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BJP is looking to elect its heads in a number of key states in the coming days to pave the way for the election of its new national president, a process which has stretched longer than expected. Official sources said the party leadership is keen on a quick election of its presidents in big states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, among others, to finish the organisational exercise that began with the launch of a nationwide membership drive in September last year. The BJP's constitution requires the party to complete its organisational election in at least half of its state units, meaning that new presidents should be in place in at least 19 states, including union territories, before the exercise to choose the new national president begins. The BJP has 37 organisational states in total. When the party's membership drive began in September last year, it was largely believed that the election of the new president in place of incumbent J P Nadda would be over by January-February this year. However, a delay in electing its presidents in several big states as the party looks to build a consensus and take its ideological allies like the RSS into confidence has set back the process by several weeks.

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2024 election was over, the then vice president Kamala Harris made the tough phone call to president-elect Donald Trump to concede the election. As expected, the call was tense and awkward, but new information from Chris Whipple's upcoming new book 'Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History', highlighted just how uncomfortable the conversation actually was, as per a report. The call was arranged from her Naval Observatory residence in Washington D.C., with her campaign Chief of Staff Sheila Nix and White House Chief of Staff Lorraine Voles, reported Daily Mail. According to Whipple's book, «Nix called the president-elect on her cell phone — but for some reason couldn't merge the call with the vice president's phone. So Voles called Harris on hers — and she and Nix pressed the phones together,» quoted Daily Mail. After Trump picked up the call, Voles told Trump that, «The vice president is on the line,» as quoted in the report.

Mumbai: A sessions court here on Saturday dismissed former Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde's appeal against an interim order of a magistrate, directing him to pay maintenance to a woman, who claims to be his first wife. The appeal by Munde, an NCP legislator, was dismissed by additional sessions judge Shaikh Akbar Shaikh Jafar. The detailed order was not available yet. The Nationalist Congress Party leader had claimed in his appeal that he was never married to Karuna Munde, the applicant. The magistrate did not apply his mind and passed an arbitrary order, he had argued. The Bandra magistrate court on February 4 had partly allowed Karuna Munde's plea and directed Dhananjay Munde to pay Rs 1,25,000 per month to her and Rs 75,000 per month to their daughter as interim maintenance. The magistrate had also refused to accept the former state minister's contention that he was not married to the woman.

Yunus following talks between PM Narendra Modi and Chief Adviser claiming that the Indian leader undermined former PM Sheikh Hasina and stated that he has no negative views about her extradition call into question both the seriousness and the good faith of the interim government. With regard to remarks by the Press Secretary to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, sources dismissed the account as mischievous and politically motivated. Modi spoke of the progress in bilateral relationship since 2014 and characterized it as a deep friendship between our societies and people. Sources noted that the characterisation of Modi's remarks regarding the relationship between Yunus and the previous government was also inaccurate. Modi also mentioned the importance of elections as the basis of legitimacy in any democracy. A continued procrastination in this regard would damage the Chief Advisor’s reputation.

Trump's move on Wednesday to place stiff new tariffs on imports from nearly all U.S. trading partners marks an all-in bet by the Republican that his once-fringe economic vision will pay off for Americans. It was the realization of his four decades of advocacy for a protectionist foreign policy and the belief that free trade was forcing the United States into decline as its economy shifted from manufacturing to services. The tariff announcement was the latest and perhaps boldest manifestation of Trump's second-term freedom to lead with his instincts after feeling his first turn in the Oval Office was restrained by aides who did not share his worldview. How it shakes out could be a defining judgment on his presidency. The early reviews have been worrisome. Financial markets had their worst week since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign trade partners retaliated and economists warned that the import taxes may boost inflation and potentially send the U.S. into a recession. It's now Republican lawmakers who are fretting about their party's future while Democrats feel newly buoyant over what they see as Trump's overreach.

