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Nepal's tumultuous politics is once again at it, threatening to replace the current government with a new one. The one-and-a-half-year-old government headed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal' Prachanda' has been pushed to minority after the former Prime Minister KP Sharma's CPN-UML with 78 members in the 275-member House of Representatives withdrew from the government on July 2. Prachanda, famously known in the Himalayan nation, has said he would not resign but face a no-confidence vote in the next 30 days. Prachanda's Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has 30 members in the House of Representatives.

"Joe and Jill went up the hill...
For Joe to get a second term...
Joe fell down and broke his crown...
And Jill came tumbling after…"

Cautious optimism fraught with challenges has been ushered in South Africa post President Cyril Ramaphosa forming a coalition government. The new government has economic and social rejuvenation high on its agenda with the inclusion of Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen and other Opposition parties.

MEXICO CITY: Scarcely a month has passed since the general elections in Mexico, and despite calling for a recount which no-one except hard-core conservatives takes seriously (when you’re trounced two to one the only rational reaction is to examine the reasons for your failure), the opposition coalition has yet to come up with a coherent strategy.

WASHINGTON: Two things are clearer than ever after the first presidential debate. First, Trump is a fascist and a liar who can’t be allowed near the White House ever again. Second, despite Biden’s faltering performance as messenger, the task ahead of the people’s and labour movements is still the same: Block fascism in November.

With a record number of over 360 journalists detained in jail in more than 30 countries across the world mostly on the charges of espionage, WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange must thank Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his stars to get himself freed after pleading guilty to violating the US espionage law, ending a 14-year-long legal battle. In a rare show of respect for and diplomatic solidarity with Australia, the US finally decided to pardon Assange. WikiLeaks was involved in the most controversial leaks of classified US military documents and videos from the war the country waged in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early part of this century highlighting abuse of prisoners in American custody, human rights violations and civilian deaths.

The results of the first round of French national elections held on June 30 are out on expected lines. The far right National Rally (RN) led by Marine Le Pen has got 34 per cent of the votes against the Leftist New Popular Front’s 29 per cent and President Emanuel Macron’s party at 20 per cent. Only few candidates with 50 per cent votes, will be elected in the first round. The fate of French democracy will be finally decided on July 7 in the second round when the candidates with maximum votes get elected.

US had a presidential TV debate on Thursday which was a major pointer at the kind of electoral contest in store. By that logic, the Americans are facing a senile person the incumbent President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee who cannot control his reflexes and responses, compared with the Republican rival Donald Trump who keeps lying and saying atrocious things.

After a day of voting on June 28 with the lowest turnout ever for an Iranian presidential election, Iranians now have a choice between two candidates in the second and final round scheduled on July 5. One is a reformist who supports more interaction with the West and the other a hardliner who advises Iran’s supreme leader and is against making compromises.

The national elections in the United Kingdom is scheduled to be held on July 4. Its outcome will rejuvenate or further destabilise the pound. Indeed the upcoming election represents a crucial juncture to the fate of a currency which had seen better days. The pound has witnessed significant volatility since 2016, post the Brexit votes.