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Trudeau’s Win in Canada Spurs “#Wexit” Western Separation

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau begins his second term facing an increasingly divided Parliament and country. His rock-star appeal from four years ago has diminished by scandal and lies.

Trudeau was re-elected in a stronger-than-expected showing in Monday’s national elections. But while his Liberal Party took the most seats in Parliament, it lost its majority. The Liberals will have to rely on an opposition party to get anything passed.

The prime minister struck a conciliatory note in an early morning address that forced the TV networks to break away from covering his Conservative rival, Andrew Scheer, who had just begun speaking to his own supporters.

“To those who did not vote for us, know that we will work every single day for you, we will govern for everyone,” Trudeau said.

With results still trickling in, the Liberals had 157 seats — 13 short of the 170 needed for a majority in the 338-seat House of Commons — while the Conservatives had 121.

While Trudeau claimed a “clear mandate,” his party won fewer raw votes nationally than the Conservatives did. Trudeau’s Liberals also failed to win a single seat in the western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, where the Conservatives dominated.

There is growing outrage in Alberta, home to the third-largest oil reserves in the world. Trudeau’s has shown his inability to get a pipeline built to the Pacific Coast.

#Wexit – Fuelling Talk of Separation

A day after the re-election of the federal Liberals and a near Conservative sweep in Alberta and Saskatchewan, feelings of frustration in Western Canada were fuelling talk of separation.

The Vote Wexit Facebook page, with its motto “The West Wants Out”, went from 2,000 or so members on Monday to 170,000 and counting by late Tuesday afternoon. “Wexit” Alberta founder Peter Downing, a former soldier and RCMP officer, said his group received more than $20,000 in donations and membership fees overnight.

Downing said his group is pushing for Premier Jason Kenney to call a referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada.

“The idea of Canada has died in the hearts of many, many western Canadians,” Downing said.

Mount Royal University professor David Taras called the feelings of anger and frustration “very real and very understandable.”

Taras sees Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as having few options following Monday’s election results. Other than appointing someone to the Senate who has support in Alberta, then having that person serve in cabinet.

“I would say that’s probably the way he’s going to go, to, I guess, artificially ensure that there’s a voice at the table for Alberta,” Taras said.

Trudeau Hated in the West

Martha Hall Findlay, the president and CEO of the Canada West Foundation, said that as the person most responsible for national unity, Trudeau needs to take on the natural resources file himself.

“You cannot separate natural resources now from national unity,” she said.

“That is a huge part of the problem. And so, not only do you need Mr. Prime Minister to step into this file right now, and seriously, but you also need to make sure you have other people around your cabinet who understand the importance of resources, understand the importance of the west.”

After responding to the election results in the Alberta legislature, including detailing a five-page letter he sent to Trudeau, Kenney told reporters that Albertans should not let Trudeau and his policies “make us feel unwelcome in our own country.”

Kenney said he believes that, at heart, most Albertans are patriots, and said Alberta has allies across Canada.

“We have provincial governments who’ve got our back on a number of these issues. Including a fair deal for our resource sector and our oil and gas sector,” he said. “So we’re not isolated, we’re not alone.”

The premier added that land-locking Alberta through separation “is not a solution to a #wext campaign to land-lock Alberta.

“We’re not going to get one inch closer to a pipeline by closing in on ourselves as a landlocked jurisdiction,” he said.

Talk of Western Separatism – #Wexit

Grant Fagerheim, CEO of oil company Whitecap Resources Inc., said Alberta and Saskatchewan’s contributions to the Canadian economy have not been respected.

He said he’s not surprised there has been talk of #wexit separatism, but whether that amounts to anything is another matter.

“I don’t believe at this particular time, whether you live in Saskatchewan or Alberta, that people would say they’re Canadian first.”

Taras said while talks of #wexit separation are fueled “by real anger and discontent.” Wanting to leave Canada is a different question.

“I understand the anger, but do people really think that it’s a good idea to need a visa to go to Kelowna or to go skiing, or to visit relatives in Saskatoon?

