List of All Articles with Tag 'li'

Imran Khan was elected on promises to fix corruption and the economy but struggled to deliver.

Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte has emerged as the frontrunner to buy a stake in Messer SE,

BEIJING Australia's Trade Minister arrived in Beijing On Thursday, where he will meet his Chinese counterpart, as Canberra

Outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin says she is "still best friends" with her husband.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has parlayed his country's NATO membership and location straddling Europe and the Middle East into international influence during two decades in power. Like other world leaders with global ambitions, he finds his tenure imperiled by matters closer to home. Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday are taking place amid rampant inflation and months after a catastrophic earthquake killed over 50,000 people in the country's south. The government has come under criticism for mismanaging the economy and failing to prepare the quake-prone nation for February's natural disaster. Polls show Erdogan facing the toughest reelection race of his career. A six-party opposition alliance united behind the candidacy of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the social democratic Republican People’s Party, promising to undo democratic backsliding, repatriate Syrian refugees and to promote the rights of Turkish women. Here’s a look at the main domestic issues shaping the election, and where Erdogan and his challenger stand: ERDOGAN'S ECONOMICS Contrary to the mainstream economic theory of interest rate increases helping to keep consumer prices in check, Erdogan maintains that high borrowing rates cause inflation. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, under pressure from the president, repeatedly slashed interest rates to boost growth and exports. Instead, the value of the Turkish lira nosedived, and the rate cuts exacerbated a cost of living crisis. Inflation peaked at 85% in October. The official April figure was 44%, although independent groups say they think the actual rate is much higher. To offset the impacts of inflation and win back votes, Erdogan has engaged in a public spending spree ahead of the elections, increasing the minimum wage and pension payments. The opposition alliance has promised to restore the central bank's independence and a return to orthodox economic policies, if Kilicdaroglu becomes president. Erdogan reportedly has asked Mehmet Simsek, his internationally respected former finance minister, to return to the position, a sign that a new government may embrace more orthodox policies, if the Turkish leader wins a third presidential term. RECOVERING FROM DISASTER Turkey is grappling with a difficult recovery from February's 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the deadliest quake in the country's modern history. It destroyed or damaged more than 300,000 buildings. Hundreds of thousands of residents are sheltering in temporary accommodation like tents. Some 658,000 people were left jobless, according to the International Labor Organization. The World Bank estimates that the earthquake caused $34.2 billion in “direct damages” — an amount equivalent to 4% of Turkey's 2021 gross domestic product. The recovery and reconstruction costs could add up to twice that much, the international financial institution said. Erdogan’s government, meanwhile, has been accused of setting the stage for the devastation with lax building code enforcement. Some people left homeless or struggling to earn money also found the government's earthquake response to be slow. The Turkish leader has centered his election campaign on rebuilding the 11 worst-hit provinces. Erdogan has pledged to construct 319,000 homes within the year and attended a number of groundbreaking ceremonies, trying to convince voters that only he can rebuild lives and businesses. Kilicdaroglu says his government would give houses to quake victims for free instead of the 20-year repayment plan envisaged by Erdogan’s government. REFUGEES NO LONGER SO WELCOME Refugees, especially those fleeing civil war in neighboring Syria, were once greeted with open arms in Turkey, but anti-migration sentiment is on the rise amid the