PAKISTAN PM TO SEEK VOTE OF CONFIDENCE ON SATURDAY AFTER SENATE SETBACK

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, said he will seek a vote of confidence from parliament on Saturday after the finance minister lost his bid for a Senate seat.

Khan and his government had been expected to win the indirect election on the seat, given their coalition’s numerical superiority in the lower house of parliament, the electoral college for the vote.

“I’m going to seek a confidence motion a day after tomorrow,” Khan said in a televised address to the nation on Thursday.

The Senate is the upper house of Pakistan’s bicameral parliament.

He said the vote of confidence would be an open ballot in which members of his party and his allies were welcome to vote against him if they no longer had confidence in him.

“This is your democratic right ... just raise your hands that you don’t have confidence and I will go into the opposition (benches),” he said.

Khan also lashed out at the Election Commission of Pakistan which he said failed to stop corruption in the elections. "You (ECP) discredited democracy, you damaged the morality of the nation by doing nothing to stop vote-buying."

The development comes a day after the ruling party’s candidate and Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh lost a hotly contested election for a seat in the Senate, or upper house of Pakistan's bicameral parliament, against Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) candidate and former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.

MEGHAN ACCUSES BUCKINGHAM PALACE OF "PERPETUATING FALSEHOODS"

Prince Harry's wife Meghan has accused Buckingham Palace of "perpetuating falsehoods" about her and her spouse, saying the royal couple would not be silent in telling their story.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, made the comments to American talk show host Oprah Winfrey in an interview about why they quit their royal roles that is due to be broadcast on U.S. television on Sunday.

An advance excerpt of the interview was released on Wednesday, hours after Buckingham Palace said it was "very concerned" about reports in the Times newspaper that assistants working for Meghan two years ago had been bullied by her.

Harry and Meghan issued a statement denying that she had bullied anyone.

"How do you feel about the Palace hearing you speak your truth today?" Winfrey asks Meghan in the excerpt.

Meghan responded: "I don't know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent, if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us." The Firm is the name that the British royal family sometimes uses to describe itself.

"And if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean, there's a lot that's been lost already," Meghan added.

The interview was recorded before The Times newspaper ran a report citing unnamed sources as saying an aide to Harry and Meghan had raised a complaint in October 2018 alleging that Meghan had reduced some of her assistants to tears and treated others so badly that they had quit.

The paper said Harry had urged the aide, who has now left their staff, to drop the complaint, and it never progressed.

The Times said it had been contacted by former staff members who wanted the public to gain insight before the Winfrey interview aired - and that lawyers for the couple had labelled the allegations a smear orchestrated by the Palace.

In a clip released by US broadcaster CBS earlier this week Harry — who has frequently bemoaned press intrusion — said he was worried about “history repeating itself ”, in an apparent reference to the death of his mother. Diana died in a high speed car crash after being relentlessly pursued by photographers through Paris.

INDIAN-AMERICANS TAKING OVER US, SAYS BIDEN AS THEY KEEP GETTING KEY POSITIONS

Indian-Americans are taking over the country, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday, referring to the high number of people from the community getting a place in his administration.

In less than 50 days of his presidency, Biden has appointed at least 55 Indian-Americans to key leadership positions in his administration ranging from his speech writer to the NASA, to almost every wing of the government.

“Indian-of-descent Americans (sic) are taking over the country. You (Swati Mohan), my Vice President (Kamala Harris), my speech writer (Vinay Reddy),” Biden said in a virtual interaction with NASA scientists who were involved in the historic landing of Perseverance landing at Mars.

Indian-American scientist Swati Mohan leads the guidance, navigation, and control operations of NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.

Biden, who was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, has created history by appointing at least 55 Indian-Americans to key positions in his administration.

The Biden administration has for the first time appointed such a large number of Indian-Americans in the first 50 days of his administration.

“It is impressive to see how many Indian-Americans were ready to go into public service. There have been so many additions since we launched our Government Leaders list last month on Presidents’ Day. I am so proud to see our community is going from strength to strength!,” eminent Indian-American philanthropist and Indiaspora founder M Rangaswami told PTI.

