Us presidential election

The polling opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (0230 GMT) and will close at 3:00 p.m. (1030 GMT) in the country's 34 provinces, according to election officials. It is the fourth presidential election in Afghanistan since 2001, when the Taliban regime was ousted. A total of 18 contesters are running for the presidency with a five-year term and among the candidates are sitting President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. Security remains the biggest challenge for the election. The Afghan security forces will provide security for 4,942 out of 5,373 polling centers and the remaining 431 centers located in remote districts will not open on the election day due to security threats, according to election officials. Over 9.4 million eligible voters, 35 percent of them women, registered to cast their votes during Saturday's polling. … [Read more...] about Afghans begin voting in presidential election

Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — On the threshold of the second Trump-Kim summit in Hà Nội, the Việt Nam Asia-Pacific Economic Centre (VAPEC) in collaboration with Omega Books Company is launching a book titled Understanding Trump. Written by Newt Gingrich, the book offers a useful outlook and references about the current US president. Nguyễn Cảnh Bình, vice president of VAPEC, claimed that Trump and Trumpism showed great changes in the culture and mode of action in the American politics. "Instead of fighting against or panning him, we should probably try to understand what did and will happen in the US and so we can better adjust for our future," Bình said. This year, VAPEC plans to publish high quality and in-depth publications that discuss important issues in the Asia-Pacific region, and Understanding Trump is one of them. The book gathered the analysis of Newt Gingrich - president of the US House of Representatives from 1995 to … [Read more...] about Book to be released to help people understand Trump

* Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday defended multilateralism at the UN General Assembly, saying a multilateral approach is not an option but a necessity in today's interconnected world. * Chinese tourists will make nearly 800 million domestic trips and another 7.5 million overseas during the upcoming week-long National Day holiday, said a report released Friday. * The 86th Mekong River joint patrol led by China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand concluded Friday, as three Chinese and two Laotian law enforcement boats anchored at Guanlei Port, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province. * China has initiated relevant domestic legal procedures for its accession to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The announcement, which sends out a positive signal of China's readiness to become a State Party to the ATT, was made by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the United Nations General Assembly on September 27. * The Republic of Korea … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: September 28

TUNIS — Conservative academic Kais Saied, a political outsider, was headed for a landslide victory Sunday in Tunisia's presidential runoff, sweeping aside his rival, media magnate Nabil Karoui, exit polls said. In a contest that reflected Tunisia's shifting post-revolution political landscape, Saied, an independent, scooped 72.5 per cent of the vote according to the Emrhold exit poll, and 76.9 per cent in the Sigma one – over 40 points ahead of Karoui. Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Tunis to celebrate Saied's victory, honking horns and singing the national anthem. "It's a historic day: Tunisia is reaping the fruits of the revolution," said Boussairi Abidi, a 39-year-old mechanic. "Kais Saied is going to put an end to corruption, he will be a fair president." The official results are expected today. In his first reaction, Saied thanked the country's young people "for turning a new page", and vowed to try to build "a new Tunisia". Around 90 per … [Read more...] about Outsider Saied set for landslide in Tunisia presidency: exit polls

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was asked by US President Donald Trump for help in an inquiry intended to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, The New York Times reported AFP/SPENCER PLATT The newspaper, citing two unidentified US officials, said the request was made during a recent telephone call between Trump and the Australian leader, Scott Morrison. The Times said the White House restricted access to the transcript of the call in a manner similar to what was done with Trump's recent call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That call - during which Trump asked Zelensky to open an investigation into his potential 2020 Democratic presidential opponent Joe Biden - has led to the opening of an impeachment inquiry in the Democratic-led House of Representatives. The US Justice Department is conducting an inquiry into the origins of the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election -- a … [Read more...] about Trump asked Australian PM to help discredit Mueller: Report