The Swedish parliament on Monday elected Ulf Kristersson — the leader of the conservative Moderate Party, as the Prime Minister. His coalition is being supported by a once radical far-right party. Mr. Kristersson, 59, was elected by 176-173 votes. His government will be presented on Tuesday. His three-party coalition lacks a majority, but in Sweden, prime Ministers can preside over as long as there is no parliamentary majority against them. After a month of discussions with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, Mr. Kristersson lay before an agreement that gave them an unprecede
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met academics and business leaders in Sydney as part of his three-day visit to Australia from Oct 16 to 18. PM Lee and Mrs Lee were received by Australian Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman and Singapore Deputy High Commissioner to Australia Harold Lee. This is PM Lee’s first trip to Australia since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. He is accompanied by Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong and government officials. The business luncheon was organised by the Asia Society Australia, and the ro
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 90th Interpol General Assembly on 18 October at around 1:45 PM in Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Since 1949, India has been a member of Interpol. The General Assembly of Interpol is the highest governing body of the organization, which was founded in 1923 to promote international law enforcement cooperation. The organization has 195 members as of today. Interpol's role is to create a safe world by enabling police around the globe to work together. Ninety million records are spread across 17 databases. As per the Prime Minister’s Office,
India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022, stated a press release. Under its leadership, India is expected to host more than 200 meetings of the G20 across the country. The G20 Leaders’ Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September 2023, as per the Ministry of External Affairs. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday, “India is headed to lead the G
Despite threats of further violence, Iraqi lawmakers elected Abdul Latif Rashid as the country's next president on Thursday, ending a crippling political vacuum after a barrage of rocket attacks earlier in the day. In spite of the political crisis, lawmakers continued to form the next government in the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of government, after being fired upon by at least nine rockets. The incident resulted in the injuries of at least five people. According to Iraqi law, the president must nominate a premier from the largest bloc in Parliament. There are 329 seats in t
The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected South Africa, to the Human Rights Council for a three-year term, starting on 1 January 2023. The other countries that were elected are Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Morocco, Romania, and Vietnam. Germany and Sudan acquired second terms. According to the UN, South Korea and Venezuela could not get re-elected to the top human rights body, which is based at the UN in Geneva. The UN Security council's main job is to protect and promote human rights all over the world and comprises 47 mem
Israel and Lebanon achieved a "historic breakthrough" on Tuesday after the U.S. brokered a deal that would end their maritime border dispute, allow for natural gas production, and reduce military tensions between them. Israel and Lebanon, which have formally been at war since Israel's creation in 1948, are expected to sign an agreement after months of U.S.-mediated negotiations. However, legal and political obstacles still remain in Israel. Israel welcomed the deal even before Biden announced it. In spite of not making a formal announcement, Lebanese leaders indicated that they wo
Uganda will host a ministerial meeting next week on the Ebola virus flare-up, which has caused widespread fear and concern in the East Africa region, as reported by The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Acting director Ahmed Ogwell informed journalists on Thursday that the three countries that lived through the disastrous West Africa outbreak of Ebola in 2014-16, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, had also been invited to the October 12 meeting. The current Ebola eruption in central Uganda has a 69 percent case death rate, which according to Ogwell is “very high,” a
Over 2,500 U.S. and Philippine marines engaged in combat exercises on Monday to brace for any sudden crisis in a region always in a state of uneasiness and suspense over the South China Sea territorial disputes and escalating tensions over Taiwan. The annual military drills are the first significant exercise between the long-established treaty allies under newly elected Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., military officials said. The preceding president, Rodrigo Duterte, was a candid critic of U.S. security policies and disapproved of military exercises with American forces as they
On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with White House National Security Advisor (NSA) Jack Sullivan to discuss issues related to U.S.-India strategic partnership, the Ukraine war, and a free and open Indo-Pacific region. In addition to reviewing the strategic relationship, the White House said the meeting involved exchanging views on regional and global issues. According to Mr Jaishankar, "the Indo-Pacific situation, South Asia and the Gulf" were discussed. As per the White House and a tweet by Mr Jaishankar, the meeting also discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine.