New Zealand is on its way to getting its first centre-right government in six years after the Labour Party government led by Chris Hipkins conceded defeat on Saturday. Hipkins served as the PM for nine months after taking over from Jacinda Ardern in January. In the latest elections, conservative and former businessman Christopher Luxon’s National Party and its coalition partner ACT are projected to win 62 seats.
Taliban said it will attend China’s Belt and Road Forum next week, thus signalling that the country will become a part of Beijing’s ambitious connectivity initiative despite its lack of formal recognition by any government. The Taliban’s acting minister for commerce and industry, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, will travel to Beijing in the coming days to attend the forum marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and invite large investors to Afghanistan. During the summit, the two sides will discuss plans to build a road through the Wakhan corridor to provide direct access to China.
PM Narendra Modi officially confirmed that India will bid to host the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games. At the opening ceremony of the International Olympic Committee, Modi said that hosting the event is “the age-old dream” for India.
According to sources, US and Israeli officials are deliberating the possibility of US President Joe Biden visiting Israel shortly at the invitation of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Reports suggest that Biden’s visit to express support for the US’ most important ally in the Middle East is expected shortly after a similar visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is now in the region.
Exit polls suggested that Poland’s incumbent Law and Justice (PiS) party received the most votes for a single party in Sunday’s general election, but the liberal opposition group of parties seemed to gain a parliamentary majority. According to the Ipsos exit poll, PiS received 36.8% of the vote, which equates to 200 members in the 460-seat parliament. However, opposition parties, led by the liberal Civic Coalition (KO), were forecast to gain 248 seats in total, with the KO winning 31.6% of ballots cast.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope of self-defence,” and called on Tel Aviv to “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday, as reported by Chinese state media CGTN.