Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday readied to unveil his coalition government after a surprise election setback lost his Hindu-nationalist party an overall majority.
The 71 members of his government took the oath of office after Modi on Sunday, with 11 posts going to coalition allies who extracted them in exchange for their support — including five in the top 30 Cabinet posts.
There are no Muslim lawmakers among his third-term lineup, unlike his past two governments, both formed after his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a majority. Modi’s decade as prime minister has seen him cultivate an image as an aggressive champion of the nation’s majority Hindu faith, worrying minorities, including the country’s 200-million-plus Muslim community.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Honoured to serve Bharat,” he posted on social media after being sworn into office, using the nation’s name in Sanskrit, a word dating back to ancient Hindu scriptures.
Modi had been forced into quick-fire talks with coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance, whose 293 seats guaranteed him the parliamentary numbers to govern.
The portfolios assigned to each Cabinet member have not been released, but Modi called his council of ministers “a great blend of youth and experience.”
Indian media reported that Modi was to hold his first Cabinet meeting last night, although there was no official confirmation.
The BJP old guard dominate the list, including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman — defense, interior and transport and finance ministers in his last government respectively.
Powerful BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda is also included in the Cabinet.
Earlier yesterday, Modi took his first action, approving the latest tranche of a cash handout for 93 million farmers. Two-thirds of India’s 1.4 billion people draw their livelihood from agriculture, which accounts for nearly one-fifth of the nation’s GDP.
Two posts were handed to each of the largest coalition members, the Telugu Desam Party, from Andhra Pradesh, and the Janata Dal (United) party of Bihar.
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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