Politics Archives - Page 2 of 54

Both Parties Are Resigned to Deadlock as Shutdown Takes Hold

6Oct

By Joanne SerriehNo Comments

Both Parties Are Resigned to Deadlock as Shutdown Takes Hold

Republicans, who hold a governing trifecta, have adopted a mostly passive stance while Democrats dig in for a fight, with both feeling they have the political upper hand. At the White House, President Trump is posting A.I.-generated memes about the government shutdown, depicting his wonky budget director dressed as the Grim Reaper and ready to visit death on the federal bureaucracy. In the Senate, Democrats show no sign of backing down from their demands in the shutdown fight, while Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, has given verbal shrugs to reporters who ask about the status of his nonexistent negotiations with the other party about how to bring the crisis to an end. “I don’t know that there’s a lot to sort out,” Mr. Thune said on MSNBC

Ousted Nepal PM Oli Says He won’t Flee Amid Political Turmoil Neighbours

30Sep

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Ousted Nepal PM Oli Says He won’t Flee Amid Political Turmoil Neighbours

Former Prime Minister of Nepal and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has dismissed rumours that he plans to flee the country, accusing the current government of trying to strip him of his security and official privileges, Dhaka Tribune reported.Speaking at a gathering of the party's youth wing, Yuwa Sangh Nepal, in Gundu, Bhaktapur, Oli made it clear he intends to stay and fight politically. "Do you think we will flee by handing over the nation to this groundless government?" he asked supporters. Oli said he was determined to "restore peace, good governance and constitutional order."Oli recently vacated the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar on September 9 after weeks of Gen Z-led protests culminated in the fall of his government. Since then, he has relocated to a rented...

‘Clog the toilet’ trolls hit Indian visa holders rushing back to U.S.

29Sep

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

‘Clog the toilet’ trolls hit Indian visa holders rushing back to U.S.

Vacationing in India, engineer Amrutha Tamanam rushed to return to the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly announced a $100,000 fee for the visa she holds. As she scrambled to get back to the country she's called home for a decade, racially motivated far-right trolls launched coordinated efforts to disrupt flight bookings from India, calling their campaign "clog the toilet." The White House would later clarify that the new H-1B fee was a one-time payment not applicable to current holders. But leading U.S. companies had already advised their employees abroad to swiftly return to avoid the fee or risk being stranded overseas. Tamanam, an Austin-based software engineer, began searching for a flight from the city of Vijayawada, as users on the far-right messa...

U.S. Political Interventionism Under Trump

29Sep

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

U.S. Political Interventionism Under Trump

Despite promising not to lecture other countries on “how to live,” the Trump administration is intervening with increasing frequency and force in the political affairs of other countries. Immediately upon taking power, President Donald Trump and his team set about pulling the United States away from its longtime stance as a supporter of democracy globally. They dismantled U.S. pro-democracy assistance programs, dissolved most of the State Department’s institutional capacity on democracy issues, and disabled most of U.S. global broadcasting, a traditional linchpin of democracy support. Trump put a ribbon on this course change in Riyadh in May when he criticized his predecessors as “interventionists” and declared that the United States would no longer give other countries “

Hezbollah a ‘legitimate political party’ within Lebanon, US envoy says

29Sep

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Hezbollah a ‘legitimate political party’ within Lebanon, US envoy says

In an exclusive interview, Tom Barrack says Hezbollah’s legitimacy within Lebanon’s political system makes solving conflict with Israel difficult. Convincing Hezbollah to give up its weapons is the job of the Lebanese government, and the United States is not interested in pressuring anybody, the US special envoy for Syrian affairs, Tom Barrack, has told Al Jazeera. Barrack’s comments come a day after Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, once again rejected the Lebanese government’s attempts for the group to disarm, which was one of the key parts of the November ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. “We will never abandon our weapons, nor will we relinquish them,” Naim said on Saturday, adding that Hezbollah would continue to “confront any project that serves Israel”. Hezbollah ma

China’s top political advisor urges boosting patriotic united front at National Day reception

29Sep

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

China’s top political advisor urges boosting patriotic united front at National Day reception

China's top political advisor Wang Huning on Sunday urged efforts to consolidate and develop the patriotic united front so as to pool forces for advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts through Chinese modernization. Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks at a reception held in Beijing to celebrate the upcoming 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Highlighting the great feats achieved by China under the leadership of the CPC over the past 76 years, Wang said that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, China has entered an irreversible historic...

Eight-point decision drives political discipline

29Sep

By Grace TsoiNo Comments

Eight-point decision drives political discipline

China is proving that the path to sustained development can only be guaranteed by rigorous party self-governance. Far from being symbolic, the efforts of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in this regard represent a systemic drive to strengthen governance from within. In a world where entrenched interests often obstruct change, the ability to reform has become critically important for any country seeking better development. People first vs capital first Unlike Western political parties, which often cater to specific interest groups, the CPC's mission is to serve the people, not capital. And its ability to deliver hinges on its ability to reform itself, including the willingness to confront powerful vested interests, as the Party has declared that it would rather "offend a ...

19Sep

By Stuart WhiteNo Comments

Nepal’s Violent Gen Z Uprising

n the morning of September 6th, a black S.U.V. carrying a provincial minister from Nepal’s ruling party ran over an eleven-year-old girl, Usha Magar Sunuwar, outside her school in the city of Lalitpur. Rather than stop to help the injured victim, the occupants of the vehicle sped away. Many of the powerful in Nepal, like their brethren across South Asia, believe themselves to be exempt from accountability. And Sunuwar, who miraculously survived, became, in the eyes of the public, another casualty of the governing élite’s contempt for ordinary Nepalis. When K. P. Sharma Oli, the country’s seventy-three-year-old Prime Minister, was questioned by the press about the incident, he shrugged it off as a “normal accident.” Oli, a Communist who began his political career as a tribune of the op

Nepal turmoil adds to India’s woes in South Asia

11Sep

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Nepal turmoil adds to India’s woes in South Asia

Nepal has become the third country in India's immediate neighbourhood to see a violent uprising topple its government in recent years. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned after more than 20 people died in clashes with police during anti-government demonstrations triggered by a social media ban. A nationwide curfew is in place and the army is attempting to bring the situation under control after protesters stormed parliament and set fire to the homes of several politicians. For many, the scenes in Kathmandu were reminiscent of the turmoil that gripped Bangladesh last year, and Sri Lanka in 2022. Though Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also India's close neighbours in South Asia, Delhi's relationship with Kathmandu is special because of historic people-to-people, eco...

Nepal crisis: Army deployed as death toll rises amid political turmoil

11Sep

By Nectar GanNo Comments

Nepal crisis: Army deployed as death toll rises amid political turmoil

The unrest began Monday as a self-styled “Gen Z protest” against corruption, nepotism and restrictions on social media. It quickly escalated after security forces opened fire on the crowds. By Tuesday, protesters had stormed and torched parliament, the Supreme Court and multiple government offices, including Singha Durbar – the central administrative complex. Homes of political leaders were attacked, police stations overrun, and Tribhuvan International Airport briefly closed. In addition, media outlets and schools were set on fire, while the Ministry of Health and Population was also destroyed, including the National Health Emergency Operation Centre. UN chief urges dialogue UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “deeply saddened by