The Indian Ocean archipelago’s first democratically elected leader was hurt when a device attached to a motorcycle was detonated as he got into a car late Thursday…reports Asian Lite News
Former Maldives president and current parliamentary speaker Mohamed Nasheed was recovering in hospital Friday after an assassination attempt left him with shrapnel wounds.
The Indian Ocean archipelago’s first democratically elected leader was hurt when a device attached to a motorcycle was detonated as he got into a car late Thursday, an official said.
“Nasheed escaped an assassination attempt,” a Maldivian government official said. “He is injured, but his condition is stable.”
Images on social media showed a destroyed motorbike at the scene of the attack.
Armed police units and security forces cordoned off the area in the capital Male where the attack took place, and the Maldivian parliament, which was in recess, called an emergency meeting following the attack.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, a close ally of Nasheed, said an investigation was under way as officials rushed to denounce the targeted attack on the country’s second most powerful figure.
“Strongly condemn the attack on Speaker of Parliament, President Mohamed Nasheed this evening. Cowardly attacks like these have no place in our society,” Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said in a tweet.
“My thoughts and prayers are with President Nasheed and others injured in this attack, as well as their families,” he tweeted.
A family member said Nasheed had sustained several wounds.
“They have put him under anaesthesia. There is a deeper cut on one of his arms,” the family member said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The relative said Nasheed was responsive and spoke with doctors as he was admitted with shrapnel injuries. One of his bodyguards was also taken to hospital.
The Indian Ocean nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims is best known around the world for its luxury holiday resorts popular with honeymooners, but it suffers from regular political turmoil.
The government has cracked down on extremism and preaching is highly regulated, but violent attacks have been rare. However, a dozen foreign tourists were wounded by a bomb blast in Male in 2007.
The Islamic State claimed a boat arson attack last year but there is little evidence the group has a presence in the archipelago.
Nasheed rose to become the Maldives’ first democratically elected leader in 2008 in the country’s first multi-party elections after 30 years of autocratic rule.
But the pro-democracy pioneer is maybe best known internationally for holding a 2009 underwater cabinet meeting to highlight the threat of global warming, signing documents as officials wore scuba gear against a backdrop of coral reefs.
“What we are trying to make people realise is that the Maldives is a frontline state. This is not merely an issue for the Maldives but for the world,” he said at the time.
He resigned three years later after protests against his rule and has failed to reclaim the presidency despite several attempts. Instead, he secured the position of parliamentary speaker in 2019, retaining his influence in political life.
Nasheed is a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience after being sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2015 on terrorism charges slammed as politically motivated by civil rights groups.
S.-Jaishankar
Jaishankar expresses concern
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday expressed concerns over the attack on Maldivian former President Mohamed Nasheed and said that the Majlis speaker will “never be intimidated”.
“Deeply concerned at the attack on Speaker @MohamedNasheed. Wish him a speedy recovery. Know that he will never be intimidated,” Mr Jaishankar tweeted.
Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid “strongly condemned” the attack and said that cowardly attacks like these have no place in our society.
“Strongly condemn the attack on Speaker of Parliament, President @MohamedNasheedthis evening. Cowardly attacks like these have no place in our society. My thoughts and prayers are with President Nasheed and others injured in this attack, as well as their families, as Abdulla Shahid wrote in a tweet on Thursday.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer, for whom this election was a major test after assuming the top party position, said he was taking “full responsibility” for the defeat, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
With more English election results are set to be announced today, the ruling Conservative Party has already made significant gains, with Labour losing control of several local authorities, according to reports.
Prime Minister ad Conservative Leader Boris Johnson called the results so far “encouraging”, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer promised to lead a fightback and set out a “bold vision”, the BBC reported.
On Thursday, people in England voted in elections for 143 councils, 13 mayors and 35 police and crime commissioners. The results are set to continue coming in over the weekend, with pandemic restrictions causing delays and counting centres working according to different timetables.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives have already snatched a historically left-wing seat from the opposition Labour in a tense by-election in England.