Senate Republicans plugged away overnight and into early Saturday morning to approve their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts framework, hurling past a hard line of Democratic opposition toward what President Donald Trump calls the «big, beautiful bill» that's central to his agenda. The vote, 51-48, fell along mostly party lines. It could not have come at a more difficult political moment. The U.S. economy is churning after Trump's vast tariff scheme sent stocks plummeting, and experts are warning of soaring costs for consumers at home and threats of a potential recession. Even some Republicans have expressed concerns. But with a nod from Trump GOP leaders held determined to march ahead. Approval paves the way for Republicans, in the months ahead, to try to power a tax cut bill through both chambers of Congress over the objections of Democrats, just as they did in Trump's first term with unified party control in Washington. «Let the voting begin,» Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Friday night. The evening kicked off what's called vote-a-rama as Democrats were intent on making the effort as politically painful as possible, with votes on some two dozen amendments to the package that GOP senators will have to defend before next year's midterm elections.

death toll from Myanmar's devastating earthquake climbed to 3,354, with 4,850 injured and 220 missing, state media said on Saturday, as the visiting U.N. aid chief praised humanitarian and community groups for leading the aid response. The leader of the military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, was back in the capital Naypyitaw after a rare foreign trip to attend a summit in Bangkok of South and Southeast Asian nations, where he also met separately with the leaders of Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India. Min Aung Hlaing reaffirmed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the junta's plans to hold «free and fair» elections in December, Myanmar state media said. Modi called for a post-quake ceasefire in Myanmar's civil war to be made permanent, and said the elections needed to be «inclusive and credible», an Indian foreign affairs spokesperson said on Friday. Critics have derided the planned election as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.

Such units are among the thousands of troops that South Korea's spy agency says Pyongyang has deployed to Russia to support Moscow's war against Ukraine. During the visit to a special operations unit on Friday, Kim said the «actual war capability for guaranteeing victory in the war field is bolstered up through intensive training,» the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He added that their training is «the most vivid expression of patriotism and loyalty to the country,» according to the agency. Images released by state media showed Kim peering through the scope of a sniper rifle that KCNA said was going to be «newly supplied to special operation units».

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—In the end, all it took to oust Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whom President Trump appointed in his first term, was a nudge from Elon Musk. During a Friday meeting last month at Trump’s Bedminster, N.J., club, Musk complained to the president that DeJoy was resisting his cost-cutting efforts at the U.S.

K Annamalai on Friday announced that 'he is not in the race' to become the next state unit chief. «There is no contest in Tamil Nadu BJP; we will select a leader unanimously. But I am not in the race. I am not in the BJP state leadership race,» Annamalai said while speaking to reporters here today. The tenure of K Annamalai as the Tamil Nadu state President ended a few months back as per the party laws and is currently continuing in the position until the next chief is elected. The state party Presidency elections are likely to take place on the 9th and 10th of this month. They will be headed by the state party in charge and leaders from Delhi. Earlier, AIADMK general secretary Edapaddi K Palaniswami met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi a few days back, which gave rise to speculations of an alliance between the two parties once again.

tariff war between the US and China led to a sharp downturn. The Nifty Metal index plunged 6.6%-its worst day since the announcement of general election results in June 2024.

Waqf Bill in both the Houses of Parliament has given a boost to the BJP ahead of Biar elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party got 240 seats and it is dependent on its NDA allies for their support, not only to run the government but also to sail through key legislations. In August last year, the Waqf Bill was presented in Parliament and was sent to a JPC.

Hewitt joined Columbia Threadneedle in 2021 after it acquired BMO GAM (EMEA), having previously worked for BMO and its predecessor companies since 1999.  After 13 years as a fund manager with Ivory and Sime (later known as ISIS), Hewitt spent two years as head of equities for Murray Johnstone. Columbia Threadneedle's Peter Hewitt elected to the board of the AIC He has overseen the management of the CT Global Managed Portfolio trust's income and growth mandates since their inception in April 2008. As the trust's next financial year commences, on 1 June 2025, management of the por...

