WORLD LEADERS CONGRATULATE TURKEY'S VICTORIOUS ERDOGAN

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin were among world leaders congratulating Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he won Sunday's historic run-off election to extend his two-decade rule.

US President Biden said he hoped to work with Erdogan on "shared global challenges".

Putin, who has collaborated closely with Erdogan on key international issues despite some disagreements, told Turkey's leader  his win was "the logical result of your dedicated work".

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission of the European Union, which Erdogan wants Turkey to join, said the bloc sought to strengthen ties. "I look forward to continue building the EU-Turkiye relationship," she wrote on Twitter, using an alternate spelling for Turkey.

UN chief Antonio Guterres congratulated Erdogan on his re-election, the secretary-general's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.  "He looks forward to further strengthening the cooperation between Turkiye and the United Nations," Dujarric added.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: "I am confident that our bilateral ties and cooperation on global issues will continue to grow in the coming times."

ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO OFFERS 'NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR EVERYONE' JOINING BELARUS-RUSSIA UNION

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that if any other country wanted to join a Russia-Belarus union there could be “nuclear weapons for everyone”. Russia moved ahead last week with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, in the Kremlin’s first deployment of such warheads outside Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, spurring concerns in the West.

Lukashenko, Putin’s staunchest ally among Russia’s neighbours, said that it must be “strategically understood” that Minsk and Moscow have a unique chance to unite. “No one is against Kazakhstan and other countries having the same close relations that we have with the Russian Federation,” he said. “If someone is worried . . . (then) it is very simple: join in the Union State of Belarus and Russia. That’s all: there will be nuclear weapons for everyone. ” He added it was his own view — not of Russia’s. Russia and Belarus are formally part of a Union State, a borderless union and alliance between the two ex-Soviet republics.

US BILL SEEKS TO COUNTER LAWS CURBING CHINESE BUYING PROPERTY

Washington : Two Democratic members of the US Congress have introduced a federal bill that would pre-empt any American state or territory that impedes property purchase by Chinese nationals, according to a statement released by the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC).

According to the statement, the legislation would preempt at the federal level state laws like Florida’s S. B. 264 that prohibit or otherwise restrict the purchase of real property of an individual based on their country of citizenship, and tasks the attorney general and department of justice with enforcement. The move comes weeks after Florida governor and Ron DeSantis (Republican) signed multiple bills that prohibit Chinese citizens from purchasing land in the state. “Buying real property whether that’s a new house to call home or a commercial property to run a business in —is a critical step for immigrant families, students, and refugees to pursue the American Dream,” said CAPAC chair representative Judy Chu.

US LAWMAKER FACES KREMLIN WARRANT FOR ‘RUSSIANS DYING’ JAB

Russia’s interior ministry on Monday issued an arrest warrant for US Senator Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In an edited video of his meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Zelensky that was released by his office, Graham, a Republican, noted that “the Russians are dying” and described the US military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent. ” While Graham appeared to have made the remarks in different parts of the conversation, the short video by Zelensky’s office put them next to each other, causing outrage in Russia.

SWEDEN: TALKS WITH TURKIYE OVER NATO ENTRY BID ‘SOON’

The foreign ministers of Sweden and Turkiye will meet “soon” to discuss Stockholm’s delayed bid to join Nato, the Swedish foreign ministry said on Monday. Sweden and Finland applied for Nato membership following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, while Finland joined the Western military alliance in April, Sweden’s bid has been held up by objections from Turkiye . Discussions ground to a halt during Turkiye polls. Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billstrom said: “I look forward to being able to shift into a higher gear and speed things up now we know what the result is. ”

US HOUSE PANEL TO MULL DEBT-LIMIT BILL

The US House Rules Committee said it will meet on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the debt ceiling bill, which needs to pass a narrowly divided Congress before June 5, when the US treasury says it would run short of money to cover all its obligations.

Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday signed off on an agreement to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling and cap some federalspending in order to prevent a US debt default. Biden said the deal was ready to move to Congress for a vote.

The deal, if approved, will prevent the US government from defaulting on its debt and comes after weeks of heated negotiations between Biden and House Republicans. It has drawn fire from both hardline Republicans and progressive Democrats, but Biden and McCarthy are banking on getting enough votes from both sides. McCarthy onSunday predicted he would have the support of a majority of his fellow Republicans, and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he expected Democratic support. The agreement would suspend the debt limit through January 1 of 2025, cap spending in the 2024 and 2025 budgets, claw back unused Covid funds, speed up the permitting process for some energy projects, and include extra work requirements for food aid programs for poor Americans.

