Professor Bimal Patel Elected to International Law Commission for 5-year Term
Professor Bimal Patel, Vice-Chancellor, Rashtriya Raksha University and Member of National Security Advisory Board of India, has been elected to the International Law Commission for a five-year term starting January 1, 2023 in a hard-fought election at the United Nations.
"Hearty felicitations to Prof Bimal Patel @RakshaUni for election to International Law Commission by topping the group," India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti tweeted, thanking all UN member states for overwhelming support to India's candidature.
Prof. Patel garnered 163 votes in the UN General Assembly out of 192 members present and voting, topping the Asia-Pacific group that included candidates from China, South Korea and Japan.
Nov 12, 2021
Sudan's Army Chief Appoints New Ruling Council
Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has formed a new transitional council, headed by himself, to lead the country following the military takeover late last month,.
The new 14-member Sovereign Council, for which one member isyet to be named, includes civilians representing Sudan's regions but none from the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) political coalition that had been sharing power with the military since 2019. Gen. Burhan's deputy will remain Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with both men keeping roles they held before the coup.
The move is likely to harden opposition among civilian groups who have pledged to resist the takeover through a campaign of civil disobedience, strikes and mass rallies.
The council also includes representatives of rebel groups that reached a peace deal with the government last year but had rejected the coup in a statement this week.
Sudan's Army Chief Appoints New Ruling Council
Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has formed a new transitional council, headed by himself, to lead the country following the military takeover late last month,.
The new 14-member Sovereign Council, for which one member isyet to be named, includes civilians representing Sudan's regions but none from the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) political coalition that had been sharing power with the military since 2019. Gen. Burhan's deputy will remain Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with both men keeping roles they held before the coup.
Belarus President Threatens to Shut EU Gas Flow in Border Spat
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened to shut down a key pipeline carrying Russian gas to the European Union as the bloc considers new sanctions, escalating a dispute flaring over migrants seeking to cross from his country into the EU.
European gas prices reversed earlier losses after the threat. The continent is dealing with the worst energy crisis in decades amid limited Russian supplies of gas, among other factors.
The refugee tensions on the border between Belarus and Poland -- which the EU accuses Lukashenko of instigating in retaliation for its pressure on his government over its brutal crackdown on domestic opponents -- has spiraled in recent days, with several thousand people stuck on the frontier.
Nov 11, 2021
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Joins Centrist Party, Eyeing Re-election
After two years without a political party, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro sealed an agreement with the centrist Liberal Party to back his 2022 re-election bid.
The decision followed a meeting between Bolsonaro and Liberal Party leader Valdemar Costa Neto in the capital Brasilia. The President's formal enrolment to the party's ranks will take place November 22.
Bolsonaro intends for the alliance to aid him in battling his nemesis, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. "Lula," as da Silva is known universally, holds a handsome lead over Bolsonaro in early polls. Joining one of the parties that forms part of the so-called Centrao group also signals Bolsonaro shifting course from his 2018 campaign strategy, when he sharply criticised their old-school political practices.
US Joins India-led International Solar Alliance as Member Country
The United States became the 101st member country of the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA), as US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry signed the ISA framework agreement to catalyse global energy transition through a solar-led approach.
Kerry described the US membership as a major step towards the rapid deployment of solar power, as he formally signed the framework agreement at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav welcomed the US as the 101st member of the ISA.
Leaders of US, Mexico and Canada to Hold First Summit in Five Years
US President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hold their first in-person meeting in Washington.
The meeting, which will be the first summit held by the three countries in five years, will address issues including the COVID-19 pandemic and boosting the competitiveness of supply chains in North America.
China to Attend Pakistan Troika Plus Meet after Skipping India's Afghan Dialogue
China attended a meeting on Afghanistan convened by its all-weather ally Pakistan, after skipping a security dialogue hosted by India on the situation in the war-torn country, citing "scheduling reasons".
Pakistan hosted senior diplomats from the US, China and Russia in Islamabad and discussed the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan. The Troika Plus meeting was attended by special representatives from all four countries.
Kishida Re-elected Japan's Prime Minister in Parliamentary Vote
Fumio Kishida was re-elected as Japan's Prime Minister after his governing party scored a major victory in key parliamentary elections.
Elected just over a month ago by parliament, Kishida called a quick election in which his Liberal Democratic Party secured 261 seats in the 465-member lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber legislature, enough to maintain a free hand in pushing through legislation.