“And if Alberta has difficulty getting its product overseas now, just wait until it’s not part of Canada,” he added. “At the end of the day, the people that I know love Canada. They are very emotionally attached to the country, and I don’t think you can wash that away very easily.”

News Source: AP, Calgary Herold

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Marine Le Pen’s National Rally Wins the First Round in France 2024 Election

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Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party scored historic gains in France

Exit polls in France showed that Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally (RN) party made huge gains to win the first round of election on Sunday. However, the final outcome will depend on how people trade votes in the days before next week’s run-off.

Exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay, and Elabe showed that the RN got about 34% of the vote. This was a big loss for President Emmanuel Macron, who called the early election after his party lost badly in the European Parliament elections earlier this month.

The National Rally (RN) easily won more votes than its opponents on the left and center, including Macron’s Together group, whose bloc was predicted to get 20.5% to 23% of the vote. Exit polls showed that the New Popular Front (NFP), a hastily put together left-wing alliance, would get about 29% of the vote.

The results of the exit polls matched what people said in polls before the election, which made Le Pen’s fans very happy. But they didn’t say for sure if the anti-immigrant, anti-EU National Rally (RN) will be able to “cohabit” with the pro-EU Macron in a government after the runoff election next Sunday.

Voters in France Angry at Macron

Many French people have looked down on the National Rally (RN) for a long time, but now it is closer to power than it has ever been. A party known for racism and antisemitism has tried to clean up its image, and it has worked. Voters are angry at Macron, the high cost of living, and rising concerns about immigration.

Fans of Marine Le Pen waved French flags and sang the Marseillaise in the northern French district of Henin-Beaumont. The crowd cheered as Le Pen said, “The French have shown they are ready to turn the page on a power that is disrespectful and destructive.”

The National Rally’s chances of taking power next week will rest on what political deals its opponents make in the next few days. Right-wing and left-wing parties used to work together to keep the National Rally (RN) out of power, but the “republican front,” which refers to this group, is less stable than ever.

If no candidate gets 50% of the vote in the first round, the top two candidates and anyone else with 12.5% of the registered voters immediately move on to the second round. The district goes to the person who gets the most votes in the runoff.

France is likely to have a record number of three-way runoffs because so many people voted on Sunday. Experts say that these are much better for the National Rally (RN) than two-way games. Almost right away on Sunday night, the horse trade began.

Macron asked people to support candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic.” Based on what he has said recently, this would rule out candidates from the National Rally (RN) and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party. Leaders on the far left and the center left both asked their third-placed candidates to drop out.

Minority government

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Unbowed, said, “Our rule is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally.” But the center-right Republicans party, which split before the vote when some of its members joined the RN, didn’t say anything.

The president of the RN party, Jordan Bardella, who is 28 years old, said he was ready to be prime minister if his party gets a majority of seats. He has said he won’t try to make a minority government, and neither Macron nor the communist NFP will work with him.

“I will be a “cohabitation” Prime Minister, respectful of the constitution and of the office of President of the Republic, but uncompromising about the policies we will implement,” he said.

A few thousand anti-RN protesters met in Paris’s Republique square on Sunday night for a rally of the leftist alliance. The mood was gloomy.

Niya Khaldi, a 33-year-old teacher, said that the RN’s good results made her feel “disgust, sadness, and fear.”

“This is not how I normally act,” she said. “I think I came to reassure myself, to not feel alone.”

Election Runoff

The result on Sunday didn’t have much of an effect on the market. In early Asia-Pacific trade, the euro gained about 0.23%. Fiona Cincotta, a senior markets expert at City Index in London, said she was glad the outcome “didn’t come as a surprise.”

“Le Pen had a slightly smaller margin than some of the polls had pointed to, which may have helped the euro a little bit higher on the open,” she noted. “Now everyone is waiting for July 7 to see if the second round supports a clear majority or not. So it does feel like we’re on the edge of something.”

Some pollsters thought the RN would win the most seats in the National Assembly, but Elabe was the only one who thought the party would win all 289 seats in the run-off. Seat projections made after the first round of voting are often very wrong, and this race is no exception.

