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Ukraine Crisis: Biden Declares That “Freedom Will Triumph Over Tyranny”

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US Vice President Joe Biden told Congress that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, miscalculated how the West would respond when he invaded Ukraine.

Mr. Biden promised in a primetime speech that “freedom will always triumph over tyranny.” His State of the Union address comes at a time when pandemic-weary Americans are grappling with skyrocketing inflation. At this point in his presidency, Mr. Biden is almost as unpopular as Donald Trump.

Mr. Biden announced that the United States would prohibit Russian aircraft from flying in American airspace, following similar bans imposed by Canadian and European authorities.

The US president threatened Russia with more economic retaliation, saying, “He has no idea what’s coming.”

Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, who was sitting in US First Lady Jill Biden’s VIP box for the event, was also welcomed by the US president.

Mr. Biden’s State of the Union address, an annual event that pushes a president’s agenda, comes at a time when his personal popularity is at an all-time low.

According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, only 40.6 percent of Americans approve of the job he is doing. Despite the fact that the unemployment rate in the United States has fallen to 4%, inflation has reached a 40-year high.

The homicide rate in the United States has reached a 25-year high.

According to polls, Americans are dissatisfied with Mr. Biden’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.

On Tuesday night, the president attempted to empathise with hard-pressed working families, saying: “Inflation is robbing them [Americans] of gains they thought they would be able to feel otherwise. I understand.”

However, the invasion of Ukraine, his most serious foreign policy crisis, dominated the opening of his speech.

Mr. Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hours before his speech to discuss what US assistance he could provide his country after six days of a Russian assault.

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Spain: PM Sanchez wins support of Catalan separatist party

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Paving the way for the formation of a coalition government, the biggest separatist party based in Catalonia has extended its support to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The move has end the deadlock under which Spain was brought by an inconclusive election result.

The support means Spain can no longer look the question of the independence of Catalonia with disrespect.

At this moment, it remains unclear the new coalition government will agree to conduct a formal Catalan independence referendum.

Earlier, an informal referendum conducted by the regional government in Catalonia was supported hugely by the people of the region.

It even paved the way for the emergence of a confrontation between the regional government in Catalonia and the central government.

Meanwhile, another big question that remains is whether the destiny of the punished Catalonian separatist leader will be overturned.

Several Catalonian leaders have been punished severely as the central government has chosen not to take a lenient stand in the independence issue.

Catalonia is a rich territory in Spain. Its culture is a bit different from that of the rest of the country. A considerable number of Catalonians want to be identified with Catalonia than with Spain.

Anyway, the new political development in Spain is a big boost to the Catalonian separatist movement.


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News Politics

UK in poll stations

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Today, it is a big day for the UK. The entire UK is at present in the polling stations across the country to decide who should rule their country in future. Along with the future of the present government, the British people today will also decide indirectly whether the UK should be allowed to pull back from the European Union. In that sense, the ongoing election is the second referendum on Brexit.

All the three main political parties, the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, have attached their campaign close to the matter of Brexit. When the Conservatives has promised a swift withdrawal of the UK from the EU, the Labour has pledged to seek the opinion of the people of the country on the matter of Brexit again in the form of a second referendum on the hope that the ongoing political turbulence may have changed the mind of the people who earlier cleared the Brexit proposal with a narrow margin.

At the same time, the Liberal Democrats have taken an entirely different stand. It has stongly opposed the idea of Brexit and assured the scrapping on Brexit.

As per a preliminary report, no political party is likely to get a clear majority in the parliament in the latest election. The report also predicts the loss of strength of the Conservatives in the election.

At present, the Conservatives has more than 43 per cent vote share in the country and the Labour has less than 34 per cent. And, the Liberal Democrats has over 12 per cent vote share.

If the Conservatives’ strength comes down below the majority line, then the Brexit will be a much harder thing to achieve.

Anyway, speaking to the media personals, British Prime Minister and Conservative leader Boris Johnson has expressed his confidence in winning the election with a huge majority.


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UK sold Hong Kong to China, alleges emotionally disturbed pro-democratic activist

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A Hong Kong pro-democratic activist, who has found himself emotionally disturbed due to the ongoing confrontation between the pro-democracy camp and the Hong Kong administration controlled by the mainland, has alleged, in a footage appeared in a leading International Media website, that the United Kingdom sold out his city to the Communist Country of China during the 1980s.

Until the year 1997, the city of Hong Kong was under the UK. In that year, it was handed over to China – but, with a condition that it would not threaten the lifestyle and values the people of the city inherited from their colonial master.

But, the present reality is different. Now, there are many in the city who shares the same opinion as that of the aforementioned activist.

It is the China’s increased interference in the internal affairs of the city that has fuelled the formation of a strong anti-China sentiment in the minds of the youngsters of the city.

At present, China rules Hong Kong as per a one country two system policy. What the pro-democratic faction fears is the gradual transformation of this policy to a much-aggressive one country one system policy – which is capable enough to threaten the present lifestyle and values of the people of the city.

They consider some of the policies the pro-China Hong Kong administration have introduced in the recent past including the much opposed bill seeking the easy extradition of crime suspects from the city to the mainland as the predecessor of that possible transformation.


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News Politics

Spain Election: Rightists make major gains; Socialists retain power

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The fourth election in Spain in less than four yours has also contributed the crisis of political deadlock, like what it contributed in the past three occasions.

This time also, making the situation bad to worse, no political party has gained a clear majority in the Spanish parliament.

The Spanish parliament has nearly 350 seats. So, for a simple majority at least 176 seats is needed.

