World
Pakistan government supporters to stage rare sit-in, protest release of former Premier Imran Khan
Convoys of buses and vehicles filled with Pakistani pro-government supporters are flooding the main road leading to the country's capital on Monday to protest the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Thousands are making their way toward the Supreme Court for a rare sit-in against its decision to give Khan, now opposition leader, an “undue reprieve” following his arrest in a graft case. The 70-year-old Khan was released on bail and given protection from arrest until later this month.
Also Read: Pakistani court frees former Prime Minister Imran Khan
The call to protest is a sign of escalating tensions between the judiciary and the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who replaced Khan after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022.
Pakistan Democratic Movement, an alliance of 13 political parties affiliated with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League has called for the sit-in over the weekend. The radical Islamist political party Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam is leading the protest call.
Also as part of the alliance, Pakistan People’s Party led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari — the son of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto — is also joining the protest.
The sit-in is expected to take place despite a ban on rallies and public gatherings that the government imposed in the wake of the crisis.
“Our peaceful protest is against Chief Justice (Umar Ata Bandial) for facilitating the release of Imran Khan,” said Fazalur Rehman, the head of Pakistan Democratic Alliance. As he spoke, more than 3,000 supporters had already gathered near the sprawling court building.
In a televised statement on Monday, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif accused the Supreme Court of siding with Khan. He suggested the court “examine the conduct of the chief justice" and take legal action against him.
Last Tuesday, Khan was dramatically arrested from a courtroom in Islamabad and dragged out by agents of the National Accountability Bureau on charges of accepting millions of dollars worth of property in exchange for providing benefits to a real estate tycoon.
Also Read: Pakistan on edge as court decides whether ex-PM Imran Khan goes free or is rearrested
Khan’s arrest triggered a wave of violent protests across Pakistan. Supporters of Khan and his Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf party, clashed with police, set fire to more than 100 police vehicles, and burned down government buildings and even military facilities, including the residence of a top regional army commander in the eastern city of Lahore.
A year after his ouster, Khan, a former cricket star turned Islamist politician, is still widely popular in Pakistan. Khan blames Sharif, the country’s military and Washington for his removal from power, saying it was part of a conspiracy to discredit him. All three have denied the charge.
Later in the day, Khan will appear before a top court in Lahore city to seek bail and protection from arrest in terrorism cases filed against him because of last week's violence instigated by his supporters.
Cash-strapped Pakistan is facing political turmoil amid stalled talks with the International Monetary Fund for the revival of a 2019 bailout to avoid a default on sovereign payment.
Zelenskyy visits UK on European tour seeking military aid
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was visiting Britain on Monday, as the staunch ally of Ukraine prepares to give more military aid in an effort to change the course of the war.
The U.K. government confirmed Zelenskyy's arrival early Monday and said he would meet with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
It is the fourth European country Zelenskky has visited in the past few days. He made an unannounced visit to Paris on Sunday evening to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, after trips to Germany and Italy, where he met those countries' leaders and Pope Francis.
A message posted Monday on Zelenskyy's official Telegram Channel said: "Today — London. The UK is leading the way when it comes to expanding our capabilities on the ground and in the air. This cooperation will continue today. I will meet my friend Rishi. We will conduct substantive negotiations face-to-face and in delegations.”
Sunak's office confirmed the two leaders would meet at Chequers. the prime minister's country retreat outside London. It's Zelenskyy's second trip to the U.K. since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The U.K. has become one of Ukraine's major military allies, sending Kyiv short-range missiles and Challenger tanks and training 15,000 Ukrainian troops on British soil. Last week Britain announced it had sent Ukraine Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have a range of more than 250 kilometers (150 miles) — the first known shipment of the weaponry that Kyiv has long sought from its allies.
Sunak's office said that on Monday Britain will confirm it is giving Ukraine hundreds more air defense missiles, as well as “long-range attack drones" with a range of more than 200 kilometers (120 miles).
“This is a crucial moment in Ukraine’s resistance to a terrible war of aggression they did not choose or provoke," Sunak said. "They need the sustained support of the international community to defend against the barrage of unrelenting and indiscriminate attacks that have been their daily reality for over a year.
“We must not let them down.”
Russia stepped up attacks across Ukraine with drones and missiles over the weekend. On Sunday, Russia shelled two communities in the northern border region of Sumy, the region’s military administration said in a statement on its official Telegram channel. It said 109 explosions were recorded.
Zelenskyy toured European capitals over the weekend to seek more aid as Ukraine prepares a long-anticipated spring offensive to retake territory seized by Russia.
