Presidentiall Poll

Sri Lanka prez poll heads to round 2 of counting for first time in history

In a historic first, Sri Lanka's presidential election on Sunday went into a second round of counting after no candidate secured over 50 per cent vote needed to be declared the winner. As per the election results, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party's broader front National People's Power (NPP) topped in the first round of counting by securing 5.63 million votes or 42.31 per cent, followed by Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) with 4.36 million votes or 32.8 per cent of the total polled. Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe polled only 2.29 million votes or 17.27 per cent. Election Commission Chairman R M A L Rathnayake said though Dissanayake and Premadasa have secured maximum votes in the 2024 presidential election, neither of them has secured more than 50 per cent votes, so the second preference votes are being counted and added to these two candidates. President Wickremesinghe was eliminated in the first ro

Communication failures prior to Trump's July assassination bid: Report

Communication breakdowns with local law enforcement hampered the Secret Service's performance ahead of a July assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, according to a new report that lays out a litany of missed opportunities to stop a gunman who opened fire from an unsecured roof. A five-page document summarising the Secret Service report's key conclusions finds fault with both local and federal law enforcement, underscoring the cascading and wide-ranging failings that preceded the July 13 shooting at a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally where Trump was wounded in the ear by gunfire. Though the failed response has been well-documented through congressional testimony, news media investigations and other public statements, the report being released on Friday marks the Secret Service's most formal attempt to catalog the errors of the day and is being released amid fresh scrutiny following Sunday's arrest in Florida of a man who authorities say wanted to kill Trump. It's

President Abdelmadjid elected to serve second term leading gas-rich Algeria

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been named the winner of Algeria's presidential election, granting him another term leading the gas-rich North African nation five years after pro-democracy protests led to the ouster of his predecessor. In a result that surprised few observers internationally or in Algeria, the country's independent election authority on Sunday announced that Tebboune had won 94 per cent of the vote, far outpacing his challengers Islamist Abdelali Hassani Cherif, who won 3 per cent and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who won 2.1 per cent. Election officials reported less than six million of the country's 24 million voters had turned out to vote on Saturday, perpetuating the low voter turnout rates that marred Tebboune's first term and raised questions about his popular support. Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and, with almost 45 million people, it's the continent's second most populous after South Africa to hold presidential elections in 2024 a year in ..

Asian factories show tentative signs of recovery as China's PMI improves

Factory activity in South Korea and Taiwan also expanded in August, while Japan saw a slower rate of contraction due in part to solid global demand for semiconductors

Sri Lankan police to remove propaganda material ahead of prez election

The Sri Lankan police have deployed 1,500 workers to remove any illegal election posters and cutouts from public places ahead of next month's presidential election. The police have begun an operation to crack down on all election propaganda material which violates election laws leading to the September 21 presidential election. The police election secretariat said workers have been recruited at provincial police stations to pull down material displayed by candidates in violation of propaganda rules. Senior Deputy Inspector of Police (SDIG) in Charge of Elections Asanka Karawita, said each worker would be paid Rs 1,500 a day and given police protection to carry out the task of removing unlawful election-related materials, the Island Online reported. All posters, cutouts and banners which are unlawful would be removed. The election laws do not permit propaganda material to be displayed in public places. The candidates can only display them at their propaganda offices. The Human Rig

Trump's to hold rally in N Carolina; Harris campaign launches $90 mn ad buy

Donald Trump will hold a rally and speech in North Carolina that his campaign is billing as a significant economic address. Set in a Democratic city surrounded by staunchly Republican mountain counties, the event carries both national and local implications for the former president. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris' presidential campaign is launching a $90 million advertising effort over the next three weeks to introduce the Democrat to voters and sharpen the contrast with Trump. The media buy marks her campaign's largest-yet investment in messaging to voters with just 2 1/2 months until Election Day in November. Here's the Latest: Harris, Walz will have a joint bus tour ahead of the DNC Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov Tm Walz, are gearing up for the Democratic National Convention with a joint bus tour. Harris, Walz and their spouses, second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, will start the tour in Pittsburgh on Sunday. That follows

Harris gets advantage over Trump on honesty, discipline: AP-NORC poll

Vice President Kamala Harris has a perceived advantage over former President Donald Trump on several leadership qualities such as honesty, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, although Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump on the economy and immigration. Nearly half of Americans say that committed to democracy and disciplined are attributes that better describe Harris. About 3 in 10 say these qualities better describe Trump. About 4 in 10 say Harris is someone who cares about people like you while about 3 in 10 say that about Trump. About 4 in 10 say honest better describes Harris and 24% say that quality better describes Trump. Both parties are racing to define Harris as she prepares to accept the Democratic nomination at the party's convention next week. The poll suggests she carries some of the same baggage that weighed down President Joe Biden before he ended his reelection bid but has advantages over Trump when they're

