy.

The yen was steady following the release of the data and last stood at 150.22 per dollar, pinned near a three-month low hit earlier in the week.

The Nikkei, opens new tab rose 0.8%, reversing some of its losses made from the previous session, possibly on expectations the BOJ may continue with its massive easing programme for longer than expected.

On a quarterly basis, GDP slid 0.1% against median forecasts of a 0.3% gain, and compared with a 0.8% contraction in the previous quarter.

Private consumption, which makes up more than half of economic activity, fell 0.2%, weaker than a market forecast for a 0.1% gain, as rising living costs and warm weather discouraged households from dining out and buying winter clothes.

Capital expenditure, another key private-sector growth engine, fell 0.1%, compared with forecasts of a 0.3% gain, as supply constraints delayed construction projects.

External demand, or exports minus imports, contributed 0.2 percentage point to GDP as exports rose 2.6% from the previous quarter, the data showed.

The BOJ has been laying the groundwork to end negative rates by April and overhaul other parts of its ultra-loose monetary framework, but is likely to go slow on any subsequent policy tightening amid lingering risks, sources have told Reuters.

While BOJ officials have not offered clues on when exactly they could end negative rates, many market players expect such an action to happen either in March or April. A Reuters poll taken in January showed April as the top choice among economists for the negative rate policy to be abandoned.

Some analysts say Japan’s tight labour market and robust corporate spending plans are keeping alive the chance of an early exit from ultra-loose policy.

“While the second consecutive contraction in GDP in Q4 would suggest that Japan’s economy is now in recession, business surveys and the labour market tell a different story. 

Either way, growth is set to remain sluggish this year as the household savings rate has turned negative,” said Marcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics.

“The (BOJ) has been arguing that private consumption has ‘continued to increase moderately’ and we suspect that it will continue to strike an optimistic tone at its upcoming meeting in March,” Thieliant said, sticking to his proje

Also Read: Joe Biden calls Benjamin Netanyahu ‘as***ole’, slams Gaza operations: Report

This Article Was Originally Published On DNAIndia.com!

Democrat Suozzi wins US House election in New York, eroding Republican majority

by Leave a Comment

Suozzi, who previously held the seat before stepping down to run for governor, defeated Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Republican county legislator who served in the Israeli military. The district includes a small corner of New York City and some of its eastern suburbs.

Democratic former congressman Tom Suozzi won a special election in New York on Tuesday, Edison Research projected, narrowing an already razor-thin Republican majority in the US House of Representatives that has struggled to pass legislation.

The contest became necessary after the House took the extraordinary step of expelling Republican George Santos, whose dizzying array of lies about his biography led to his indictment on fraud charges.

Suozzi, who previously held the seat before stepping down to run for governor, defeated Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-born Republican county legislator who served in the Israeli military. The district includes a small corner of New York City and some of its eastern suburbs.

The result leaves Republicans with a 219-213 majority that has already proven hard to manage, illustrated by the chamber’s failure last week to pass a measure to impeach President Joe Biden’s top border official, Alejandro Mayorkas, which fell short by one vote when a few Republicans voted no.

The House approved the measure on Tuesday, after No. 2 Republican Steve Scalise returned from cancer treatment to cast a decisive vote.

Meanwhile, Democrats retained their slim majority in the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives on Tuesday after winning a special election in a Philadelphia suburb. Republicans, who already control the state Senate, would have taken over the House with a victory.

The New York district, which supported Biden in 2020 before flipping to Republicans in the 2022 mid-term elections, has served as a testing ground for both parties’ messaging ahead of the fall election, when the presidency and control of both chambers of Congress will be at stake.

“This race could be a bellwether for swing suburban districts around the country that are going to decide who controls the gavels of Congress,” said Lawrence Levy, executive dean at Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies.

Turnout, already expected to be light for a special election in February, was further depressed by a winter storm that blanketed the region on Tuesday morning with several inches of heavy snow, prompting both campaigns to offer free rides to polling places in the afternoon.