COVID: ITALY 'BLOCKS' ASTRAZENECA VACCINE SHIPMENT TO AUSTRALIA

The Italian government has blocked the export of an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine shipment to Australia.

The decision affects 250,000 doses of the vaccine produced at an AstraZeneca facility in Italy.

Italy is the first EU country to use the bloc's new regulations allowing exports to be stopped if the company providing the vaccines has failed to meet its obligations to the EU.

Australia said losing "one shipment" would not badly affect its rollout.

The move has been backed by the European Commission, reports say.

AstraZeneca is on track to provide only 40% of the agreed supply to member states in the first three months of the year. It has cited production problems for the shortfall.

In January, then Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte described delays in vaccine supplies by both AstraZeneca and Pfizer as "unacceptable" and accused the companies of violating their contracts.

The EU has been widely criticised for the slow pace of its vaccination programme.

There has been no official comment on the Italian move by the EU or AstraZeneca.

BOLSONARO TELLS BRAZILIANS TO ‘STOP WHINING’ OVER COVID

President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday urged Brazilians to “stop whining” about Covid-19 and renewed his attacks on stay-at-home measures to contain the pandemic, amid a surge of cases that is pushing hospitals to the brink.

The latest controversial comments from the far-right leader, who regularly flouts expert advice on fighting the new coronavirus despite having contracted it himself last year, came after Brazil registered its second daily record of Covid-19 deaths in as many days, leading some cities and states to go back on partial lockdown.

“Stop whining. How long are you going to keep crying about it?” Bolsonaro said at an inauguration ceremony for a new railroad line in the central state of Goais.

“How long are you going to stay home? How long are you going to keep everything closed? People can’t take it anymore,” he added.

“We regret the deaths.... But where’s Brazil going to end up if we just close everything?”

Nearly 260,000 people have died of Covid-19 in Brazil, the second-highest pandemic death toll in the world after the United States.

U.N. TELLS MYANMAR MILITARY TO STOP ‘MURDERING’ PROTESTERS

At least 54 people have been killed and over 1,700 detained since Myanmar’s February 1 coup, the United Nations rights chief said on Thursday.

The comments come after the deadliest day of protests in Myanmar, with at least 38 dead on Wednesday in rallies where security forces were seen firing at crowds.

U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged security forces to “halt their vicious crackdown on peaceful protesters”.

“Myanmar’s military must stop murdering and jailing protesters,” she said in a statement. “It is utterly abhorrent that security forces are firing live ammunition against peaceful protesters across the country,” she added. Ms. Bachelet said she was “appalled at the documented attacks against emergency medical staff and ambulances attempting to provide care to those who have been injured”.

The U.N. rights office said it had corroborated information that at least 54 people had been killed since February 1. “The actual death toll, however, could be much higher as these are the figures the office has been able to verify,” it said.

U.S. HOPES IRAN WILL ‘ENGAGE’ AFTER EUROPEANS DROP NUCLEAR CENSURE PLAN

The United States said on Thursday it hoped Iran would “engage” in diplomacy after European allies dropped a plan to censure Tehran at the UN nuclear watchdog.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States was “pleased” that the Europeans withdrew the measure at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s meeting in Vienna.

“We will look forward with strong interest for Iran’s willingness to engage in a way that leads to credible, concrete progress,” Price told reporters.

The Europeans had planned to submit a resolution that would criticize Tehran’s level of compliance with inspections but dropped the move amid efforts by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to reach a compromise with Iran.

The step came after Iran had said the time was not right for an offered meeting with the United States under EU auspices on salvaging a 2015 denuclearization accord.

“We have stated very clearly that what we are prepared to do is to engage in constructive dialogue. That is the offer that’s been on the table,” Price said.

Iran has insisted that it will not return to full compliance until the United States lifts sanctions imposed by former president Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the United States would ease sanctions as part of Iran returning to the deal.