Zelenskyy and Macron met for about three hours at the French presidential Elysee Palace — an encounter kept under wraps until shortly before the Ukrainian leader’s arrival in Paris.
Macron’s office said France will supply dozens of light tanks and armored vehicles “in the weeks ahead,” without giving specific numbers. Also promised were more air defense systems, but again details weren’t made public.
More Ukrainians will also be made battle-ready, with France aiming to train about 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in France this year and nearly 4,000 others in Poland as part of a wider European effort, Macron’s office said.
France has supplied Ukraine with an array of weaponry, include air defense systems, light tanks, howitzers and other arms and equipment and fuel.
France had dispatched a plane to pick up Zelenskyy in Germany, where he met with Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier Sunday and discussed his country’s planned counteroffensive.
It was his first visit to Berlin since the start of the invasion and came a day after the German government announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine worth more than 2.7 billion euros ($3 billion), including tanks, anti-aircraft systems and ammunition.
After initially hesitating to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, Germany has become one of the biggest suppliers of arms to Ukraine, including Leopard 1 and 2 battle tanks, and the sophisticated IRIS-T SLM air defense system. Modern Western hardware is considered crucial if Ukraine is to succeed in its planned counteroffensive.
In the western German city of Aachen, Zelenskyy also received the prestigious International Charlemagne Prize, awarded to him and the people of Ukraine.
On Saturday. he met Francis and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome.
On the European trip, Zelenskyy said it will aim to liberate Russian-occupied areas within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders, and not attack Russian territory.
The Washington Post cited previously undisclosed documents from a trove of U.S. intelligence leaks suggesting that Zelenskyy has considered trying to capture areas in Russia proper for possible use as bargaining chips in peace negotiations to end the war launched by Moscow in February 2022. This would put him at odds with Western governments that have insisted that weapons they provide must not be used to attack targets in Russia.
Asked about the report, Zelenskyy said: “We don’t attack Russian territory, we liberate our own legitimate territory.”
“We have neither the time nor the strength (to attack Russia),” he said, according to an official interpreter. “And we also don’t have weapons to spare with which we could do this.”
“We are preparing a counterattack for the illegally occupied areas based on our constitutionally defined legitimate borders, which are recognized internationally,” Zelenskyy said.
Among areas still occupied by Russia are the Crimean peninsula and parts of eastern Ukraine with mainly Russian-speaking populations.
Powerful Cyclone Mocha floods homes, cuts communications in western Myanmar, at least 700 injured
Rescuers early Monday evacuated about 1,000 people trapped by seawater 3.6 meters (12 feet ) deep along western Myanmar's coast after a powerful cyclone injured hundreds and cut off communications. Damage and six deaths have been reported, but the true impact was not yet clear in one of Asia’s least developed countries.
Strong winds injured more than 700 of about 20,000 people who were sheltering in sturdier buildings on the highlands of Sittwe township such as monasteries, pagodas and schools, according to a leader of the Rakhine Youths Philanthropic Association in Sittwe. He asked not to be named due to fear of reprisals from the authorities in the military-run country.
Also Read: Almost 3000 shanties damaged, but Rohingya camps spared the worst of Mocha
Seawater raced into more than 10 low-lying wards near the shore as Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Rakhine state Sunday afternoon, he said. Residents moved to roofs and higher floors, while the wind and storm surge prevented immediate rescue.
“After 4 p.m. yesterday, the storm weakened a bit, but the water did not fall back. Most of them sat on the roof and at the high places of their houses the whole night. The wind blew all night,” the rescue group leader said.
Water was still about 1.5 meters (5 feet) high in flooded areas later Monday, but rescues were being made as the wind calmed and the sun rose in the sky. He asked civil society organizations and authorities to send aid and help evacuate residents.
Also Read: Cyclone Mocha: 10,000 houses damaged in Cox's Bazar, inc 1200 in St Martin
Six deaths were reported by Myanmar media and rescue groups. Several injuries were reported in neighboring Bangladesh, which was spared the predicted direct hit.
Mocha made landfall near Sittwe township with winds blowing up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour, Myanmar’s Meteorological Department said. By midday Monday, it had weakened to a tropical depression, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The State Administration Council issued disaster declarations for 17 townships in Rakhine state.
High winds crumpled cell phone towers, but in videos collected by local media before communications were lost, deep water raced through streets and wind blew off roofs.
Myanmar’s military information office said the storm had damaged houses and electrical transformers in Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, and Gwa townships. It said roofs were torn off buildings on the Coco Islands, about 425 kilometers (264 miles) southwest of the country’s largest city, Yangon.
