Sri Lanka’s Marxist party to make official visit to India
Colombo, Feb 4: A delegation of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a Marxist-Leninist communist party in Sri Lanka, will on Monday start on an official visit to India. “The delegation of JVP, the largest party under the broad entity National People’s Power (NPP), is to leave Colombo tomorrow (Monday) for India on an official invitation of the Indian government,” a statement from the party said. The delegation to India comprises JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, senior legislator Vijitha Herath, Secretary Nihal Abeysinghe and executive committee member Prof Anil Jayantha, the statement said. The JVP, which led an anti-India campaign in 1987-90 against the Indo-Lanka Accord, has continuously led in at least one public opinion poll. Its NPP broader front has led in surveys, leaving the island nation’s main parties trailing. The surveys claim that in the post-economic crisis phase since 2022, the NPP has gained significantly in public support, particularly in anti-corruption perceptions. Dissanayake has already declared his candidacy for the next presidential election to be held later this year. (PTI)
ECP action sought against parties ignoring women’s quota
Islamabad, Feb 4: A women’s organisation in Pakistan has urged the election commission to take immediate legal action against political parties which have ignored the mandatory women’s quota while allotting seats for the February 8 general elections. It is mandatory for every political party to field at least 5 per cent of women candidates for general seats in the National Assembly and four provincial assemblies. The Aurat Foundation has complained to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take legal action against Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Awami National Party (ANP), Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Balochistan National Party (BNP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) for violating the clause in which they must field women candidates, the Dawn newspaper reported. (PTI)
At least 28 die in Ukrainian shelling
Moscow, Feb 4: Moscow-installed officials say Ukrainian shelling killed at least 28 people at a bakery in the Russian-occupied city of Lysychansk. At least one child was among the dead Saturday, local leader Leonid Pasechnik wrote in a statement on Telegram. A further 10 people were rescued from under the rubble by emergency services, he said. Ukrainian officials in Kyiv did not comment on the incident. Both Moscow and Kyiv have increasingly relied on longer-range attacks this winter amid largely unchanged positions on the 1,500-kilometre front line in the nearly 2-year-old war. However, Ukrainian forces have come under intense Russian attack over the past 24 hours, with continuous assaults along the front line, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement Sunday. (AP)