~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (72)

Modi favourite to win third term in largest democratic exercise in history held across six weeks India is to hold a national election in April it has been announced, in what will be the world’s largest election with nearly a billion people eligible to vote.Many consider Modi’s re-election a foregone conclusion, owing to both the premier’s robust popularity a decade after taking office and...

Unnamed militant group drove vehicle laden with explosives into post and detonated suicide bombsMilitants have attacked a military post in Pakistan near Afghanistan using a vehicle laden with explosives, killing five security force members, Pakistan’s military said.The incident in north-west Pakistan was carried out by six attackers, the military’s media wing said in a statement, without naming the militant group responsible for the attack....

Party of Indian prime minister was by far biggest beneficiary of electoral bonds, which were struck down as unconstitutionalIndia’s election commission has published details of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of political donations, exposing how much prime minister Narendra Modi’s party benefited from a controversial financing scheme.According to the data that was released, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) received more than 60bn rupees...

CBC aired an investigation into the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing the Canadian government suspects India was behindIndia has ordered prominent video-sharing platforms to block access to a new Canadian documentary probing the assassination of a prominent Sikh activist in Vancouver, in a move that highlights India’s mounting frustration with the allegations its government was behind the high-profile killing.The request marks the...

Citizenship amendment act grants Indian nationality to refugees who are Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Jain or Buddhist, but not MuslimThe Indian government has enacted a divisive citizenship law that critics say discriminates against Muslims, just weeks before prime minister Narendra Modi heads into a general election.The law, known as the citizenship amendment act (CAA), was one of the most controversial pieces of legislation proposed by...

Zardari played a key role in talks to form a coalition government after February’s disputed parliamentary electionPakistan’s lawmakers have elected Asif Ali Zardari as the country’s president for the second time.Zardari is the widower of the assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto and the father of the former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Continue reading...

Thousands of police mobilised for Srinagar rally seen as Modi’s campaign event for elections India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has made his first visit to Kashmir since the government revoked the region’s autonomy in 2019, claiming the state was finally “breathing freely” despite allegations of systematic repression.Thousands of police and paramilitary officers were mobilised before Modi’s first rally there for more than five years,...

Nominated candidate of eight-party coalition takes office after gathering of national assemblyShehbaz Sharif has been appointed prime minister of Pakistan after a vote that was riddled with allegations of rigging and irregularities.Sharif, of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party, was the nominated candidate of a new eight-party coalition that was formed after no single party managed to win an outright majority in the...

On his 4,000-mile march across the country, congressman tells voters to wake up to the vast gulf between them and the richHis voice hoarse from all the speeches he had made during his 4,000-mile march across the breadth of India, Rahul Gandhi urged people at a rally in Uttar Pradesh state to think hard.Specifically, to think hard about caste. “Are there any of you...

Junior minister accuses tech firm of violating country’s IT laws with ‘downright malicious’ answersA response from Google’s AI platform suggesting that some experts believe the policies of the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, polices to be “fascist” has provoked a confrontation between the company and the government.The journalist Arnab Ray last week put the question as to whether Modi was a fascist to Google’s...

Inquiry ordered after 50-carriage freight train set off on its own when driver disembarked at station in JammuIndian Railways has ordered an investigation after a runaway freight train loaded with gravel travelled 43 miles (70km) without a driver.About 50 carriages set off solo on Sunday, from the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, before being brought to a halt by wooden blocks...

Johnny Mercer tells UK inquiry of reports SAS had killed civilians between 2010 and 2013The UK’s minister for veterans, Johnny Mercer, has effectively admitted in front of a public inquiry that he believed members of the SAS had engaged in dozens of unlawful killings of Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2013.Mercer told the inquiry on Tuesday that at one point, shortly after first becoming...

MoD conducts review but stands accused of conflict of interest while public inquiry investigates conduct of SAS in AfghanistanElite Afghan commandos who fought alongside the British military have had their applications to relocate blocked by UK special forces despite evidence that they had served alongside them in dangerous missions against the Taliban.Documents leaked and shared with BBC Panorama show that Britain’s secretive special forces...

Confession by Punjab commissioner exacerbates tension over legitimacy of February general election resultsA senior official in Pakistan has admitted to election rigging amid protests breaking out across the country over claims that its general election results were unfair.The confessional statement throws further questions over the legitimacy of the 8 February elections, which were marred by controversies and allegations of rigging in Pakistan. Continue reading...

Rival parties will make Shehbaz Sharif prime minister, despite Khan’s party getting most votes at election A coalition including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PLM-N) and the Pakistan People’s party (PPP) have agreed to form the next government of Pakistan, ensuring that the party of former prime minister Imran Khan will not take power despite getting the most votes in the election.At a press conference...

Government will be formed by Nawaz Sharif’s party but it may not survive long given the popularity of the jailed Imran Khan’s PTIIt was mid-afternoon on Pakistan’s election day, sources say, when military intelligence began to realise that things on the ground were not going as planned.Mobile services, including the internet, had been suspended across the country on the pretext of security issues. Those...

Police fire teargas on supporters of Imran Khan amid turmoil as several parties claim they would be forming governmentPolice fired teargas to disperse supporters of Imran Khan as protests broke out across Pakistan amid allegations of widespread vote-rigging targeting the former prime minister’s political party and other nationalist groups in the general election.The results of the election, which took place on Thursday, gave a...

State media report all men aged 18-35 and women 18-27 must serve for up to two years and up to five years in a state of emergencyMyanmar’s junta has declared mandatory military service for all young men and women, state media said, as it struggles to contain armed rebel forces fighting for greater autonomy in various parts of the country.All men aged 18-35 and...

Jailed leader says he has support to form next government but analysts say results only suit the armyImran Khan’s political party has declared it intends to form the next government after claiming a shock election victory, despite efforts by the opposition to take power in a backroom coalition deal.Even as results showed that candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the party run by the...

Country faces uncertainty after strong performance by independent candidates loyal to former PM Imran KhanPakistan’s army chief has told feuding politicians to show “maturity and unity” after an election failed to produce a clear winner, leaving the military’s favoured party having to cobble together a coalition in order to rule.The country faces days of political horse-trading after a strong performance by independent candidates loyal...

Projections on local television channels slow coming in compared to previous elections as some early urban results show surprise lead for Imran Khan’s partyPakistan’s vote count following a national election has been hit by unusual delays, leading the country’s election panel to issue a late-night warning to polling officers, 10 hours after polls closed, to release results immediately.An “internet issue” was the reason behind...

Caretaker government says it took decision for security reasons after two bomb blasts targeted election officesPhone services have been suspended in Pakistan as polls opened in its general election, with candidates and political parties voicing concerns there may be attempts to rig the results.The caretaker government said phone services, including mobile internet, had been suspended for security reasons. Continue reading...

Phone services suspended for security reasons as voting begins, a day after at least 30 killed in attacks in Balochistan provincePhone services were suspended in Pakistan on Thursday as polls opened in its general election, a day after two bomb blasts at the election offices of a political party and an independent candidate in south-west Pakistan killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens...

Exclusive: $9bn port, airport and military base on Great Nicobar Island will cause ‘genocide’ of isolated Shompen, academics warnAcademics from around the world have urged India to cancel a huge construction project on Great Nicobar Island, warning it would be “a death sentence” for the Shompen hunter-gatherer people who live there.The $9bn (£7bn) port project, planned to transform the Indian Ocean island of 8,000...