April 19, Friday, 2024

1. What is being called the world’s largest general election kicks off in India on Friday, with roughly 970 million eligible voters. It pits Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party against an opposition alliance. The voting to choose members of the lower house is staggered with seven different polling dates set for constituencies across the country. The seventh and final phase of voting will take place on June 1.
2. The United Nations Security Council has rejected a draft resolution recommending full Palestinian membership of the global body due to a veto by the United States. The 15 council members took a vote on Thursday. Twelve countries, including Japan and France, voted in favor of the resolution, while Britain and Switzerland abstained. Algeria submitted the draft representing Arab nations’ backing for the Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
3. Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko has pledged that Japan will continue its support for Ukraine while imposing strict sanctions on Russia. The Group of Seven foreign ministers held a session on Ukraine on Thursday on the southern Italian island of Capri. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also took part in the meeting.