Stefan Lofven Steps Down, Paving Way for Sweden's First Female PM
Stefan Lofven stepped down as Sweden's Prime Minister, paving the way for his replacement as leader of the Social Democratic Party to become Sweden's first female head of government.
Lofven will continue as caretaking Prime Minister until a new government is formed. Norlen is expected to ask Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson whether she can find support in the 349-seat Riksdag assembly to form a Cabinet.
No time frame for a new Cabinet was announced. Under the Swedish Constitution, Prime Ministers can govern as long as a parliamentary majority - a minimum 175 lawmakers - is not against them.
Nov 10, 2021
Chilean President Impeached
President Sebastian Pinera was impeached by the Lower House of Chile's congress, setting up a trial in the nation's Senate over whether to remove him due to allegations he favoured the sale of a family property while in office.
The vote to accept the charges got the bare minimum of 78 votes needed in the 155-member Chamber of Deputies and followed a marathon 20-hour session. Sixty-seven legislators voted against the "constitutional accusation", including several members of the opposition. Others abstained or were absent.
Parties Sign Power-sharing Deal to Form New Czech Government
The Czech Republic gained a new government after two party coalitions that garnered a sizeable chunk of votes in the country's parliamentary election last month signed a power-sharing deal.
A three-party, liberal-conservative coalition dubbed Together, composed of the Civic Democratic Party, Christian Democrats and the TOP 09 party, led the election with a 27.8% share of the vote.
Together teamed up with a center-left liberal coalition made up of the Pirate Party and STAN - a group of mayors - which came in third place with 15.6% of votes.
The new partnership will hold a 108-seat majority in the 200-seat lower house of Parliament, relegating outgoing populist Prime Minister Andrej Babis and his centrist ANO (YES) movement to the opposition.
Nicaragua: Daniel Ortega Wins Fourth Consecutive Presidential Term
Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega clinched a fourth consecutive term, after jailing political rivals ahead of a vote that prompted threats of sanctions from the United States and international calls for free elections.
In the months leading up to the election, Western and many Latin American nations had expressed deep concern about the fairness of the vote as Ortega detained opponents and business leaders and criminalized dissent.
Election observers from the European Union and the Organization of American States were not allowed to scrutinize the process and journalists were barred from entering Nicaragua.
US, Britain and Norway urge Sudan to Reinstate PM
The ambassadors of the US, Britain and Norway met Sudan's top general, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and told him to restore civilian leadership following last month's coup.
The countries, known as the Sudan Troika, urged the general to reinstate the ousted Prime Minister, Abdalla Hamdok, who is currently under house arrest.
Pro-democracy groups are organising further protests against the military take-over.
Their ability to mobilise people has been undermined by the blocking of the internet and the disruption of phone services.
Nov 09, 2021
Vietnam Ranks 4th on List of Asia's Leading Countries for Girls' Rights
Vietnam was ranked 4th on the list of top Asian countries for girls' rights.
Vietnam is one of the leading Asian countries in promoting girls' political participation rights, according to a report released in 2021 by Plan International. The report also identifies opportunities for girls and women in 19 countries in Asia and 14 countries in the Pacific.
Vietnam ranked 4th in the above list. In particular, Vietnam leads the way in law and politics, along with the Philippines and Thailand; ranks second in political voice after Singapore. Vietnam's health and education indicators also rose from those released in 2020.
Global Drug Policy Index 2021
The inaugural Global Drug Policy Index, released by the Harm Reduction Consortium, ranks Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, the UK and Australia as the five leading countries on humane and health-driven drug policies.
The five lowest-ranking countries are Brazil, Uganda, Indonesia, Kenya, and Mexico. India's rank is 18 out of 30 countries.
It is a data-driven global analysis of drug policies and their implementation. It is composed of 75 indicators running across five broad dimensions of drug policy: criminal justice, extreme responses, health and harm reduction, access to internationally controlled medicines, and development.
It is a project of the Harm Reduction Consortium, whose partners include: the European Network of People Who Use Drugs (EuroNPUD), the Eurasian Harm Reduction Association (EHRA), the Eurasian Network of People who Use Drugs (ENPUD), the Global Drug Policy Observatory (GDPO) / Swansea University, Harm Reduction International (HRI), the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC), the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association (MENAHRA), the West African Drug Policy Network (WADPN), the Women and Harm Reduction International Network (WHRIN), and Youth RISE.
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