Volunteers previously said shelters in Sittwe did not have enough food after more people arrived there seeking help.
Mocha largely spared the Bangladeshi city of Cox's Bazar, which initially had been in the storm's predicted path. Authorities had evacuated hundreds of thousands of people before the cyclone veered east.
About a dozen people were injured on Saint Martin’s Island, while some 300 homes were either destroyed or damaged, leading Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo reported.
U.N. agencies and aid workers in Bangladesh had prepositioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances in the refugee camps that house more than 1 million Rohingya Muslims who fled persecution in Myanmar.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar with a storm surge that devastated populated areas around the Irrawaddy River delta. At least 138,000 people died and tens of thousands of homes and other buildings were washed away.
Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune city, said cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are becoming more intense more quickly, in part because of climate change.
Climate scientists say cyclones can now retain their energy for many days. Cyclone Amphan in eastern India in 2020 continued to travel over land as a strong cyclone and caused extensive devastation.
“As long as oceans are warm and winds are favorable, cyclones will retain their intensity for a longer period,” Koll said.
Tropical cyclones, which are called hurricanes or typhoons in other regions, are among the world’s most devastating natural disasters when they hit densely populated coastal areas.
As Erdogan’s votes dip, Turkey appears headed to a runoff presidential race
Turkey’s presidential elections appeared to be heading toward a second-round runoff on Monday, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled his country with a firm grip for 20 years, leading over his chief challenger, but falling short of the votes needed for an outright win.
With votes of Turkish citizens living abroad still being counted, results from the state-run Anadolu news agency showed Erdogan had 49.3% of the votes, with his main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu garnering 45%.
Erdogan, 69, told supporters in the early hours of Monday that he could still win. He said, however, that he would respect the nation’s decision if the race went to a runoff on May 28.
The vote was being closely watched to see if the strategically located NATO country — which has a coast on the Black Sea to the north, and neighbors Iran, Iraq and Syria to the south — remains under the control of the increasingly authoritarian president or can embark on a more democratic course that was envisioned by Kilicdaroglu.
Also Read: Turkey Election: Runoff likely as Erdogan fails to secure majority of votes
Opinion polls in the runup to Sunday’s vote had given Kilicdaroglu, the joint candidate of a six-party opposition alliance, a slight lead over Erdogan, who has governed Turkey as either prime minister or president since 2003.
Kilicdaroglu sounded hopeful for a second-round victory.
“We will absolutely win the second round ... and bring democracy” said Kilicdaroglu, 74, maintaining that Erdogan had lost the trust of a nation now demanding change.
This year’s election came amid a backdrop of economic turmoil, a cost-of-living crisis and a February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people. Western nations and foreign investors are also awaiting the outcome because of Erdogan’s unorthodox leadership of the economy and often mercurial but successful efforts to put Turkey at the center of international negotiations.
Also Read: Partial results in Turkey's election show President Erdogan leading, state-run news agency says
As in previous years, Erdogan led a highly divisive campaign in his bid to stretch his rule into a third decade. He portrayed Kilicdaroglu, who had received the backing of the country’s pro-Kurdish party, of colluding with “terrorists” and of supporting what he called “deviant” LGBTQ rights. In a bid to woo voters hit hard by inflation, he increased wages and pensions and subsidized electricity and gas bills, while showcasing Turkey’s homegrown defense industry and infrastructure projects.
Kilicdaroglu, for his part, campaigned on promises to reverse crackdowns on free speech and other forms of democratic backsliding, as well as to repair an economy battered by high inflation and currency devaluation.
The election results showed that Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party was also set to retain its majority in the 600-seat parliament, although the assembly has lost much of its legislative power after a referendum to change the country’s system of governance to an executive presidency narrowly passed in 2017.
Anadolu news agency said Erdogan’s ruling party alliance was hovering around 49.3%, while Kilicdaroglu’s Nation Alliance had around 35.2% and support for a pro-Kurdish party stood above 10%.
“That the election results have not been finalized doesn’t change the fact that the nation has chosen us,” Erdogan said.
More than 64 million people, including the overseas voters, were eligible to vote and nearly 89% voted. This year marks 100 years since Turkey’s establishment as a republic — a modern, secular state born on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire.
Voter turnout in Turkey is traditionally strong, despite the government suppressing freedom of expression and assembly over the years and especially since a 2016 coup attempt. Erdogan blamed the failed coup on followers of a former ally, cleric Fethullah Gulen, and initiated a large-scale crackdown on civil servants with alleged links to Gulen and on pro-Kurdish politicians.