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. WASHINGTON—President Trump promised a new American golden age. But the immediate fallout from his expansive tariffs has been a shuddering stock market and rising fears of a recession.

Labor Party's Jerome Laxale won the Sydney seat of Bennelong from the Liberals at the 2022 election, votes from Chinese Australians angry about then-prime minister Scott Morrison's spat with Beijing were instrumental in his victory. Now Laxale and other politicians are using social media including Xiaohongshu, a Chinese lifestyle app also called RedNote, and other campaign strategies to appeal to Chinese communities who will again be a crucial bloc in the upcoming election. «If you want to communicate with your electorate, you need to go where your electorate are and some of them are on Xiaohongshu,» said Laxale, who has handed out 30,000 red envelopes with QR codes to his personal accounts on Xiaohongshu and another Chinese app, WeChat.

Nadeem Akhtar, another JD(U) leader resigned from the party making him the fifth member to leave over the party's support for the Waqf Amendment Bill. His resignation follows that of four other leaders, including JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar, Tabrez Siddiqui Alig, Mohammad Shahnawaz Malik and Mohammed Kasim Ansari. Earlier, JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar wrote in his resignation, «I resign from JD(U) after Waqf Amendment Bill is passed and supported in the Lok Sabha.» He went on to express his deep disappointment with the party, stating, «I am deeply hurt by the JD(U) voting in favour of this black law, which oppresses Muslims.» «I resign from the post of former state secretary of JD(U) youth and primary membership of the party. I request to send a letter to the Honorable CM Nitish Kumar and relieve me from all responsibilities,» he added.

Pappu Yadav, on Friday claimed that the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and the JD(U) chief was not in a good mental state and that he was no longer in control of his party. «Nitish Kumar ji's mental state is not very good in the present time. In his party, 90 of leaders are against SC/ST but aligned to BJP...The day voting takes place in Bihar, on that day after 5pm, BJP will not need Nitish Kumar..JD(U) is not in the hands of Nitish ji now,» Yadav said. Yadav also criticised the ruling party at the Centre, «Just because they have the numbers, they are bypassing the constitution...Do they even have a single Muslim MP? Do they give tickets to even a single Muslim?.. They want to divert attention from real issues...The nation will not accept it and will give a befitting reply to them.» JD(U) leader Raju Nayyar today submitted his resignation from JD(U) after Waqf Amendment Bill is passed and supported in the Lok Sabha. He went on to express his deep disappointment with the party, stating, «I am deeply hurt by the JD(U) voting in favour of this black law, which oppresses Muslims.»

President Yoon Suk Yeol, upholding parliament's impeachment motion over his short-lived imposition of martial law last year that sparked the country's worst political crisis in decades. With Yoon's ouster, a presidential election is required to take place within 60 days, according to the country's constitution. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will continue to serve as acting president until the new president is inaugurated. The ruling caps months of political turmoil that have overshadowed efforts to deal with the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump at a time of slowing growth. Separately, 64-year-old Yoon faces a criminal trial on insurrection charges. The embattled leader became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested on January 15 but was released in March after a court cancelled his arrest warrant.

Reportedly, no party is forecast to win an overall majority, and the chances of a Reform-Conservative coalition government are mounting. Nevertheless, a deal between their parties has been ruled out by both Mrs. Badenoch and Mr. Farage. As voter trust in major leaders remains low, the future remains uncertain. For the first time today, a mega-poll asserts that if a general election were held now, reform would garner the most seats, positioning Nigel Farage to become prime minister, as per reports. The new right-wing party is expected to receive 25% of the vote, according to an analysis of a survey of 5,180 people. Labour and the Conservatives are tied at 23% each.

Bitcoin extended its recent retreat Thursday, with the price of the leading cryptocurrency falling in the wake of President Donald Trump's latest tariff announcement.