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Modi’s Hindu nationalist party set to lose India’s Karnataka state in polls ahead of national vote

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party was set to lose Karnataka, the only southern India state it governs, according to an early vote count Saturday that showed opposition Congress party leading in the crucial state polls.

With vote counting continuing, India’s Election Commission said the Congress was leading in 127 out of the 224 seats in the state assembly. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was leading in 62 constituencies, while another regional party, the Janata Dal (Secular), was ahead in 22 seats.

Karnataka, one of the wealthiest states in India, voted on Wednesday and full results are expected later Saturday. A party needs 113 seats to win a simple majority.

The results are expected to give a major boost to the opposition parties that are banking on forming a united front to challenge Modi in next year’s general election. They will also help prospects of the Congress party, which was routed by the BJP in the last two national polls and is striving to regain its political prominence nationwide. 

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Modi’s party, which was banking on the prime minister’s popularity, wants to retain the only southern state it has ever controlled and where its strident Hindu nationalist politics has found relatively slower reception than the rest of the country. Over the past several weeks, Modi had campaigned aggressively in Karnataka, home to 65 million people, and crisscrossed the state by holding huge roadshows.

Karnataka is the second state Modi’s party has lost to the Congress in the last six months. In December, the Congress unseated BJP in northern Himachal Pradesh, a small state tucked in the Himalayas.

The Congress party workers celebrated the results with its spokesperson, Radhika Khera, describing the expected win as a “resounding reply to Modi’s divisive politics.”

Over the past couple of years, Modi’s party had been trying to maximize gains in Karnataka, where communal polarization between majority Hindus and minority Muslims has deepened after BJP leaders and supporters banned girls from wearing the headscarf as part of their school uniform. According to the 2011 census, India’s most recent, 84% of Karnataka’s people were Hindu, almost 13% Muslim and less than 2% Christian.

Initially, Modi’s party promised to spur development and wooed voters with social welfare measures. However, in the lead-up to the polls it veered toward Hindu nationalism, its usual playbook campaign, and accused the Congress of disregarding Hindu values and appeasing minority groups, particularly Muslims.

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The Congress built its campaign by targeting Modi’s party over rising inflation, allegations of corruption and poor infrastructure development in the state, while promising electricity subsidies, rations to poor families, and financial assistance to unemployed graduates.

The polls were also seen as yet another faceoff between Modi and Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the dynastic Congress party leadership who was convicted of making defamatory remarks about the prime minister’s last name during an election rally in 2019. It led to Gandhi’s ouster from Parliament in March and he risks losing his eligibility to run in elections for the next eight years if a court does not overturn his conviction.

Late last year, Gandhi set on a 3,500-kilometer (2,185-mile) walking tour of Indian cities, towns and villages to rejuvenate the party and win the people’s support.

The election in Karnataka is the first of five crucial state polls this year. They are seen as an indicator of voter sentiment ahead of national elections next year, in which Modi will seek to extend his prime ministership for a third consecutive term.

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Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

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Estonia summons Russian embassy chief over GPS jamming

Estonia’s foreign ministry has summoned the head of the Russian embassy in Tallinn to protest the jamming of GPS signals, the Baltic country said on Wednesday.

Estonia accuses neighbouring Russia of violating international regulations by disturbing GPS navigation in airspace above the Baltic states, echoing concerns from airlines that say they have contended with such interference for months.

The Estonian foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires to convey its message. Moscow and Tallinn last year expelled each other’s ambassadors as relations deteriorated in the wake of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Jamming the GPS signal is an element of Russia’s hybrid activities, disrupting everyday life and threatening the security of allies,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a statement.

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Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

GPS, short for Global Positioning System, is a network of satellites and receiving devices used for positioning, navigation and timing on Earth in everything from ships and planes to cars.

The jamming of GPS signals can be disruptive to commercial airliners but they can usually navigate by other means.

Finnish carrier Finnair last month said it would pause all flights to Tartu in Estonia to allow the local airport to upgrade its navigation system, which has so far relied only on GPS.