Erdogan, along with the United Nations, helped mediate a deal with Ukraine and Russia that allowed Ukrainian grain to reach the rest of the world from Black Sea ports despite Russia’s war in Ukraine. The agreement, which is implemented by a center based in Istanbul, is set to expire in days, and Turkey hosted talks last week to keep it alive.
But Erdogan also has held up Sweden’s quest to join NATO, contending that nation has been too lenient on followers of the U.S.-based cleric and members of pro-Kurdish groups that Turkey considers national security threats.
Critics maintain the president’s heavy-handed style is responsible for a painful cost-of-living crisis. The latest official statistics put inflation at about 44%, down from a high of around 86%. The price of vegetables became a campaign issue for the opposition, which used an onion as a symbol.
In contrast with mainstream economic thinking, Erdogan contends that high interest rates fuel inflation, and he pressured the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey to lower its main rate multiple times.
Erdogan’s government also faced criticism for its allegedly delayed and stunted response to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that left 11 southern provinces devastated. Lax implementation of building codes is thought to have exacerbated the casualties and misery.
India shaping up campaign to reclaim historical artefacts looted in colonial era, UK media reports
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other diplomats are reportedly gearing up for a campaign later this year to reclaim items in British museums and held by the royal family, The Guardian reports citing the Daily Telegraph.
The items include the controversial Koh-i-noor diamond, which is held by the royal family and has featured in discussions about its potential use in the coronation; the treasures of Tipu Sultan, which are in the Victoria and Albert Museum and Powis Castle; and the Amaravati Marbles.
India’s actions are part of a larger reconsideration of its former colonial status. Modi has encouraged school classes to be taught in Hindi and other languages rather than English, India's parliament is being rebuilt and its MPs are preparing to move out of the Edwin Lutyens-designed colonial era building, and roadways named after former British monarchs have been renamed, according to the report.
Read more: Now that the Queen is dead, will India get Kohinoor back?
Meanwhile, The Telegraph quoted Govind Mohan, secretary for the Indian ministry of culture, saying returning antiquities is going to be a key part of future policy. “It is of huge importance to the government,” he said. “The thrust of this effort to repatriate India’s artefacts comes from the personal commitment of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, who has made it a major priority.”
The issue has previously received attention alongside disputes that include the potential return of the Elgin marbles to Greece.
Former Conservative prime ministers and culture secretaries have rebuffed requests for the return of artefacts. During his 2013 visit to India, David Cameron stated that the return of the Koh-i-noor was not the “right approach,” according to The Guardian.
The report also quoted a leading author on the British empire regarding the issue.
Read more: National Museum to send proposal for including palm leaf scroll etching as UNESCO cultural heritage: KM Khalid
Sathnam Sanghera, who authored “Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain”, believes the Indian jewels and other historical artefacts looted during the British colonial era will be returned “inevitably.”
He said the latest demands are part of a series by former colonies reassessing their own time under the empire.
Sanghera said, “Our museums and the royal family are in possession of billions of pounds worth of Indian loot. It was a systematic part of colonial rule. The royal family was given the king’s share of that loot. When we annexed parts of India and Burma [now Myanmar], there were representatives of our museums there to take things, soldiers took loot and sold it, too.
“It’s not just the financial value of these items, there is also the emotional and religious value.
Read more: French honour for Nadia Samdani: Receives Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters medal
“These countries are future superpowers or superpowers already, they are not going to shut up about it,” the writer told The Guardian.
On the issue of returning Koh-i-noor, Sanghera agrees that the item is controversial in its own right, with multiple claims on its ownership.
“I think it is impossible. There will be anger by the Sikhs if the Hindu nationals get it. It is unsolvable,” he said.
Museums are constrained by law to keep their collections intact. However, charities such as the National Trust who are not subject to the same legal restrictions may be approached first.
Read more: Tracing the Roots of Ekushey Boi Mela
Sanghera said, “In the next 10 years, it will totally change. Young people in Britain feel the same way about loot in museums as we felt about animals in zoos. They can’t quite believe it is allowed. I think it is inevitable.”
Countries such as India are altering historical legacies of colonial rule, which ended in 1947, and an official tour of the Caribbean by the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2022 was marked by demands for slavery reparations from the days of the British empire.
