Ireland's parliament has voted in Simon Harris as the country's youngest ever prime minister. Harris, 37, replaces Leo Varadkar after he abruptly quit last month citing personal and political reasons. Simon Harris has become the Republic of Ireland's youngest ever prime minister, or taoiseach, after being elected to succeed party colleague Leo Varadkar. The 37-year-old former health and higher education minister, best known for coordinating Ireland's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic, received 88 votes from lawmakers, with 69 against. Fine Gael party leader Harris will now travel to the official residence of the president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, where his appointment will be confirmed. Harris' predecessor both as Fine Gael leader and taoiseach, Varadkar, abruptly stepped down last month citing personal and political reasons. Varadkar formally resigned at an audience with President Higgins on Monday evening, paving the way for Harris' election on Tuesday. Who is Ireland's new prime minister, Simon Harris? Born in Greystones, County Wicklow, on Ireland's east coast, about 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Dublin, Harris quit university aged 20 to work as a political aide, was elected to parliament at just 24 and was handed a cabinet post before he turned 30. At Fine Gael's annual party conference on Saturday, the father-of-two outlined his focus on law and order, supporting small businesses and reconnecting with rural voters. What are Simon Harris' political challenges? But Harris takes charge of a coalition government which has less than a year until an election which could see the opposition left-wing, Irish Republican Sinn Fein take power for the first time. Recent polling data shows Fine Gael on just 21% of the vote, ahead of coalition partners Fianna Fail (16%) but behind Sinn Fein (26%). Harris he will face the same deep-rooted problems, including unease at record numbers of asylum seekers but most notably a severe shortage of affordable housing. Data on Monday showed asking prices for Irish homes rose by 6.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, the fastest rate of growth since 2022. An opinion poll on Sunday showed housing remained Irish voters' top concern, and Harris has pledged to fix the crisis "once and for all." Harris is due to announce a reshuffle of the Fine Gael members of the cabinet, which therefore won't include the foreign or finance ministries, but a coalition agreement leaves little room for major new policy initiatives.

Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Pakistan's assassinated first female prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was elected president. He is scheduled to take the oath of office on Sunday. Pakistan's lawmakers on Saturday elected Asif Ali Zardari as president of the country for the second time. Zardari is the widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He previously held the post from 2008 to 2013. Zardari received 411 votes from national and provincial legislators. His opponent, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who has the backing of the party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, had 181 votes. The presidency is a largely ceremonial role in Pakistan, but Zardari is known as a conciliator. He could help the ruling coalition partners reach a consensus to put the shattered economy on a path to stabilization before seeking a new IMF bailout. He is scheduled to take the oath of office on Sunday. Coalition's candidate Zardari was favored to win as the joint candidate of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, or PML-N, the party of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his other political allies. He has also played a key role in talks to form a coalition government after the disputed national parliamentary election on February 8. Under that deal, Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) took the presidency, while its historic rivals PML-N secured the prime minister's position for Shehbaz Sharif, who was officially sworn in on Monday. Sharif congratulated Zardari on becoming the country's new president. Zardari "will be a symbol of the strength of the federation," Sharif said in a statement. Zardari's rival, Achakzai, also congratulated him on his victory, saying the vote was free and fair. Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Zardari as well on his election, Chinese state media reported Sunday. "In his message, Xi said China and Pakistan are good neighbors, good friends, good partners and good brothers, adding that the two countries' iron-clad friendship is a choice of history and a precious treasure of the two peoples," the Xinhua news agency said. Xi addressed the two countries' close ties, especially with regards to the construction of the China-Pakistan economic corridor, part of the larger Belt and Road Initiative. In Bhutto's shadow Zardari was born in 1955 into a landowning family from the southern province of Sindh. It was his arranged marriage to PPP leader Benazir Bhutto in 1987 that catapulted him into the political limelight. Bhutto was prime minister from 1988 to 1990, the first woman to head a democratic government in a Muslim country. She served again from 1993 to 1996. Bhutto was assassinated in 2007. Initially a background figure as Bhutto's husband, Zardari was tainted by a host of corruption and other allegations, including absurd kidnapping plots and the acceptance of kickbacks on hoards of jewelry. He spent 11 years behind bars before becoming president in 2008, but was never convicted and has denied any wrongdoing. Zardari has also been arrested and charged with various offenses in recent years.

