Eyes of the India

  Parliamentarians vote for a new leader after Imran Khan lost no-confidence vote Pakistan elected Shehbaz Sharif to be the country’s 23rd prime minister on Monday, a day after incumbent Imran Khan was ousted by a vote of no confidence brought by opposition parties. Mr Sharif received 174 votes from the house’s 342 MPs after days of political drama that saw Mr Khan, the former cricketer-turned-politician, removed just after midnight on Sunday. In his maiden speech as prime minister, Mr Sharif called for unity to tackle Pakistan’s economic crisis. “If we have to save the sinking boat, what we all need is hard work, and unity, unity and unity. We are beginning a new era of development today,” he said. Ahead of Monday’s vote, members of Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had resigned in protest and demanded a national election. “We boycott this election according to the decision of our party, and we are resigning,” said Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Mr Qureshi had been the PTI candidate to b...

  Countrywide protests flare up over shortages in fuel, gas and other essentials A state of emergency in Sri Lanka has been revoked after mass protests calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to be removed as the country’s economic crisis worsens. On Tuesday, Mr Rajapaksa issued a decree revoking the state of emergency , which gave him sweeping powers, days after it was declared. Protests were sparked by shortages in fuel and gas, electricity and other essentials but, after spreading across the country, led to calls for the president to step down as members of his own party called for an interim government to take over. The president’s ruling party is now a minority in parliament after 42 legislators from his coalition declared they were no longer affiliated with it. “If we don’t act now, there will be a river of blood in the country,” said Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, one of the latest members to defect from Mr Rajapaksa’s party. “We have to forget party politics and ensure an interi...

  ‘No-fault’ divorces will mean one spouse no longer needs to prove adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion Unhappy spouses in England and Wales can now end their marriages without blaming each other. “No-fault” divorces will mean from Wednesday, one spouse no longer needs to prove the other guilty of either adultery, “unreasonable behaviour” or desertion. Previously, without such proof, couples had to live apart for two years before a divorce could be granted — or five years if one partner objected to the proceedings. The biggest reform of divorce law for 50 years brings England and Wales into line with Scotland, the US, Australia and Germany. In 2018, Tini Owens lost a Supreme Court fight when she failed to persuade the judges that her 40-year marriage should end. Her husband had contested her claims of unreasonable behaviour. Judges ruled that being trapped in an unhappy marriage was not in itself grounds for divorce. “No one should have to remain in a loveless marriage ...