UN to commemorate Palestinians' 1948 flight from Israel for the first time
For the first time, the United Nations will officially commemorate the flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from what is now Israel on the 75th anniversary of their exodus — an action stemming from the U.N.'s partition of British-ruled Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is headlining Monday's U.N. commemoration of what Palestinians call the "Nakba" or "catastrophe."
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, called the U.N. observance "historic" and significant because the General Assembly played a key role in the partition of Palestine.
"It's acknowledging the responsibility of the U.N. of not being able to resolve this catastrophe for the Palestinian people for 75 years," Mansour told a group of U.N. reporters recently.
He said "the catastrophe to the Palestinian people is still ongoing:" The Palestinians still don't have an independent state, and they don't have the right to return to their homes as called for in a General Assembly resolution adopted in December 1948.
Israel's U.N. ambassador, Gilad Erdan, condemned the commemoration, calling it an "abominable event" and a "blatant attempt to distort history." He said those who attend will be condoning antisemitism and giving a green light to Palestinians "to continue exploiting international organs to promote their libelous narrative."
The General Assembly, which had 57 member nations in 1947, approved the resolution dividing Palestine by a vote of 33-13 with 10 abstentions. The Jewish side accepted the U.N. partition plan and after the British mandate expired in 1948, Israel declared its independence. The Arabs rejected the plan and neighboring Arab countries launched a war against the Jewish state.
The Nakba commemorates the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes in 1948.
The fate of these refugees and their descendants — estimated at over 5 million across the Middle East — remains a major disputed issue in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel rejects demands for a mass return of refugees to long-lost homes, saying it would threaten the country's Jewish character.
As the 75th anniversary approached, the now 193-member General Assembly approved a resolution last Nov. 30 by a vote of 90-30 with 47 abstentions requesting the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People organize a high-level event on May 15 to commemorate the Nakba.
The United States was among the countries that joined Israel in voting against the resolution, and the U.S. Mission said no American diplomat will attend Monday's commemoration.
Explaining why a U.N. commemoration took so long, Mansour told The Associated Press on Friday that the Palestinians have moved cautiously at the United Nations since the General Assembly raised their status in 2012 from a non-member observer to a non-member observer state.
U.N. recognition as a state enabled the Palestinians to join treaties, take cases against Israel's occupation to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, which is the U.N.'s highest tribunal, and in 2019 to chair the Group of 77, the U.N. coalition of 134 mainly developing nations and China, he said.
At the 70th anniversary of the 1948 exodus five years ago, Mansour said, "the word Nakba was used in a General Assembly resolution for the first time," and Abbas then gave instructions to obtain a mandate from the U.N. to commemorate the 75th anniversary.
The Nakba commemoration comes as Israeli-Palestinian fighting has intensified and protests over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government and its plan to overhaul Israel's judiciary show no sign of abating. Israel's polarization and the Netanyahu government's extremist positions have also sparked growing international concern.
Mansour said Friday that Palestinian refugees "are being forcibly removed from their homes and forcibly transferred by Israel at an unprecedented rate," reminiscent of 1948.
In a speech to the U.N. Security Council on April 25, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki said "it is time to bring the Nakba to an end," stressing that the Palestinians have suffered from the most protracted refugee crisis in the world and "the longest occupation of an entire territory in modern history."
He was sharply critical of the U.N. and the wider international community for adopting resolutions that make demands and call for action— but doing nothing to implement them. He said if the international community made Israel's occupation costly, "I can assure you it will come to an end."
Malki renewed his call for countries that haven't yet recognized the state of Palestine "to do so as a means to salvage the moribund two-state solution." He also urged countries to support the Palestinian request for full membership in the United Nations, which would demonstrate international support for a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians lived side-by-side in peace.
To hurt Israel economically, Malki urged countries to ban products from Israeli settlements and trade with settlements, to "sanction those who collect funds for settlements and those who advocate for them and those who advance them," and to list settler organizations that carry out killings and burnings as "terrorist organizations."
And he urged the international community to take Israel to the International Court of Justice. The General Assembly asked the court in December to give its opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, a move denounced by Israel.
Biden, India's Modi out to deepen their bonds, but geopolitical friendships have their limits
President Joe Biden has made it a mission for the U.S. to build friendships overseas — and the next few weeks will offer a vivid demonstration of the importance he's placing on a relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two are both scheduled to attend this week's Group of Seven summit in Japan, a subsequent gathering of Pacific island leaders in Papua New Guinea, and a later meeting of Indo-Pacific leaders in Australia. Those travels will be followed by a June 22 state visit by Modi to Washington, a sign that both seem willing to deepen their bonds.
