International
Modi leads the count of the Indian elections with a smaller margin than expected
The preliminary results of the Indian general elections show the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in the lead but with a lower margin than expected.
The BJP leads the vote trend in 236 seats out of the 543 of the Lower House of Parliament or Lok Sabha in the running, according to data from the Electoral Commission of India (ECI), and with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) it leads it would stand at 282.
A political force requires 272 seats to win the majority, a result that the BJP achieved with ease in 2019, by obtaining 303 seats.
The same data from the ECI place the Congress Party (INC), the main formation of the opposition, with 99 seats.
The historic formation leads a coalition of opposition parties known as the National Inclusive Alliance for the Development of India or simply INDIA, with more than 200 seats.
The ECI does not specify what percentage of votes has been counted, so the trend could vary as the count progresses.
The Indian Electoral Commission began on Tuesday to total the votes of the general elections to the Lower House of the Indian Parliament, the largest votes in the world in which almost 650 million people participated over more than six weeks.
At the moment, the ECI only concludes the results of a constituency, in the city of Surat, in the western state of Gujarat, Modi’s home state.
The electoral authority attributed the victory directly to the BJP, being the only formation that managed to run for that region.
This is the only phase of the electoral process that takes place simultaneously in this country with almost one billion voters that required seven phases for voting, held between April 19 and June 1, convening groups of more than 100 million voters each.
The Hindu nationalist leader is looking for a third consecutive term and had set himself the goal of achieving 400 seats with his alliance.
Modi has made a fierce campaign in search of the two-thirds parliamentary majority that allow him to promote constitutional reforms.
At the same time, the result of these elections will offer a real look at the strength of opponents of Modi, a coalition that includes the historic Indian Congress Party, of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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