The winners of the 12th general election took the oath of office in parliament on Wednesday (Jan 10). Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, winning the polls from Rangpur-6, took the oath at 10am. She administered the oath to the other newly elected Awami League MPs. The independents took the oath of office at 11am, while the Jatiya Party MPs did so at noon.   The Awami League is set to form a government for the fourth consecutive time after securing a landslide victory in the election. The ruling party won 222 seats, the independents 62 seats, the Jatiya Party 11 seats, and the Bangladesh Workers' Party, the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal and the Bangladesh Kalyan Party won one seat each. Most of the independent MPs are also Awami League leaders.

Awami League (AL) chief Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday (Jan 10) told her party’s newly elected lawmakers that their highest priority should be the welfare of the people. After taking oath, the new AL members of parliament (MPs) today (Jan 10) reelected Sheikh Hasina as the Leader of the House for the fourth consecutive term at the maiden meeting of the AL Parliamentary Party (ALPP) at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban here. AL General Secretary Obaidul Quader, MP, proposed Sheikh Hasina's name as the Leader of the House which was supported by Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury, MP. The proposal was later accepted unanimously with a gigantic clap. “Therefore, every MP will have to work for the people in their respective constituencies. You will have to ensure that there is balanced development in your areas,” she said while addressing the first meeting of the Awami League parliamentary party of the 12th parliament at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. She spoke soon after she was elected leader of the parliamentary party. The meeting started at around noon and continued for about an hour. In the ALPP meeting, Awami League MP Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was nominated as speaker of the House, Matia Chowdhury as deputy leader of the House, while Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury Liton was nominated as chief whip of parliament.

The Jatiyo Party will join the swearing-in ceremony for the MPs-elect on Wednesday (Jan 10) in a change of heart from an earlier decision to skip taking oath with others. "Elected MPs of Jatiyo Party will hold a meeting on Thursday to decide their next course of action regarding taking oath," JP joint office secretary Mahmud Alam said in a statement on Tuesday. Mahmud also said a meeting called for Thursday, as informed by Secretary General Mujibul Haque Chunnu, was cancelled. Chunnu earlier said their MPs-elect would not take oath on Wednesday. He said they would discuss the matter and take a decision in Thursday’s meeting.

Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been elected in Gopalganj-3 (Tungipara-Kotalipara) constituency in the 12th general elections. According to the unofficial results, she bagged 2,49,962 votes, and her nearest rival National People's Party (NPP) candidate Sheikh Abul Kalam 460 votes. There are 2,90,300 voters - 1,48,691 male and 1,41,608 female - in the parliamentary seat. The voting in the elections was held across the country today, with low turnout and sporadic violence.

Saima Wazed Putul has won the election of the World Health Organization’s regional director for Southeast Asia.  On Wednesday, November 1, Putul shared a post on her X account, formerly known as Twitter. In her post Putul said, "Thank you to WHOSEARO Member States for choosing me to be their next Regional Director! I would like to pay tribute to our outgoing RD, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, for her decade of service to the public health of our region. A special tribute as well for my fellow nominee in this race, Dr. Acharya. In his long & distinguished career, he has been an invaluable asset to WHO- and I hope our region will continue to benefit from his knowledge & experience. I look forward to building a healthier South-East Asia." A press release from WHO said, The newly appointed regional director will take office on February 1. According to the press release, Putul secured eight votes. The other candidate, Dr Shambhu Prasad Acharya of Nepal received two votes. 

Netherlands won the toss and elected to bat against Bangladesh on Saturday at Eden gardens in Kolkata Already Bangladesh has played five matches in World Cup and loses 4 matches, accept Afghanistan. For this match, Bangladesh has rested Hasan Mahmud and Nasum Ahmed, bringing in Taskin Ahmed and Mahedi Hasan. On the other hand, Netherlands, have also played five matches, securing a victory against South Africa. They have demonstrated their passion and determination in the World Cup, making this match a challenging one for the Tigers. In ODI matches, Bangladesh and the Netherlands have met twice. Out of these two games, Bangladesh won one, and the Netherlands emerged victorious in one match as well. Predicted XI for Bangladesh Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan (c), Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud. Predicted XI for Netherlands Vikramjit Singh, Max O’Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Scott Edwards (c)/(wk), Sybrand Engelbrecht, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren.        

South Africa won the toss and elected to Bat in the 23rd match of the ongoing 2023 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.  More to follow...

Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat first in the Cricket World Cup match against Afghanistan in Chennai on Monday, October 23. Pakistan already have two wins and Afghanistan won a match from four. Playing XI Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shahen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil (wkt), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad