Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a new five-year term and will enjoy sweeping new powers after his victory in an election that international monitors said lacked "equal" conditions and his closest challenger said turned Turkey into "a one-man regime."
With just over 99 percent of the vote counted, the national electoral board declared Erdogan the winner early on June 25 but did not give exact numbers, saying the remaining votes would not affect the result. The board said the final results would be available to the public in 10 or 11 days.
State news agency Anadolu put Erdogan at 52.5 percent and his closest rival, Muharrem Ince, at 30.6 percent.
Erdogan`s triumph was quickly welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other authoritarian leaders, but was met with skepticism by the West, with the European Union, the United States, and other Western countries calling on Turkey to strengthen democracy following an election that was criticized by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)`s vote monitoring arm, known by the acronym ODIHR.
Ignacio Sanchez Amor, the head of the ODIHR`s short-term observer mission for the elections, said opposition parties were denied equal conditions for campaigning and Erdogan and his ruling party enjoyed undue advantages, including in the media.
"The restrictions we have seen on fundamental freedoms have had an impact on these elections. I hope that Turkey lifts these restrictions as soon as possible," Amor said at a news conference in Ankara on June 25.
India is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman because of the high risk of sexual violence and slave labor, a new survey of experts shows.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation released its results Tuesday of a survey of 550 experts on women`s issues, finding India to be the most dangerous nation for sexual violence against women, as well as human trafficking for domestic work, forced labor, forced marriage and sexual slavery, among other reasons.
It was also the most dangerous country in the world for cultural traditions that impact women, the survey found, citing acid attacks, female genital mutilation, child marriage and physical abuse. India was the fourth most dangerous country for women in the same survey seven years ago. Nine of the 10 countries on the list were from Asia, the Middle East or Africa. At number 10 was the United States, the only Western country to be included. The foundation said this was directly related to the #MeToo movement.
The release of the report comes amid mounting public outrage in India, where a series of high-profile rape cases, including two unrelated attacks on girls aged 16 and eight, have forced the issue of sexual violence back onto the national agenda.
In April, thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand better protection for women, in some of the largest mass demonstrations held in the country since the rape and murder of a female college student in Delhi in 2012. India has long grappled with the issue of sexual violence. In the months following the 2012 case, the central government moved to pass legislation increasing penalties for sexual assault, rape, and sexual abuse, including extending prison sentences and introducing the death penalty.
But despite the introduction of stricter laws, around 100 sexual assaults are reported to police in the country every day, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, with nearly 39,000 alleged attacks reported in 2016, an increase of 12% from the previous year.
4. World’s Largest Multilateral Naval Exercise RIMPAC Begins.
RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, is the world`s largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy`s Pacific Fleet, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii. The US invites military forces from the Pacific Rim and beyond to participate. With RIMPAC the United States Pacific Command seeks to enhance interoperability between Pacific Rim armed forces, ostensibly as a means of promoting stability in the region to the benefit of all participating nations. Described by the US Navy as a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the
5. British Queen Elizabeth Approves Brexit Law.
The British government’s so-called Brexit legislation that would allow the country to leave European Union became law Tuesday after Queen Elizabeth II gave her approval.
House Commons Speaker John Bercow announced that the European Union Withdrawal Bill received royal assent and passed into law. The announcement was cheered by pro-Brexit officials.
“I have to notify the House in accordance with the Royal Assent Act 1967 that her Majesty has signified her royal assent to the following acts ... European Union Withdrawal Act 2018,” Bercow said.
The bill was finally approved after months of debate. The legislation will translate thousands of pieces of EU law into British statute. Pro-EU lawmakers and members of the House of Lords tried to amend it to soften the terms of Britain`s departure from the bloc.
Most of the changes were reversed by narrow votes. Pro-EU lawmakers said they will try to defeat the government on other EU-related legislation if it tries to push for a “hard Brexit” that disrupts close economic ties between Britain and Europe.
6. 15th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission Held In Australia.
The 15th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) was held on 25thJune 2018, in Canberra, Australia. The meeting was jointly chaired by Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo.
The JMC took place after a gap of 4 years in a very warm and cordial atmosphere. The Ministers discussed at length on ways to increase two-way investment flows between the two countries. In this regard, both sides agreed to have greater collaboration between Austrade,the Australian Trade and Investment Commissionand Invest-India,which is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India.The talks culminated in the signing of an MoU between Austrade and Invest-India in order to facilitate bilateral investment flows.