Conservative party candidate Jill Mortimer won the north-east England seat of Hartlepool with a large majority, beating opposition Labour party candidate Paul Williams, reports dpa news agency.
She described it as a “truly historic” result. It is the first time since its creation in 1974 that the seat has been won by a Conservative politician. Previously it had only been held by Labour, at one point, a candidate who ran as an independent.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said he was “bitterly disappointed” with the result, adding: “I take full responsibility for the results. And I will take full responsibility for fixing things.”
Conservatives also picked up control of several councils, including Maidstone, Cornwall, Nottinghamshire and Basildon, while Labour lost some, including Sheffield and Plymouth, to no overall control.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks at the House of Commons. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)
They have managed to keep the Tees Valley mayoralty – in an area once considered a Labour stronghold – with Ben Houchen increasing his share of the vote to 73%, according to BBC report.
The party also gained new police and crime commissioners, for Cleveland, Avon and Somerset and Dorset.
The result is a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite a rocky few months for the premier, with the country’s successful vaccine campaign appearing to be a key factor.
It is equally a blow for Labour party leader Keir Starmer, who has only been chief for a year.
The win will make no difference to Johnson’s influence in the British parliament, however, as his party already holds a majority.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (Photo: No 10, Downing Street)
On Friday, the prime minister had travelled to Hartlepool to celebrate his party’s win, hailing the backing of “the fantastic people of the north-east” and saying it gave his government a renewed mandate, the Guardian reported.
The by-election was held on Thursday, the same day as local and mayoral elections across England, and votes for the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
The London mayoral result will be announced today, although if it is close it could take longer, it was reported.
SNP majority on knife edge
Though the Scottish National Party has won three key seats but the hopes of securing an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament election remain on a knife edge, the BBC reported.
Scotland First Minister and and Leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon
The party has taken both Edinburgh Central – where former MP Angus Robertson was standing for the SNP – and Ayr from the Conservatives, according to the report.
The party also won the East Lothian seat from Labour.
No other constituencies have changed hands so far, with the SNP currently on 39 seats, the Liberal Democrats four, Tories two and Labour one.
Labour retains Wales
There is nothing much to worry for Labour in Wales as the party is set to stay in power after matching its best-ever Senedd election result, with exactly half of the 60 seats in the Welsh Parliament, the BBC reported.
However, the Conservatives took the Vale of Clwyd from Labour, and Brecon and Radnorshire from the Liberal Democrats. And Labour took Rhondda back from Plaid Cymru.
So far 52 of the 60 seats are declared, and Labour has won 30; Conservatives 12, Plaid Cymru 9 and the Liberal Democrats one, it was reported.
The MNM suffered a rout in the recently-concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections with Kamal Haasan himself losing the poll in Coimbatore (South)….reports Asian Lite News
The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), floated by actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, was being converted into a fan club at the instance of the party’s campaign consultancy organisation and its founder’s advisor, Vice President R.Mahendran said on Thursday as he quit the party.
In his resignation letter from the party post and primary membership, Mahendran said from June 2020 onwards, the multi-faceted MNM was being converted into a fan club by Sankhya Solutions (political campaign consultants) and Kamal Haasan’s advisor and ex-TV media person Mahendran.
The MNM suffered a rout in the recently-concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections with Kamal Haasan himself losing the poll in Coimbatore (South).
Mahendran recalled the suggestion made to Kamal Haasan to contest in Chennai or in two seats – Coimbatore (South) and in Chennai, but he ignored it.
Do watch my in-depth interview with @IndiaAheadNews on what compelled me to quit MNM and why it's necessary for every voice to be heard in a political party. https://t.co/CcnTlZFcOM
According to him, there is a decline in Kamal Haasan’s tenacity of purpose “which is buried under a style of operation that reeks of non-democratic manner of running a political party”.