But like many geopolitical friendships, things are complicated between the world's largest economy (the U.S.) and its most populous nation (India).
The personal outreach has a clear strategic calculus as both countries respond to China's economic rise and increased global prominence. Yet while Biden champions democratic ideals and openly opposes Russia for invading Ukraine, Modi has offered tepid criticism of Russia and opponents say he is eroding India's democratic traditions.
That means the future of the alliance depends on a degree of patience.
"It's a long game of steady forward movement in defense relations and some fairly rapid intensification of business ties — with the pace of both determined by the speed of movement on the Indian side," said Kurt Tong, a former ambassador for the U.S. who is now managing partner of The Asia Group, a consultancy.
Biden last year publicly called India's response to the war in Ukraine "shaky." India abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions condemning Russia and refused to join the global coalition against Russia. Modi had a relatively warm relationship with Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, and has made some efforts to forge a connection with Biden, who is known to focus on his Irish roots even when meeting with leaders of other nations.
When Modi came to Washington in September 2021, he brought with him documents about people with the last name "Biden" in India.
"Are we related?" Biden asked.
"Yes," Modi joked.
While visiting Canada in March, Biden said he's made it a strategic goal to improve relations with the rest of the world as he feels that America's leverage against China and Russia is through its alliances.
"I have now met with 80% of the world leaders just since I've been president," he said. "We're the ones expanding the alliances. The opposition is not."
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a biographer of Modi, said the Indian leader's connection with Biden is not personal — and has its limits. But it is necessary for the U.S. to keep India on its side as tensions with China have accelerated over Taiwan, the federal government's ban on exporting advanced computer chips to China and human rights issues.
"To what extent can India be part of the U.S.-led alliance, that is for Modi to decide," Mukhopadhyay said. "At some point or the other, the Americans would realize that Modi is not really going the whole hog as much as they would like India to be. But Modi will not get swayed by meeting Biden several times."
Nirupama Rao, a retired diplomat who served as Indian ambassador to the U.S., said India has its reasons for not joining the condemnation of Moscow.
"The country wants Russia to maintain some distance from China, and it worries that isolating Moscow would just push it closer to Beijing," she said. Relations between India and China are strained, with the two sides embroiled in an intense three-year standoff involving thousands of soldiers stationed along their disputed border in the eastern Ladakh region.
Rao said U.S. policymakers should not mistake India's involvement in the so-called Quad — whose other members are the U.S., Japan and Australia — for an alliance. India is also in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a group dominated by Beijing and Moscow. It routinely attends trilateral meetings with China and Russia. It also continues to participate in the forum known as BRICS, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
"So far, India has done an impressive job of maintaining its balancing act," she said. "Whether it can continue to do so in the years ahead is an open question. Beijing has become increasingly belligerent, and it may eventually decide it will not deal with India if New Delhi strengthens its security ties to Washington."
Both the U.S. and India have been emphasizing technology partnerships, including defense, clean energy and space. During Modi's visit to the U.S. in June, the two leaders are also expected to discuss common challenges, including climate change and health security.
Russia is India's largest supplier of military hardware. But India has been reducing its dependence on Russian arms by diversifying its purchases, buying from the U.S., France, Germany and other countries. The U.S. defense trade with India has risen from near zero in 2008 to over $20 billion in 2020.
The U.S. imported about $86 billion in goods from India last year, according to the Census Bureau. That figure has steadily increased, but it has room to grow as the U.S. still gets more goods from Taiwan and Vietnam than India. With more than 1.4 billion people, India is about 14 times the size of Taiwan and Vietnam combined.
There are some risks for Biden as he devotes more time to Modi, with advocates for human rights wary of the Indian leader's track record. The freedom of the news media in India has been challenged after Modi became prime minister in 2014. Political rivals of Modi's governing Hindu nationalist party have accused him of stifling dissent and introducing divisive policies that discriminate against Muslims and other minorities.
Modi's Hindu nationalist party also suffered a political setback as India's main opposition Congress party won control of the southern Karnataka state, according to a near complete vote count Saturday. The victory could help unite the largely divided opposition in next year's general election, in which Modi will seek a third consecutive term as prime minister.
Yet for Biden, developing a personal rapport out of public view might be critical for overcoming any differences with Modi.
"In this case, the investment is worth it," said Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, a think tank. "There are a lot of things that President Biden can say privately to Prime Minister Modi that could end up having a favorable impact on U.S.-India relations."
