BJP and allies retain power in Tripura, Nagaland; hung verdict in Meghalaya
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies retained power in Tripura and Nagaland, while in Meghalaya, the National People’s Party (NPP) emerged as the single largest party. The results show that voters in these northeastern States largely rejected calls for a change.
Deep divisions between the United States-led Western countries and the Russia-China combine upended India’s attempt to forge consensus at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Thursday. The meeting in Delhi, that brought together the world’s 20 most developed economies, saw sharp words exchanged by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and a number of other Foreign Ministers, despite an appeal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the start of the meeting to “rise above [their] differences”.
Hathras rape and murder | SC/ST court acquits three, holds one guilty of culpable homicide
An SC/ST court in Hathras on Thursday acquitted three out of four accused persons, and convicted one person for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, in the case involving the rape and murder of a 19-year-old Dalit girl. It was alleged that four youths belonging to a dominant caste group from the same Boolgarhi village gang-raped the girl before trying to kill her.
BJP win in the northeast reflects the support from all sections: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the results of the Assembly elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland showed that the northeastern States were no longer “Dil se door na Dilli se door” (neither far from our hearts nor from Delhi). Addressing BJP workers at the party headquarters in New Delhi, Mr. Modi also launched a sharp attack on his detractors, stating that however much they wished “mar ja Modi” (that Modi should die) the people of the country wished the opposite - “mat ja Modi” (do not go Modi).
U.S. Secretary of state Antony Blinken, while addressing a press conference in Delhi on Thursday, said that Russia could end the Ukraine war tomorrow if it wanted. He said that only Russia and China refused to sign on to the Bali document and that at the UNGA, no G20 country voted with Russia.
Fruitful tie-up for Congress, not for CPI(M) in Tripura
The sharp dip in the vote share of the CPI(M) in the Tripura Assembly election has raised several questions on its strategy to align with the Congress, which on the other hand has benefited from the alliance. The vote share of the CPI(M) fell to 24.6% from the 42% in 2018, the sharpest drop among all the political parties in the fray.
Political row erupts in U.K. over ‘Partygate’ investigator
Allies of former U.K. prime minister Boris Johnson were in uproar Thursday after a senior civil servant blamed for his downfall quit to work for the leader of the opposition Labour party. Sue Gray became a household name in Britain after leading an inquiry into the "Partygate" scandal that contributed to Mr. Johnson losing his job last year, when members of his Conservative party turned on him.
India, China discuss on LAC; Jaishankar calls state of relations ‘abnormal’
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Thursday he had discussed the “abnormal” current state of relations with China and the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as he held bilateral talks with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
Setback for oldest regional party in the northeast
Naga People’s Front (NPF), the oldest regional party in the northeast, has suffered a setback in Nagaland. The NPF managed to win two seats, a fall from the 26 seats it won in 2018 to become the single-largest party. NPF president and former Chief Minister, Shurhozelie Liezietsu attributed his party’s poor performance to the “money game” of opponents. Money is said to play a major role in deciding who wins in Nagaland, although the victors claim otherwise.
War in Ukraine violation of fundamental principle of global order: Italian PM
Global interconnection has enabled our economies to grow and flourish but it comes at a cost especially in times of turbulence in international community, said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday while talking of the interconnected world. On the war in Ukraine, she said it is a violation of the fundamental principle of global order that enables the international community to thrive.
Gunmen threaten Messi, shoot up family-owned supermarket
Gunmen threatened Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi in a written message left on Thursday when they opened fire at a supermarket owned by his in-laws in Argentina, police said. Nobody was injured in the early morning attack, and it was unclear why assailants would target Messi or the Unico supermarket in the country’s third-largest city of Rosario, owned by the family of his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo.
Donald Trump can be sued for January 6 actions, Justice Dept says
Former President Donald Trump can be sued by injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department said Thursday in a federal court case testing Trump’s legal vulnerability and the limits of executive power.