Mahendran said after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party engaged political strategist Prashant Kishor’s IPAC but later Kamal Haasan had brought in Sankhya Solutions to manage the party’s assembly poll campaign.
Sankhya Solutions and Kamal Haasan’s advisor did not know or understand how to enhance “Brand Kamal”, he claimed.
Mahendran said Kamal Haasan’s failure and the party’s failure in the Assembly polls can be road mapped to the suggestions made by the poll consultants and the actor’s advisor.
According to Mahendan, many other office bearers of the party were of the same view but did not voice them fearing consequences.
Mahendran, in his resignation letter, also told Kamal Haasan that senior party officials were not consulted on electoral alliances and the decision to give away 100 seats to allies was a shocker, damaging the party’s image in the minds of people.
Bluntly telling Kamal Haasan that he can teach anyone in the party about honesty and integrity, Mahendran added that he is quitting the party with his head held high.
Meanwhile several office bearers of MNM submitted their resignations to Kamal Haasan so as to enable him to rejig the party.
A party spokesperson told IANS that except Mahendran, none of the other office bearers have exited the party and they have resigned their positions so that reorganisation can be carried out.
He added that Kamal Haasan will decide on the resignation of Mahendran.
Thiagarajan said the standard methods will not be able to bring back the state finances to comfortable levels and it needs some innovative measures….reports Asian Lite News
Innovative measures are needed to correct Tamil Nadu’s financial position, said state’s Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan.
Speaking to a television channel soon after being sworn in as the Finance Minister, Thiagarajan said the state government’s finance went bad during the past seven years.
Thiagarajan said the standard methods will not be able to bring back the state finances to comfortable levels and it needs some innovative measures.
The state’s debt is about Rs 5 trillion.
Hailing from a political family Thiagarajan did his schooling at the Lawrence School, Lovedale and graduated from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (formerly Regional Engineeringn College).
Thiagarajan later got a master’s degree in Operations Research and a doctorate. He had also finished MBA in Financial Management at MIT Sloan School of Management.
He had worked with Lehman Brothers and then with Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore.
Thiagarajan had earlier said the tax to gross state domestic product ratio had come down to less than 10 per cent.
Meanwhile, new Covid-19 containment restrictions enforced in Tamil Nadu by the state government have come into force from 4 a.m. on Thursday adding the new measures will continue till May 20.
இன்று ஆளுநர் மாளிகையில் நடந்த பதிவியேற்பு நிகழ்வில் தமிழக முதல்வராக @mkstalin அவர்கள் மற்றும் அமைச்சர்களுடன் இணைந்து நான் தமிழகத்தின் நிதி மற்றும் மனிதவள அமைச்சராக பொறுப்பேற்றுக் கொண்டேன்.#MKStalinCabinetpic.twitter.com/ObQVgd04F9
— Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) May 7, 2021
With new enforcements in force, heavy rush that was earlier witnessed in the roads of Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and other towns has come down.
Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Rajeev Ranjan in an order said that all state government offices will function with 50 per cent staff strength for a fortnight, beginning Thursday.
The order said that the secretaries to governments, head of departments, district collectors, will have an attendance schedule of the workforce.
The employees must be in shifts of either on alternate days or once in three days as per the requirement of the workload.
Private offices will also have to function with a 50 per cent workforce.
Public transport, railways, metro rail, public and private buses will operate with only 50 per cent of their occupancy.
Grocery shops (standalone) will be permitted to operate till 12 p.m.
Grocery and vegetable shops in shopping complexes are not allowed to operate.
All other shops other than grocery and vegetable shops will be closed. Shopping malls and other big shops have not been allowed to operate in the state since April 26.
State government and public sector outlets will be allowed to function till 12 p.m.
Restaurants will not be allowed to take sit-in customers while takeaways will be permitted from 6-10 a.m., 12-3 p.m., and from 6-9 p.m.