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Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

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Australia boosts funds to Taiwan-ally Tuvalu amid Pacific contest for influence with China

Australia will quadruple its financial assistance to Tuvalu, a Pacific Island nation at risk from rising seas, to cement a landmark climate migration and security deal as China also courts small island states.

On a visit to Tuvalu, foreign minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday evening Australia has committed A$110 million ($72.27 million) in its national budget to Tuvalu.

The sum includes A$50 million ($32.85 million) to build the first undersea cable connecting the island’s residents to global telecommunications services, and A$19 million for a land reclamation project to fortify Tuvalu’s coastline from rising seas.

Another A$15 million will be spent on a national security coordination centre, as well as A$10 million in direct budget support.

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The funding is a significant boost on the A$17 million ($11.17 million) Australia provided to Tuvalu in 2023-24.

China’s ambitions for a greater security presence in the Pacific became an election issue in Tuvalu in January, as two leadership contenders said Tuvalu should consider switching ties from Taiwan to Beijing for more funds, and revise a new security pact with Australia.

Neighbour Nauru cut ties with Taiwan a fortnight before Tuvalu’s vote, after China built a port and promised more aid.

Tuvalu’s new prime minister Feleti Teo pledged to stick with Taiwan, and to ratify the Falepili Union signed with Australia in November. The treaty allows Tuvalu citizens to migrate to Australia for work or study, while recognising Tuvalu continues to exist despite the rising sea levels.

“Australia has provided a security guarantee to support Tuvalu in a humanitarian disaster, a pandemic or the event of attack,” Wong said in a speech on Wednesday evening.

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“It is also the first time in history that two nations have agreed in a legally binding instrument that statehood endures in the face of sea level rise,” she added.

The treaty allows Australia to vet Tuvalu’s deals with third countries in a broad range of security areas from ports to telecommunications.

On Thursday, Wong and Teo are expected to say that the security cooperation does not limit Tuvalu’s ability to enter into diplomatic agreements with other nations, according to an advance copy of a joint statement viewed by Reuters.

“We recognise that the people of Tuvalu deserve the choice to live, study and work elsewhere, as climate change impacts intensify at home,” the text of the statement reads.

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Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

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Probe launched after Boeing cargo plane lands in Istanbul without front landing gear

A FedEx Airlines Boeing cargo plane landed at Istanbul Airport on Wednesday without its front landing gear, a Turkish Transport Ministry official said, adding there were no casualties and authorities had launched an investigation.

The aircraft, flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, informed the control tower in Istanbul that its landing gear had failed to open and touched down with guidance from the tower, managing to remain on the runway, a ministry statement said.

Airport rescue and fire fighting teams were scrambled before landing, but no one was injured. The ministry gave no reason for the failure.

The aircraft involved is a nearly 10-year-old Boeing 767 freighter, one of the most common cargo planes and based on the 767 passenger model dating back to the 1980s.

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An official from Turkey’s transport ministry said its teams were conducting examinations at the scene as part of the ongoing investigation, but did not provide further details.

Boeing referred queries to FedEX, which said in a statement it was coordinating with investigation authorities and would “provide additional information as it is available”.

Video footage obtained by Reuters showed sparks flying and some smoke as the front of the plane scraped along the runway before coming to a halt and being doused with firefighting foam. No fire appeared to have broken out.

The video showed the pilots holding the plane’s nose above the runway for several seconds after the main wheels had touched the ground, apparently executing the emergency drill for landing with a retracted nose gear that pilots train for, according to the SKYbrary aviation database.

In June last year, a small 22-year-old Boeing 717 flown by Delta Airlines made a similar smooth landing without a nose gear in Charlotte, North Carolina, in an incident later blamed on a fractured component.

The runway was temporarily closed to air traffic, but other runways at Istanbul airport were still operating normally, the airport operator IGA said.

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Manufacturers are not typically involved in the operation or maintenance of jets once they enter service, but Boeing has been under intense media and regulatory scrutiny following a series of incidents on its smaller 737.

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