Trump makes his 2024 campaign about Harris' race, ignores Republicans

Donald Trump has found tremendous success from the very first moment he stepped onto the presidential stage by stoking racial animus. Democrats expressed new outrage this week at the former president's derisive and false charge that Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian heritage, only recently turned Black for political gain. Some Republicans even from within Trump's own campaign seemed to distance themselves from the comment. But Trump's rhetoric this week, and his record on race since he entered politics nearly a decade ago, indicate that divisive attacks on race may emerge as a core GOP argument in the three-month sprint to Election Day whether his allies want them to or not. A Trump adviser, granted anonymity Thursday to discuss internal strategy, said the campaign doesn't need to focus on identity politics because the case against Harris is that she is so liberal it's dangerous. The adviser pointed to Harris' record on the Southern border, crime, the ..

Indian Americans happy as Kamala Harris likely to be next choice for prez

Several prominent Indian Americans on Sunday welcomed the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic Party's presidential nominee and described it as a historic moment for this small ethnic community. Harris, 59, on Sunday announced that she will run for presidency after her boss President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek re-election in the November general elections and instead endorsed her to be the party's nominee. Harris was soon endorsed by several top Democratic leaders. As an immigrant who came from India to America over four decades ago, it thrills me to see that an Indian-American is the presumptive nominee of one of the two political parties for United States president, M R Rangaswami, an influential diaspora leader who lives in San Francisco, told PTI. The contribution of the Indian diaspora to American society, including politics and public service is increasing in a big way. This shows the maturation and integration of our community, he

In first address, Iran's Prez-elect Pezeshkian vows to serve all Iranians

At the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian expressed his commitment to overcoming challenges and providing prosperity for all Iranians

Mexico awaits results in election likely to choose its first female prez

Polls closed on Sunday in a national vote that will likely give Mexico its first female president but the heat, violence and polarisation continued almost right through election day. People turned out to vote in the township of Cuitzeo, in the western state of Michoacn, despite the fact that a town council candidate was shot to death by two hitmen aboard a motorcycle just hours before the election. Nationwide, the voting was largely peaceful but it appeared that even if the frontrunner -- former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum -- wins, she is unlikely to enjoy the kind of unquestioning devotion that outgoing President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has enjoyed. Both belong to the ruling Morena party. Araceli Hernndez (49), a university professor in international studies in Mexico City, said she was voting for Morena. "Even though there are things we don't like, like militarisation, there has been progress." Hernndez was referring to Lpez Obrador's policy of relying on the army and t

Donald Trump asks US judge to dismiss charges over handling of documents

Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and claims all the cases against him are part of a Democratic-led "witch hunt" to keep him from returning to office

Former PM Alexander Stubb wins Finnish presidency, defeats Pekka Haavisto

Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won Finland's election runoff on Sunday against ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in a close race for the presidency and the task of steering the Nordic country's foreign and security policy now that it is a member of NATO, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. With all votes counted, centre-right candidate Stubb of the National Coalition Party had 51.6 per cent of the votes, while independent candidate Haavisto from the green left got 48.4 per cent of the votes. The 55-year-old Stubb, who was prime minister in 2014-2015 and started his political career as a lawmaker at the European Parliament in 2004, will become the 13th president of Finland since the Nordic country's independence from the Russian empire in 1917. Haavisto conceded defeat after a projection by the Finnish public broadcaster YLE showing a win for Stubb was released on Sunday night. He shook Stubb's hand and congratulated him at Helsinki City Hall, where the candidates and the

Bangladesh to hold presidential election by Feb 23, announces poll body

Bangladesh will hold the presidential election by February 23, the country's poll body announced

NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu to visit Tripura, Bihar on July 5

Droupadi Murmu will meet NDA lawmakers in Bihar around 10 am before leaving for Tripura

Presidential election: Droupadi Murmu to campaign in UP on July 8

Draupadi Murmu will meet the MLAs and MPs of BJP as well as allies in Lucknow

Oppn's prez poll candidate Sinha vows to raise voice for farmers, workers

Pointing out that India is currently going through extremely difficult times, Opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha promises to raise his voice for farmers, workers, unemployed youth, women

Droupadi Murmu, an inspiration and a benchmark for us to follow: Nadda

After announcing Droupadi Murmu as NDA's Presidential candidate, BJP chief J.P. Nadda said that her personality "is an inspiration and a benchmark for us to follow"

Presidential polls: Mamata suggests Farooq Abdullah, Gopal Gandhi's names

Hansdak stressed that new names were welcome and would be considered in the next meeting.

In run-up to Presidential polls, BJP, Opposition make their first moves

Rajnath reaches out to Mamata, proposes common govt-Opposition candidate