On Sunday night, Reuters reported there were no final results for the whole country yet, but they were due in the next few hours. In France, exit polls have usually been very accurate.

Voter turnout was high compared to previous parliamentary elections. This shows how passionate people are about politics after Macron made the shocking and politically risky decision to call a vote in parliament.

Mathieu Gallard, research head at Ipsos France, said that at 1500 GMT, nearly 60% of voters had turned out, up from 39.42% two years earlier. This was the highest comparable turnout since the 1986 legislative vote. It wasn’t clear when the official number of people who voted would be changed.

 

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Pakistan Seeks US Support for Counter-Terrorism Operation Azm-e-Istehkam

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Pakistan

(CTN News) – Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, has urged Washington to provide Pakistan with sophisticated small arms and communication equipment to ensure the success of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a newly approved counter-terrorism initiative in the country.

The federal government recently approved the reinvigorated national counter-terrorism drive, which comprises three components: doctrinal, societal, and operational.

Ambassador Khan noted that work on the first two phases has already begun, with the third phase set to be implemented soon.

Addressing US policymakers, scholars, and corporate leaders at the Wilson Center in Washington, Khan emphasized the importance of strong security links, enhanced intelligence cooperation, and the resumption of sales of advanced military platforms between Pakistan and the US.

He argued that this is crucial for regional security and countering the rising tide of terrorism, which also threatens the interests of the US and its allies.

“Pakistan has launched Azm-i-Istehkam […] to oppose and dismantle terrorist networks. For that, we need sophisticated small arms and communication equipment,” said Ambassador Khan.

Pakistan–United States relations

The ambassador observed that the prospects of Pakistan-United States relations were bright, stating that the two countries “share values, our security and economic interests are interwoven, and it is the aspiration of our two peoples that strengthens our ties.”

He invited US investors and businesses to explore Pakistan’s potential in terms of demographic dividend, technological advancements, and market opportunities.

Khan also suggested that the US should consider Pakistan as a partner in its diplomatic efforts in Kabul and collaborate on counterterrorism and the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

He stressed that the bilateral relationship should be based on ground realities and not be hindered by a few issues.

“We should not base our engagement on the incongruity of expectations.

Our ties should be anchored in ground realities, even as we aim for stronger security and economic partnerships. Secondly, one or two issues should not hold the entire relationship hostage,” said the ambassador.

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China Urges Taiwanese to Visit Mainland ‘Without Worry’ Despite Execution Threat

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China Urges Taiwanese to Visit Mainland Without Worry Despite Threats

China has reassured Taiwanese citizens that they can visit the mainland “without the slightest worry”, despite Taiwan raising its travel alert to the second-highest level in response to Beijing’s new judicial guidelines targeting supporters of Taiwanese independence.

Last week, China published guidelines that could impose the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving “diehard” advocates of Taiwanese independence.

In response, Taiwan’s government urged the public to avoid “unnecessary travel” to mainland China and Hong Kong, and raised its travel warning to the “orange” level.

However, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for a Chinese body overseeing Taiwan affairs, stated that the new directives are “aimed solely at the very small number of supporters of ‘Taiwan independence’, who are engaged in malicious acts and utterances”.

She emphasized that “the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots involved in cross-strait exchanges and cooperation do not need to have the slightest worry when they come to or leave mainland China”.

“They can arrive in high spirits and leave fully satisfied with their stay,” Zhu added.

What’s Behind The China-Taiwan Tensions?

The tensions stem from the longstanding dispute over Taiwan’s status. Mainland China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to rule out using force to bring the democratic island under its control, while Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state.

Beijing has not conducted top-level communications with Taipei since 2016, when the Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan’s leader. China has since branded her successor, President Lai Ching-te, a “dangerous separatist”.

“The DPP authorities have fabricated excuses to deceive the people on the island and incite confrontation and opposition,” Zhu said in her statement.
Despite the political tensions, many Taiwanese continue to travel to mainland China for work, study, or business.

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