Cinema halls will remain shut and all social, political and cultural gatherings are prohibited in open or closed spaces.
After a gap of 10 years, the DMK with Stalin at the helm comes back to power for a sixth time in its history by winning the 2021 Assembly elections securing a comfortable majority on its own, reports Asian Lite News
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu by Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhawan on Friday.
After a gap of 10 years, the DMK with Stalin at the helm comes back to power for a sixth time in its history by winning the 2021 Assembly elections securing a comfortable majority on its own.
The 68-year-old Stalin wearing white shirt and dhoti came to Raj Bhavan at about 9 a.m. Purohit administered Stalin the Oath of Office and Secrecy.
The Governor also administered the oath to 33 other lawmakers as the Ministers.
MK Stalin takes oath as Tamil Nadu CM (photo: Pallav Paliwal)
On Thursday, Purohit released the list of lawmakers who will be appointed as ministers and their portfolios.
Stalin’s Cabinet has two women Ministers. Stalin’s wife Durga, son Udhayanidhi and other family members, former Deputy Chief Minister and AIADMK Coordinator O.Panneerselvam, leaders of Congress and other parties attended the swearing in ceremony.
AIADMK top leader O Panneerselvam, leaders from alliance parties including Congress’s P Chidambaram, MDMK chief Vaiko and top state officials took part in the ceremony.
DMK had fought the elections with its allies and got an absolute majority on its own by bagging 133 seats in the 234-member assembly.
Stalin will hold several portfolios including Home, General Administration, Special Initiatives, Special Programme Implementation and Welfare of Differently -Abled Persons.
MK Stalin takes oath as Tamil Nadu CM (,Kamal Haasann was present at ceremony (photo: Pallav Paliwal)
Udhayanidhi doesn’t make it to Stalin cabinet
Stalin did not include his son Udhayanidhi Stalin in the cabinet. Udhayanidhi, a film star-turned-politician had won with a margin of 60,000 votes from Chepauk seat and was tipped to be in the cabinet — speculations of him being the Deputy Chief Minister have been doing rounds.
There are 15 new faces in the cabinet — the first timers. It is learnt that the Chief Minister will not be moving for a major bureaucratic reshuffle immediately.
MK Stalin takes oath as Tamil Nadu CM (photo: Pallav Paliwal)
Stalin gets emotional before Karunanidhi’s photo
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin turned emotional on Friday while paying his respects before his late father and former Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi’s portrait at the latter’s residence in Gopalapuram on Friday.
Stalin drove to Karunanidhi’s residence at Gopalapuram from Raj Bhavan after taking oath of office and secrecy as Chief Minister.
Paying his floral tributes to Karunanidhi’s photograph, Stalin with a small hand gesture conveyed that his father was not there to see him become the Chief Minister of the state.
Stalin’s sister Selvi quickly consoled him.
MK Stalin (photo: Pallav Paliwal)
Earlier on entering Karunanidhi’s residence where his mother resides now, some party cadres burst crackers as a mark of celebration to which Stalin immediately showed his displeasure.
Stalin came to Karunanidhi’s residence to seek his mother’s blessings.
At Raj Bhavan, Stalin’s wife Durga turned emotional on hearing her husband saying `”I Muthuvel Karunanidhi”, while being administered Oath of Office and Oath of Secrecy.
War room to flight Covid
Earlier, MK Stalin said Tamil Nadu is facing a medical emergency. The announcement from the DMK president comes in the backdrop of several rounds of meetings with health experts and other officials over the past three days.
In a statement on Wednesday, Stalin said he has instructed the chief secretary to set up a ‘war room’ which will act as a central unit to monitor the medical oxygen stocks and vaccine, the requirement of beds, etc. He said the contribution of frontline workers during the pandemic is a great service to the people.