In Canberra, the Commerce Minister called on the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcom Turnbull. He also had extensive bilateral meetings with the Treasurer, Government of Australia, Scott Morrison, David Littleproud, Australian Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop. All the meetings were very cordial wherematters of mutual interest were discussed.
In the second leg of his visit today, in Sydney, the Commerce Minister addressed representatives of about 25 Australian Superfunds, who have huge investible assets and the Minister informed them about the work being done in transforming and reforming India and about the many investment opportunities that are being generated for investors.
7. Cost Of Living Survey For Expats: Mumbai Costlier Than Washington And Melbourne.
Due to continuously surging food prices and leisure activities, Mumbai continues to be the most expensive city in India to live in for expatriates, ahead of global peers Washington and Melbourne.
However, India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, which has a high population of expatriates driven by the information technology sector, is getting more reasonable on cost of living.
According to the Cost of Living Survey published by global personnel consultants Mercer, Bengaluru has fallen in the cost of living ranking. Driven significantly by a relative drop in prices on transportation — taxi fares, cost of automobile and auto parts, as well as running costs. “Such studies help promote destinations among corporate houses. The cost of living not being very high is a sign of good investment. So, information technology companies are more bent towards Bengaluru, as they feel they can get a better office location, attract more talent and compensate employees more,” said Jaspal Singh, partner at Valoriser Consultants.
8. Gujarat CM Announces Agriculture JWG With Israel.
On the second day of his visit to Israel on Thursday, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani met Israel`s Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Uri Ariel and announced a joint working group between Gujarat and Israel in the fields of agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors.
During his interaction with Ariel, Rupani emphasised that agriculture is at the core of his priorities and Gujarat is committed to fulfill the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doubling the farmers` income by year 2022.
After the meeting with Mr. Ariel, Rupani said, "A joint working group headed by Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture, Mr. Sanjay Prasad, would be constituted to work consistently in the direction of agriculture, horticulture and allied sectors, as Gujarat and Israel can work together on Government to Government (G2G) basis and can also explore possible ways for a meaningful collaboration at business to business (B2B) level between the two countries."
The objective of the meeting was strengthening the Indo-Israeli agricultural cooperation and extension of the Indo-Israel Agriculture Plan (IIAP); and also to explore the opportunities of using the hi-tech protective cultivation and precision farming methods of Israel.
Mr. Ariel said, "Gujarat has always been at the forefront in introducing innovative measures in Agriculture and Horticulture and I am very confident that the success in Gujarat would pave way for other states to follow the same model and make the nation (India) prosperous."
Mr. Ariel had earlier visited India in the year 2016 to extend cooperation to India in terms of water management where he also inaugurated the India Water Week. He had also been a part of the delegation that visited from Israel to the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2017, wherein he was a keynote speaker.
Mr. Ariel has been the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister of Israel since the year 2015 and earlier he served as a Minister for Housing and Construction from year 2013 to 2015. (ANI)
9. North Korea Named ‘Worst Human Trafficking Country’.
The United States on Thursday (June 28) designated North Korea as one of the worst human trafficking nations for the 16th consecutive year, citing its use of forced labour, Yonhap news agency reported. The US State Department`s annual "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report" put North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 of its classification of countries, together with China, Russia and Iran.
"The Government of (North Korea) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so," the report said.
The North Korean government continued to use forced labour in prison camps and labour training centres, facilitated forced labour of students and exported forced labour to foreign companies, it said.
"It used proceeds from state-sponsored forced labour to fund government functions as well as other illicit activity," the report added. "It did not screen for or protect potential trafficking victims when they were forcibly repatriated from China or other countries." According to Yonhap, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the issue as he introduced the report.
"We see the tragic examples of forced labour in North Korea as well," he said at a launch ceremony. "Untold number of North Korean citizens are subjected to forced labour overseas by their own government, in many cases with the tacit approval of host governments."
The report comes as Washington and Pyongyang are negotiating the dismantlement of the regime`s nuclear weapons programme following a historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore earlier this month. It noted that in the latest reporting period the UN Security Council passed a resolution banning other countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean workers and requiring the expulsion of current labourers before the end of 2019.
Still, it said as many as 100,000 North Koreans currently earn money for their government in countries such as Russia, China and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, South Korea was placed among Tier 1 countries for the 16th straight year, along with other advanced nations like the US, Britain, France and Canada.