economic downturn. A shortage of housing and shelters in the quake-hit provinces has increased calls for Syrian refugees to go home. The Kilicdaroglu-led opposition alliance and other opposition parties have vowed to repatriate Syrians within two years. Kilicdaroglu says he will seek European Union funds to build homes, schools, hospitals and roads in Syria and encourage Turkish entrepreneurs to open factories and other businesses there. Under mounting public pressure, Erdogan’s government has begun constructing thousands of brick homes in Turkish-controlled areas of northern Syria to encourage voluntary returns. His government is also seeking a reconciliation with Syrian President Bashir Assad to ensure their safe return. Officials say there are some 5 million migrants and refugees in Turkey, including around 3.7 million Syrians and 300,000 Afghans, but anti-migrant parties say the figure is closer to 13 million. A MORE DEMOCRATIC TURKEY? The coalition of six parties has declared a commitment to restore Turkey as a parliamentary democracy and to give citizens greater rights and freedoms should their alliance win the elections. Erdogan succeeded in getting a presidential system of governance narrowly approved by referendum in 2017 and introduced in 2018. The new system abolished the office of the prime minister and concentrated a vast amount of powers in the hands of the president. The alliance has outlined plans for a greater separation of powers, including an increased role for parliament and an independent judiciary. Kilicdaroglu has also promised to do away with a law that makes insulting the president a criminal offense punishable by prison. He also has pledged to free former pro-Kurdish party co-chair Selahattin Demirtas and philanthropist businessman and human rights activist Osman Kavala from prison. The six parties have also promised to abide by decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which has called for Demirtas and Kavala’s release. WILL THE ELECTION AFFECT WOMEN’S AND LGBTQ+ RIGHTS? Seeking to widen his support from voters, Erdogan has expanded his own political alliance of two nationalist parties to include a small Islamist party and also secured the backing of a radical Kurdish-Islamist party. The parties newly recruited into Erdogan's camp have Islamic agendas, which have raised fears about the future of women’s rights in Turkey. They want to scrap laws on alimony and domestic violence protection, arguing they encourage women to leave their husbands and threaten traditional family values. Erdogan already has removed Turkey from a European convention that aims to prevent domestic violence - a nod to religious groups that claimed the treaty encourages divorce and LGBTQ+ rights. Pandering to his pious and conservative supporters, Erdogan and other members of his ruling party have called LGBTQ+ individuals “deviants.” The Kilicdaroglu-led alliance has vowed to rejoin the European treaty and to uphold the rights of women and minority communities. Kilicdaroglu has also reached out to conservative women, assuring them they will be able to continue wearing Islamic-style headscarves that were once banned in schools and government offices under Turkey’s secular laws. WHAT ABOUT FOREIGN POLICY? The opposition alliance has signaled it would pursue a more Western-oriented foreign policy and seek to rebuild ties with the United States, the European Union and NATO allies. The opposition says it would work for Turkey’s reinstatement to the U.S.-led F-35 fighter jet program, from which the country was ousted following the Erdogan government’s purchase of a Russian-made air defense system. At the same time, a government led by the parties trying to oust Erdogan from power is expected to try to balance Turkey’s economic ties with Russia. An opposition win also could result in Turkey ending its veto of Sweden’s request to join NATO. Erdogan’s government has blocked Sweden’s accession into the alliance, pressing the country to crackdown on Kurdish militants and other groups that Turkey regards as terrorist threats. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Moscow hosts landmark Turkey-Syria rapprochement talks Turkey's closely watched vote may set country on new course As key votes loom, Turkish parties vow to send migrants home