” The pandemic scenario has now changed into a ‘medical emergency’ and I appeal to private hospitals to fully commit themselves to save people who fear for their lives,” the DMK chief said in a statement. As part of Covid-19 containment measures, he asked the hospitals, which are now allotting 50 per cent of the total beds to Covid-19 patients, to provide additional beds. He urged them to also provide consession in billing to the maximum possible extent for services availed by coronavirus infected people. “This is a difficult period, but it is not something we cannot overcome,” he added.
It is the first time since its creation in 1974 that Hartlepool seat has been won by a Conservative politician, reports Asian Lite News
The UK’s ruling Conservative Party has snatched a historically left-wing seat from the opposition Labour in a tense by-election in England.
Conservative party candidate Jill Mortimer won the north-east England seat of Hartlepool with a large majority, beating opposition Labour party candidate Paul Williams, reports dpa news agency.
She described it as a “truly historic” result.
It is the first time since its creation in 1974 that the seat has been won by a Conservative politician.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks at the House of Commons. (UK Parliament_Jessica Taylor)
Previously it had only been held by Labour, at one point, a candidate who ran as an independent.
The result is a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite a rocky few months for the premier, with the country’s successful vaccine campaign appearing to be a key factor.
Vijayan entered the history books by leading the Left Democratic Front government to its second successive win when he increased his tally from 91 seats to 99…reports Asian Lite News
The difficult task of winning the elections over, will Pinarayi Vijayan now have it easy or tough, as starting Thursday he begins talks for the composition of Version-2 Pinarayi cabinet.
Vijayan entered the history books by leading the Left Democratic Front government to its second successive win when he increased his tally from 91 seats to 99 in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly.
According to the rules the cabinet can have a maximum strength of 21 including the Chief Minister. There are three other posts which come with cabinet status — Assembly Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Chief Whip.
In the outgoing Vijayan cabinet the CPI-M had 12 Ministers and the Chief Minister’s post, the second biggest ally CPI had four ministers with one each for the Nationalist Congress Party, the Congress (S) and the Janata Dal (S).
However this time the Left has given full fledged ally status to the Kerala Congress (B), the Indian National League (INL) besides two new allies who jumped the fence from the Congress led Opposition — Kerala Congress (Mani) and Loktantrik Janata Dal.
Then there is Kovoor Kunjumon who has been a fellow traveller of the Left ever since he came from the UDF, ahead of the 2016 assembly polls and this time he won his fifth straight election.
A media critic on condition of anonymity said that it may be tough for Vijayan to do the balancing act but Vijayan, given his now exalted status, should be able to finalise all the posts quickly.
“All what now remains to be seen is, in his first outing his cabinet had 20 people, even when he could have added one more. If it’s going to be like last time, then all the allies will not be able to be accommodated. But if it has to take place, the CPI-M and the CPI will have to end up with lesser posts than in 2016, which can be tough, especially the CPI who might raise a hue and cry,” said the critic.
In 2016, while the Speaker’s post was taken by the CPI-M, this time too it will be the same. The CPI got the Deputy Speaker’s and the Chief Whip’s posts.
Meanwhile there are reports that veteran outgoing Minister Kadanapally Ramachandran, the lone Cong (S) legislator, who won again might be left out this time.
But filmstar turned legislator KB Ganesh Kumar of the Kerala Cong( B) is in all likelihood to get the nod.
The INL party and Kovoor Kunjumon have given letters to Vijayan that they should be considered when posts are decided.
Later on Thursday, he along with his party leaders will have a one to one talk with the CPI and if the CPI agrees to sacrifice one cabinet post, then Vijayan will be able to run through the proceedings with the others smoothly. If not, then there will have to be further discussions.
With the Covid pandemic raging in Kerala and the state in a semi-lockdown mode, Vijayan has decided to wait a while before the swearing in date is fixed. As things stand it could happen in the third week of May, hence, he will have enough time to wrap up talks with his allies.
He said his party would sit down and discuss and debate the poll debacle which saw the Vijayan government retain power and the Congress was left to bite the dust…reports Asian Lite News.
Congress Lok Sabha member K. Muraleedharan who contested the Nemom assembly seat in the capital district, said here on Wednesday, he is proud that it was due to his party’s efforts that the BJP could not open its account in Kerala.
Muraleedharan, son of legendary Congress leader K. Karunakaran was drafted to contest the assembly polls after widespread canards were spread by the ruling Left that it was the Congress that helped BJP open its account in 2016 when BJP veteran O. Rajagopal won the Nemom seat defeating V. Sivankutty of the CPI-M by less than 9,000 votes and the ally of the Congress, V. Surendran Pillai came a dismal third with just around 13,000 votes.
“Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has now gone to town saying that the Congress and the BJP are hands in glove and if that was the case, the CPI-M would not have won from Nemom this time. But the truth is had I not got above 30,000 votes, BJP candidate would have won and since I secured this many votes, the CPI-M candidate won with a margin of 3,949 votes,” said Muraleedharan.
“All the truths have now come out the BDJS- the second biggest ally of the BJP-led NDA has been silent and just see their total tally of votes in the state. In the 2016 polls, they secured over 4 percent votes, and this time it has fallen below 2 percent. Moreover, we did not get the support of the minority communities. All of us heard the Social Democratic Party of India (the political outfit of the Popular Front of India) stating that they had given their votes to the Left at Nemom,” added Muraleedharan.
He said his party would sit down and discuss and debate the poll debacle which saw the Vijayan government retain power and the Congress was left to bite the dust.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
The Congress-led UDF saw its tally came down from 47 in 2016 to 41 in 2021.
“The final outcome that has emerged after the polls here is that it has now become evidently clear that the CPI-M’s only agenda was to see the back of the Congress and for that, they effectively used the BJP. To cover up all that Vijayan is spreading canards that it was we who had the deal with the BJP. Time will prove everything and none should forget West Bengal which they ruled for over three decades is not there anymore and in the recent elections they were with us,” added Muraleedharan.
The FIR has been registered under section 186, 506, 427 and 341 of Pakistan Penal Code for obstructing public servants from discharge of their duty…reports Asian Lite News
Police have booked two sitting lawmakers for storming Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) and attacking doctors and nurses there during protests that took place after a boy who sustained gun wounds died at the hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, recently, Dawn reported.
The first information report (FIR) has been registered at Hayatabad police station against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Nighat Orakzai and Shafiq Sher Afridi, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) member from Khyber tribal district.
The FIR has been registered under section 186, 506, 427 and 341 of Pakistan Penal Code for obstructing public servants from discharge of their duty, criminal intimidation, mischief, causing damage to property and wrongful restraint.
According to Dawn, both the lawmakers have been booked in connection with protests and subsequent rioting that took place after a young boy from Khyber who had sustained gun wounds died at the hospital on April 30.
Doctors at HMC have been on strike for the last two days to press the authorities to implement KP Healthcare Services Providers and Facilities (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2020 and improve security of the health facilities.
The FIR, which has been registered following a complaint by HMC hospital director Dr Faisal Shazad, said that a 15-year-old boy from Khyber was brought to the hospital with a bullet wound on April 30.
It said that doctors at the casualty provided the best care to the injured and neurosurgery doctors were also called to assist them during the treatment; however, the boy died of his wound during the treatment.
It said that the patient’s attendants resorted to rioting soon after coming out of hospital’s casualty and blocked main road leading to the casualty from both sides.
It said that the mob also stopped hospital ambulances from entering the emergency gate and blocked casualty and roughed up doctors and nurses and took them hostage, Dawn reported.
The FIR said that later the mob pelted stones at the hospital on the instigation of both MPAs and both of them tried to save the armed attackers from police. It said that both the lawmakers also engaged in a physical brawl with the police personnel as well. (ANI)