“We’ve been very clear that Iran has to come back into compliance with its obligations under the nuclear agreement, and if it does, we’ll do the same thing,” Blinken told PBS Newshour.

“And that would involve, if they do it, some sanctions relief.”

HOUSE APPROVES POLICE REFORM BILL NAMED AFTER GEORGE FLOYD

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that bans controversial police tactics and eases the way for lawsuits against officers violating suspects' constitutional rights.

Democrats pushed the "George Floyd Justice in Policing Act" through the House by a vote of 220-212, with the support of only one Republican. This happened just days before former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin goes on trial on a state murder charge in the death of Floyd last year.

The 46-year-old African-American man died when he was detained with Chauvin kneeling on his neck for nearly eight minutes. His killing sparked weeks of nationwide and global protests, many of which were led by Black Lives Matter activists.

In a turnaround though, later on Wednesday evening, Representative Lance Gooden, the sole Republican who voted for the legislation, wrote in a post on Twitter that his vote had been a mistake and in fact he opposes the bill.

The said bill includes measures such as restricting certain funds to local governments that allow law enforcement officers to use choke holds, banning "no-knock warrants" that allow police officers to enter premises without announcing themselves and requiring law enforcement agencies to provide data on instances when police officers used deadly force.

The bill would hold police "accountable" when constitutional rights are violated but would also support local law enforcement by fostering improvements in community policing, especially for minority neighbourhoods.

Also, one of its most controversial provisions would change "qualified immunity" for police, further opening the door for lawsuits over the use of excessive force.

NEW ZEALAND EARTHQUAKES: TSUNAMI WARNINGS LIFTED AFTER EVACUATIONS

Three powerful earthquakes struck off the coast of New Zealand on Friday, triggering tsunami warnings that were later stood down.

Evacuation orders were issued for residents living in coastal areas of the North Island after the third and strongest earthquake hit.

The national emergency agency warned of a tsunami threat along the east coast.

There were reports of chaos in some towns as hundreds of people tried to reach higher ground.

But by Friday afternoon, authorities said the largest waves had passed. Residents were told they could return home but were warned to stay off beaches.

The South Pacific archipelagos of New Caledonia and Vanuatu were also warned to prepare for dangerous waves.

Their coasts could see wave surges as high as 3m (10ft), while parts of South America - including Peru, Ecuador and Chile - were warned they could see 1m waves reaching their coasts.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said "tsunami waves have been observed", but as yet no damage has been reported.

NEPAL SIGNS PEACE AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNIST REBEL GROUP

Nepal’s government signed a peace agreement Thursday with a small communist rebel group widely feared because they were known for violent attacks, extortion and bombings.

The government agreed to lift a ban on the group, release all their party members and supporters in jail and drop all legal cases against them, while the group agreed to give up all violence and resolve any issues through peaceful dialogue, the government said in a statement after peace talks.

Details of the agreement would be made public at a joint ceremony Friday with Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli and the leader of the rebel group Netra Bikram Chand, who is better known by his guerrilla name, Biplav. The rebels also call themselves the Nepal Communist Party.

This group is known for violence, threats and enforcing general strikes.

CHINA NPC: CHINA SET TO OVERHAUL HK ELECTORAL SYSTEM

Beijing plans to overhaul Hong Kong's electoral system to ensure "patriots" are in charge, a senior official said.

A draft decision on the reforms will be discussed at China's biggest political meeting of the year, which began on Friday in Beijing.

The gathering of lawmakers is called the National People's Congress (NPC) and runs for a week.

The reforms are expected to give Beijing even more control over how the territory is governed.

It comes as 47 pro-democracy activists were charged with "subversion" under a new security law that critics say is being used by Beijing to crush dissent in the city.

The meeting typically happens in early March with nearly 3,000 delegates from all around the country - representing provinces, autonomous regions, and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

While in theory it is the country's most powerful institution, in reality it is seen largely as a rubber-stamp parliament.

This means it approves plans and policies that have been decided beforehand by the central government, so we are unlikely to see any major surprises.