Ukraine's president says in an interview his country would "lose a lot of people" if it attacks now.

CNN’s move to give Donald Trump a platform to repeat debunked lies about elections and air his problematic views is being widely criticised by political commentators. The network’s own anchors were among those responding to Wednesday’s town hall event, as Jake Tapper lashed out at the former president for calling a “Black law enforcement officer a thug” and making fun of E Jean Carroll’s sexual assault. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michael Fanone criticised the decision to host the event – the former tweeting on the night that CNN should be “ashamed”. The town hall in New Hampshire came just one day after Mr Trump was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming writer E Jean Carroll by a jury. The former president used the platform afforded to him by the news network to mock the woman he has been ordered to pay $5m. In a blizzard of falsehoods, Mr Trump barrelled through the hour-long broadcast at times talking over moderator Kaitlan Collins’s fact-checks and orders to answer the question asked. Read More Trump rants about E Jean Carroll’s cat after he is found liable of sexual abuse A sexual abuse ruling. 26 accusations. Yet Trump is still frontrunner to be the next President Trump news – live: E Jean Carroll praises sexual abuse trial verdict as CNN pressured to axe town hall

Donald Trump refused to acknowledge that he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden at CNN’s controversial town hall event and called his defeat “rigged” and “sad.” The one-term president was immediately confronted by moderator Kaitlan Collins over his election lies and was asked to finally admit that he had been fairly and legally beaten by Mr Biden. “Unless you are a very stupid person you see what happens…most people understand what happened, it was a rigged election and it was a shame we had to go through it,” he told Collins. She then asked him to acknowledge that he lost the election, telling him that he and his supporters had lost more than 60 lawsuits across the country. Mr Trump then cited claims by “True the Vote”, a conservative vote monitoring organisation, and said that they had “found millions of votes on government cameras where they were stuffing ballot boxes, it is a sad thing for our country and for the world.” Collins told him that the false election claims had already been debunked by Republican election officials across the country. Mr Trump then claimed that “people were afraid to take on the issue” and that “we have elections that were horrible in this country”, citing Philadelphia, Detroit and Atlanta, all cities in swing states that went to Mr Biden. “There is no evidence of that,” she told him. The event, which has been criticised for giving Mr Trump’s election lies and baseless conspiracy theories live airtime, took place in front of an audience of 400 Republican and GOP-leaning independent voters in New Hampshire on Wednesday night. Later, when Mr Trump claimed the election was “rigged” while talking about the border wall, Collins told him, “The election was not rigged Mr President, you can’t keep saying that all night long.” Read More CNN Trump town hall — live: Trump refuses to admit 2020 loss and says he does not owe Mike Pence an apology Kaitlan Collins: CNN’s new star anchor who holds Trump’s future in her hands Republicans offer no evidence of crimes at press conference on alleged ‘Biden family corruption’ Republicans try to distract from the Trump and Santos debacle with a Biden nothingburger National Archives leader confirmed amid turmoil over Trump probe

Donald Trump used his platform on CNN to lash out at E Jean Carroll just a day after a jury found that he had sexually abused and defamed the former journalist. Ms Carroll, 79, sued the former president for raping her in a dressing room at a Bergdorf Goodman in New York in 1996, and then “destroying” her reputation when he claimed she was lying. The jury didn’t find Mr Trump liable of raping Ms Carroll, but it found the one-time president more likely than not sexually abused Ms Carroll. Mr Trump was also found liable for defamation and awarded her a total of $5m. The twice-impeached president mocked Ms Carroll at the CNN town hall that aired just a day after the verdict. The town hall has been severely criticised as divisive and even being “a volcano of bulls***” by commentators who accused the network of providing Mr Trump a platform for airing several dubious claims. He described her as a “whack job” and called the trial “rigged”. He was asked what he would tell voters who said the verdict disqualifies him from being president. “Well there aren’t too many of them because my poll numbers just came out – they went up,” Mr Trump said to the crowd which, according to CNN, was composed of Republicans and undecided voters. The former president also called Ms Carroll’s allegations a “made-up story”. “I swear on my children, which I never do, I have no idea who this woman – this is a fake story, a made-up story,” he said. Mocking her, he said he was too famous to hang around department stores. Ms Carroll had told the jury in her testimony that she and Mr Trump had engaged in playful banter after a chance encounter at Bergdorf Goodman one evening in the mid-1990s. But after taking an escalator up to a deserted 6th floor to look for lingerie, Mr Trump led her to a dressing room, pushed her up against a wall and sexually assaulted her. “I was very famous then and I owned the Plaza Hotel right next door and I owned the buildings around it – I’m not going into a dressing room of a crowded department store,” he said at the town hall. He also reiterated claims he did not know Ms Carroll at all, and called the trial “rigged.” “She wasn’t raped, OK? … And I didn’t do anything else either, OK, because I don’t know who the hell she is,” he said during the town hall, as the audience was heard laughing. Earlier on Tuesday after the verdict, Mr Trump had falsely claimed he “wasn’t able to defend” himself in the trial after he rejected an offer to testify. On Tuesday morning, the former president wrote on Truth Social that he was “waiting for a jury decision on a False Accusation where I, despite being a current political candidate and leading all others in both parties, am not allowed to speak or defend myself, even as hard nosed reporters scream questions about this case at me”. Read More Five key takeaways from CNN’s divisive town hall with Donald Trump E Jean Carroll reveals she was ‘shaken’ throughout Trump civil rape trial before ‘overwhelming’ verdict CNN’s anchors and insiders lead horrified reaction to Trump town hall: ‘We’re going to get crushed’ Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

It's hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening.

Former President Donald Trump offered America a throwback to past national angst and a possible future of even greater drama in a CNN town hall on Wednesday.

The son of Jimmy Lai has criticised the UK government for not defending human rights in Hong Kong.