Immigration was a central issue, as it has been elsewhere in the country ahead of an expected rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump in November.

Pilip repeatedly hammered Suozzi and the Democratic Party on the issue, accusing them of failing to control crossings at the southern border with Mexico. Pilip was endorsed by a labor union for Border Patrol officers.

“I kept migrants from being sent to Nassau and will secure the border when I get to Congress,” Pilip wrote in a Facebook post, referring to New York state’s Nassau County.

Suozzi, who represented the congressional district for six years before stepping down and running unsuccessfully for governor, called Pilip’s attacks against him misleading and said she has been short of specifics on how she would address border security.

He touted his own bipartisan immigration compromise and criticized Republicans for rejecting a border security deal negotiated in the Senate, which collapsed after Trump urged Republicans to spurn it.

“Ms. Pilip points out there’s a problem, there’s a problem, there’s a problem. She has no solutions,” Suozzi said in the election’s only debate.

He also attacked Pilip on abortion, an issue that Democrats have put front and center since the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated a nationwide right in 2022. Pilip said she is personally against abortion but did not support a federal ban.

This Article Was Originally Published On India Today!

Also read: Check out the entire program for PM Modi’s massive event in the UAE prior to the opening of the country’s first Hindu temple!

Joe Biden calls Benjamin Netanyahu ‘as***ole’, slams Gaza operations: Report

by Leave a Comment

Joe Biden has criticised Benjamin Netanyahu over his Gaza operations, calling him an ‘as***ole,’ during a private conversation.

Joe Biden has criticised Benjamin Netanyahu

In Short

  • Joe Biden has been vocal in his demand that Israel should not undertake a ground offensive in Gaza’s Rafah
  • Biden’s team has been trying to negotiate a pause in the fighting in order to secure the release of hostages
  • Biden and Netanyahu spoke for about 45 minutes, days after Biden said Israel’s military response in Gaza was “over the top”

US President Joe Biden has reportedly slammed Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and called him an ‘as***ole’, during a private conversation.

According to a report with NBC News, Biden, while talking about Netanyahu’s Gaza operations, expressed his exasperation, and said he (Biden) was trying to get Israel to agree to a ceasefire, but Netanyahu was “giving him hell” and that it was impossible to deal with.

The development, according to the report, was confirmed by three people familiar with Biden’s comments.

The US President also said Netanyahu’s Gaza operation was ‘enough and needed to stop’.

On Sunday, in a nearly 45-minute-long conversation, Biden told Netanyahu that Israel should not launch a military operation in Rafah without a credible plan to ensure the safety of the roughly 1 million people sheltering there, the White House said.

Earlier, during the start of this month too, the US President had privately slammed Netanyahu, calling him a “bad f***ing guy” as the Israel-Hamas war rages and international support for the Jewish nation dwindles.

Later, however, Joe Biden’s spokesperson Andrew Bates, dismissed the usage of offensive words by the US President, saying he “did not say that, nor would he”.

According to a report with CNN, Joe Biden has grown increasingly frustrated behind the scenes with his Israeli counterpart, telling advisers and others that he (Netanyahu) is ignoring his advice and obstructing efforts to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

So far, Biden has stopped short of directly criticising Netanyahu in public. But he has become increasingly critical of Israel’s tactics, saying last week he believes the campaign in Gaza is “over the top,” one of his sharpest condemnations to date of the military effort against Hamas.

This article was originally published on India today.

Also read: Ashok Chavan likely to join BJP, day after quitting Congress!

Todaysheadlinesnews is your news, entertainment, music fashion website. We provide you with the latest breaking news and videos straight from the entertainment industry.

POPULAR POSTS

RECENT POSTS
Todaysheadlinesnews is your news, entertainment, music fashion website. We provide you with the latest breaking news and videos straight from the entertainment industry.

FOLLOW US:

Copyright © 2024 ·  TodaysHeadlines.News