World's oldest dog, according to Guinness, celebrates 31st birthday
The world's oldest dog recently celebrated his 31st birthday, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a breed of Portuguese dog, celebrated during a party Saturday at his home in the rural Portuguese village of Conqueiros, where has lived his entire life.
More than 100 people attended the "very traditional" Portuguese party, owner Leonel Costa said.
Local meats and fish were served to up to 100 guests, with extra for Bobi, who only eats human food. A dance troupe also performed with Bobi participating in one of their routines.
Costa has owned several old-aged dogs in the past, including Bobi's mother, Gira, who lived to the age of 18. However, Costa said he never imagined any of his dogs would reach their 30s.
"We see situations like this as a normal result of the life that they have, but Bobi is one of a kind," Costa said.
One of the biggest contributing factors to Bobi's longevity is the "calm, peaceful environment" in which he lives, according to Costa.
Throughout his life, Bobi has freely roamed the forests surrounding the Costa house. He has never been chained or leashed.
The "very sociable" dog was never lonely because he grew up surrounded by many other animals, Costa said.
Now in his senior years, Bobi finds it difficult to walk, so he prefers to hang out at home in the yard. His eyesight has gotten worse, meaning he often bumps into things when he walks. Just like old-aged humans, Bobi sleeps a lot. He immediately lies down in bed after eating, although on cold days he chooses to nap by the fire, his owner said.
Bobi's birth date has been confirmed by Serviço Medico-Veterinário do Município de Leiria (Veterinary Medical Service of the Municipality of Leiria), which registered Bobi in 1992.
His age also has been verified by SIAC, a pet database authorized by the Portuguese government and managed by the SNMV (Sindicato Nacional dos Médicos Veterinários; National Union of Veterinarians).
Costa, now 38, was just 8 years old when Bobi was born. For him, Bobi is a living reminder of the past, he said.
"Bobi is special because looking at him is like remembering the people who were part of our family and unfortunately are no longer here, like my father, my brother, or my grandparents who have already left this world," Costa said. "Bobi represents those generations."
Powerful Cyclone Mocha floods streets, cuts communications in western Myanmar
A powerful tropical cyclone flooded streets, blew off roofs and severed communications in western Myanmar on Sunday after thousands of people had crammed into monasteries, schools and other sturdy shelters in one of Asia's least developed countries.
At least three deaths were reported in Myanmar, and several injuries were reported in neighboring Bangladesh, which was spared the predicted direct hit.
Cyclone Mocha made landfall in Myanmar's Rakhine state near Sittwe township in the afternoon with winds blowing up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour, Myanmar's Meteorological Department said. By Monday morning, it was downgraded from its severe status and was steadily weakening over land, according to the India Meteorological Department.
The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. High winds crumpled cell phone towers during the day, cutting off communications. And independent information is hard to gather under Myanmar's military-run government.
In videos collected by local media before communications were lost, deep water raced through streets while wind lashed trees and pulled boards off roofs. Rakhine-based media reported streets were flooded and people were trapped in homes in low-lying areas.
Myanmar's military information office said the storm had damaged houses, electrical transformers, cell phone towers, boats and lampposts in Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, and Gwa townships. It said roofs were torn off buildings on the Coco Islands, about 425 kilometers (264 miles) southwest of the country's largest city, Yangon.
More than 4,000 of Sittwe's 300,000 residents were evacuated to other cities and more than 20,000 people were sheltering in sturdy buildings such as monasteries, pagodas and schools on the city's highlands, said Tin Nyein Oo, who is volunteering in shelters in Sittwe.
Lin Lin, the chairman of a local charitable foundation, said there was not enough food in the shelters in Sittwe after more people arrived than expected.
Titon Mitra, the U.N. Development Program representative in Myanmar, tweeted: "Mocha has made landfall. 2m people at risk. Damage and losses are expected to be extensive. We are ready to respond and will need unhindered access to all affected communities."
Myanmar state television reported that the military government is preparing to send food, medicine and medical personnel to the storm-hit area. After battering Rakhine, the weakening cyclone was forecast to hit the northwestern state of Chin and the central regions on Monday.
At least three deaths were reported in Myanmar. A rescue team from eastern Shan state said on Facebook that they had recovered the bodies of a couple who were buried when a landslide hit their house in Tachileik township. Local media reported a man was crushed to death when a banyan tree fell on him in Pyin Oo Lwin township in the central Mandalay region.
Mocha largely spared the Bangladeshi city of Cox's Bazar, which initially had been in the storm's predicted path. Authorities had evacuated hundreds of thousands of people before the cyclone veered east.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar with a storm surge that devastated populated areas around the Irrawaddy River delta. At least 138,000 people died and tens of thousands of homes and other buildings were washed away.
Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune city, said cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are becoming more intense more quickly, in part because of climate change.
Climate scientists say cyclones can now retain their energy for many days. Cyclone Amphan in eastern India in 2020 continued to travel over land as a strong cyclone and caused extensive devastation.
"As long as oceans are warm and winds are favorable, cyclones will retain their intensity for a longer period," Koll said.
Tropical cyclones, which are called hurricanes or typhoons in other regions, are among the world's most devastating natural disasters when they hit densely populated coastal areas.
END/UNB/AP/FK
Thailand's opposition secures election victory against army-backed conservative establishment
Thailand's main opposition parties easily bested other contenders with virtually all the votes counted from Sunday's general election, fulfilling many voters' hopes that the balloting would serve as a pivotal chance for change nine years after incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha first came to power in a 2014 coup.
With 99% of the votes counted by early Monday morning, the junior opposition Move Forward Party had eked out a small edge over the favored Pheu Thai Party, whose leaders earlier in the night conceded they might not finish on top.
The winner of Sunday's vote is not assured the right to form the new government. A joint session of the 500-seat House of Representatives will be held with the 250-member Senate in July to select the new prime minister, a process widely seen as undemocratic because the Senators were appointed by the military rather than elected but vote along with Sunday's winning lawmakers.
Sunday's voter turnout was about 39.5 million, or 75% of registered voters.
The maverick Move Forward Party captured just over 24% of the popular vote for the House of Representatives' 400 constituency seats and an almost 36% share of the vote for seats allocated in a separate nationwide ballot for the 100 members elected by proportional representation.
Pheu Thai Party lagged slightly behind with just over 23% for the constituency seats and about a 27% share for the party list.
The tally of constituency votes gave Move Forward 113 House seats and Pheu Thai 112, according to the Election Commission, which did not give a projection for party list seats.
Prayuth's United Thai Nation Party held the fifth spot in the constituency vote with almost 9% of the total, but it placed third in the party-preference tally with close to 12%. Its constituency vote gave it 23 House seats.
The three parties were considered before the vote to the most likely to head a new government. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36-year-old daughter of the former billionaire populist Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had been favored in opinion polls to be chosen the country's next leader.
Move Forward's leader, 42-year=old businessman Pita Limjaroenrat, now seems as likely a prospect.
Prayuth had been blamed for a stuttering economy, shortcomings in addressing the pandemic and thwarting democratic reforms, a particular sore point with younger voters.
The returns were a good sign for democratization, said Saowanee T. Alexander, a professor at Ubon Ratchathani University in northeastern Thailand.
"This is people saying that we want change ... They are saying that they could no longer take it. The people are very frustrated. They want change, and they could achieve it," she said.
Move Forward outperformed even optimistic projections, and the party appeared poised to capture all, or almost all, 33 House seats in the capital Bangkok.
Along with Pheu Thai, it campaigned for reform of the military and the monarchy. But Move Forward put those issues closer to the heart of its platform, earning a more radical reputation.
Its outspoken support for minor reforms of the monarchy, while winning younger voters, antagonized conservatives to whom the royal institution is sacrosanct.
Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin, who was ousted as prime minister by an army coup in 2006. Pheu Thai candidate Paetongtarn is his daughter. The government of her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, who became prime minister in 2011, was toppled in the coup led by Prayuth.
Pheu Thai won the most seats in the last election in 2019, but its archrival, the military-backed Palang Pracharath Party, succeeded in cobbling together a coalition with Prayuth as prime minister. It relied on unanimous support from the Senate, whose members were appointed by the military government after Prayuth's coup and share its conservative outlook.
Ubon University's Alexander cautioned that the current situation remains "very unpredictable," and that the Election Commission could unilaterally affect the results. In the past, it has used its authority to disqualify opposition parties or otherwise cripple challenges to the conservative establishment.
Move Forward's Pita would be a possible target for what the opposition, from bitter experience, calls dirty tricks. A candidate from the military-backed Palang Pracharath Party last week filed a complaint with the Election Commission and the National Anti-Corruption Commission, charging that Pita had failed to list a stock shareholding on a statutory declaration of his assets. Pita denied any wrongdoing, and the accusation hinges on a minor technical point.
However, the leader of the Future Forward Party, the forerunner of Move Forward, lost his seat in Parliament on similar technical grounds, and his party ended up being dissolved. It had also been seen as a radical challenge to the military-backed royalist establishment.