NEW ANTI-LGBTQ LAW IN UGANDA IMPOSES CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has signed one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, in defiance of Western condemnations and potential sanctions from aid donors.

Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as they are in more than 30 African countries, but the new law further targets lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.

It imposes capital punishment for some behaviour including having gay sex when HIV-positive, and stipulates a 20-year sentence for “promoting” homosexuality.

“The Ugandan President has today legalised state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia,” said Clare Byarugaba, a Ugandan rights activist.

She and other activists have vowed a legal challenge to the law. The 78-year-old Museveni has called homosexuality a “deviation from normal.”

U.S. President Joe Biden slammed the draconian law and called for the immediate repeal of the tough new measures. “The enactment of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act is a tragic violation of universal human rights,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

FOR TALKS, IMRAN NEEDS TO APOLOGISE FOR MAY 9 RIOTS & MEND WAYS: PAK MIN

Islamabad : Pakistan finance minister Ishaq Dar has hinted that negotiations with former PM Imran Khan to end the political crisis were possible if he took “corrective measures” and apologised to the nation for the May 9 violence in which sensitive military installations were attacked.

Dar made this assertion during a Geo News programme on Sunday, the day when Pakistan’s ruling coalition rejected Khan’s offer for dialogue, saying talks were held with politicians, not terrorists.

Khan, the chairman of the PTI party constituted a seven-member team to hold talks with the government —for developing a consensus on a date for general elections — amid a massive crackdown on his party for the May 9 violence following his arrest. The crackdownlaunched after May 9 violent protests have thrown PTI into a deep existential crisis with dozens of key party leaders quitting the partydaily.

The prominent leaders who have quit the party include secretary general Asad Umar, senior leader Fawad Chaudhry and former minister ShireenMazari.

“If he (Khan) takes corrective measures and apologises to the nation for the May 9 carnage, negotiations could be held,” Dar said. Dar noted that before that fateful day (May 9), the government negotiated with PTI with “sincere intentions” and the two sides agreed on all matters except the date of the election.

The finance minister said peaceful protest was everyone’s right, but attacks on armed forces’ installations should not be condoned.

SPAIN GOVERNMENT CALLS SNAP ELECTION AFTER LOCAL BALLOT LOSSES

MADRID: Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap national election after left-wing parties were routed in a regional ballot, portraying the defeat as a debilitating vote of no confidence in his coalition government. Sanchez said he felt compelled to "take personal responsibility for the results”.

RUSSIA ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR U.S. SENATOR OVER UKRAINE REMARKS

MOSCOW: Russia issued an arrest warrant for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham following his comments related to the fighting in Ukraine. In an edited video of his meeting with the Ukrainian President, Graham said that “the Russians are dying” and described the U.S. military assistance to the country as “the best money we’ve ever spent.”

N. KOREA ALERTS JAPAN ABOUT PLANS TO LAUNCH SATELLITE IN COMING DAYS

TOKYO: North Korea notified Japan that it plans to launch a satellite in coming days, which may be an attempt to put Pyongyang's first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit. Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered Japan’s Self Defence Force to shoot down the satellite or debris, if any entered Japanese territory.

ADB APPROVES $350 MILLION IN BUDGETARY SUPPORT TO SRI LANKA

COLOMBO: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $350 million special policy-based loan to provide budget support to Sri Lanka for its economic stabilisation. The programme is part of a broader package of financial assistance worth $3 billion anchored by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility for the country.

CHINA PREPARES TO SEND ITS FIRST CIVILIAN INTO SPACE TODAY

China will send its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station on Tuesday.

Until now, all Chinese astronauts sent into space have been part of the People’s Liberation Army.

Gui Haichao is a professor at Beijing’s Beihang University, and will manage scientific experiments on the station during the mission, China Manned Space Agency spokesperson Lin Xiqiang said.

His mission will “carry out large-scale, in-orbit experiments... in the study of novel quantum phenomena, high-precision space time-frequency systems, the verification of general relativity, and the origin of life,” Mr. Lin said.