In the latest election, the ruling PSOE (socialists) has gained around 120 seats – which is at least three seats less than what it wristed in the previous election.

Meanwhile, the rightist political parties like the PP and the Vox have made major gains in the election.

The PP has increased its seat count to around 88 from less than 66, and the Vox to 52 from 24. As what can be clearly read from the data, the far-rightist Vox is the one that has made the biggest gain.

In the previous time, the socialists failed to find a supporter for its government. When it called for a snap election, its expectation was that it would be able to gain a clear majority this time.

What the election result tells is a different story. The result shows the decreasing popularity of the socialists and the increasing popularity of the rightists.

A political expert says that it is not wise to lose this chance. He adds that if the leftists lose this chance, they may not be able to come to power in the country anything in the near future.

The Spain election result has a message for the entire Europe. In Europe, the political left and the political liberal are shrinking. What that is occupying that space is the political right – sadly, the political far-right.

Unlike others, the political far-right is not easy to deal with. It is not clear whether the political left and the political liberal know how to deal with that front rightly.


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News Politics

Green parties make huge gains in Swiss election

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The two main Green parties have made huge gains in the latest Switzerland election, by winning at least 20 per cent of the total votes that were casted in the election.

The counting process is still progressing.

As per a latest update, the SVP is still in the top position. The report says the Socialists and the Liberals have retained to the second and third positions respectively.

Yet, the notable fact is that all the aforesaid parties have lost their vote shares considerably. The SVP, the party which has been dominating the Swiss politics for several years, even has lost more than three per cent. The other parties have also suffered similar serious losses.

Though there is no change in the positions from the first to the third, there is a huge change in the case of the fourth position.

The Christian Democrats, which was one of the four major parties in the Swiss coalition government, have been pushed away, and its position has been grabbed by the Greens.

If the things progress this way, the Greens for the first time will get a seat in the coalition government this time.

Climate change was the main issue that was discussed during the election campaign.

It seems that the discussion of the climate change during the campaign has worked hugely in favour of the Greens.

The preliminary indication of the result is that the anti-immigration rhetoric of the SVP has not been received well by the voters of Switzerland.


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News Politics

Spanish court awards serious punishment to Catalan independence leaders

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A Spanish court has awarded serious punishment to the political leaders, who led a violent separatist movement in the Spanish region of Catalonia around two years ago.

The punishment has been awarded to nearly nine leaders. Some of them has got thirteen years imprisonment, and the rest has received not less than nine.  

The leaders, including former Catalan Vice-President Oriol Junqueras, have been found guilty of the serious charge of sedition.

The court has acquitted as many as nine other political leaders, who were charged with similar charges including rioting.

All the accused leaders have pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them by the Spanish government.

The court has lent its ears to most of those pleas. In the case of the convicted leaders, the court has found the grounds, on which the charges against them have been erected, relevant.

The Catalan referendum movement is the most powerful political movement the European country of Spain has witnessed in its recent history.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people have gathered in all major Catalonian cities, including Barcelona, to express their solidarity with the independence leaders of the region ahead of the controversial verdict, which has shacked the heart of many Catalonians, mostly those in favour of the separatist movement.


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News Politics

Turkey threatens to release Syrian refugees to Europe

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In the face of the severe opposition it has suffered due to its decision to occupy several Kurdish-held regions in Syria to create a Safe Zone for refugees, Turkey has threatened to release the Syrian refugees, who live in the country hoping to enter the European continent, to the said continent.

Tens of thousands of refugees seeking entrance to Europe now live in Syria. Turkey has an informal agreement with Europe regarding the refugee issue. Most European countries, including Germany, don’t want Turkey to release refugees to their territory.

The new threat by Turkey has come when the west has warned Istanbul of serious economic sanction against its military action in Syria against the Kurdish community, who was a great support to the west during their war against the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq.

As per a latest report, severe fighting has occurred between the Syrian Kurds and the Turkish forces in the northern region of Syria. The report says that severe damage has happened in both sides due to the attack.

The US has initiated steps to defuse the tension in the region. The White House has opened communication channels with both the parties.

The European countries have not yet responded publically about Turkey’s latest threat.


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Xavier Bettel
News Politics

Luxembourg prime minister describes Brexit as a ‘nightmare’

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Current Luxembourg prime minister Xavier Bettel reportedly said that the Brexit process has turned into a “nightmare”. The PM’s comment came after holding talks with UK PM Boris Johnson.

Bettel said that the UK PM had failed to take any serious decisions to allow a deal by 31 October.

Boris Johnson is facing a severe protest and was forced to cancel his press conference. He said, “there’s been a lot of work” and “papers have been shared”.

PM said that his joint press conference was cancelled due to the fear that the two leaders would have been “drowned out” by pro-EU protesters.

Mr. Johnson said, “I don’t think it would have been fair to the prime minister of Luxembourg”.

“I think there was clearly going to be a lot of noise and I think our points might have been drowned out”, he added.

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europe times
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UK will reject any Brexit delay offer, Boris Johnson to tell Juncker

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UK will not be accepting any more Brexit delay offer, beyond the current 31 October deadline, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to tell European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at talks on Monday.

Since Boris Johnson came into authority as PM, the lunchtime meeting in Luxembourg will be the first time the pair have met.

Reports says that the Prime Minister will stress he wants to secure a deal by 18 October, after a key EU summit.

But, if this is not possible, Mr Johnson will “reject any delay offered” and leave with no deal.

The PM “would make clear that he would not countenance any more delays”, said the source.

Reports said that “Any further extension would be a huge mistake. It is not just a question of the extra dither and delay – it is also the additional long months of rancour and division, and all at huge expense.”

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