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Japan’s Shigeru Ishiba confirmed as prime minister

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Shigeru Ishiba is the 65th Prime Minister of Japan © JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images
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The 67-year-old replaces outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Ishiba is seeking to unify the ruling party ahead of elections later this month.

Japan’s parliament on Tuesday formally elected Shigeru Ishiba, the head of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), as the country’s next prime minister.

The vote came after outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stepped down.

Ishiba is expected to unveil his cabinet later in the day. The Emperor of Japan will then officially appoint Ishiba and his cabinet in a ceremony at the Imperial Palace.

Snap elections on October 27

Ishiba won a tough race to become the leader of the ruling LDP last week after several previous failed attempts.

The outgoing Prime Minister Kishida announced in August that he would not stand for reelection as the head of the party, suffering from low popularity in Japan.

On Monday, Ishiba announced plans to call for a snap election on October 27, a year before the scheduled date.

“I believe it is important to have the new administration get the public’s judgment as soon as possible,” he said.

The LDP’s popularity has been falling, but the party has managed to stay in power partly due to a weak opposition.

Local media said former chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato will likely be named the finance minister, and Gen Nakatani and Takeshi Iwaya will be named as defense and foreign ministers respectively.

As the new leader of Japan, Ishiba, 67, already has a lot on his plate, such as restoring his party’s popularity, a slowing economy and tackling fears of Chinese aggression.

He supports the creation of a regional military alliance along the lines of NATO.

tg/ab (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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Elon Musk Contributes Nearly $75 Million To Boost Trump’s Presidential Campaign

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According to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Billionaire Elon Musk has contributed almost $75 million to a political action committee (PAC) he established to back Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

The donation underscores Musk’s growing involvement in Trump’s bid for the White House.

Musk, the world’s richest man, has become increasingly active in the Republican campaign.

He joined Trump on stage at a Pennsylvania rally and regularly criticizes his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, on social media.

Trump has praised Musk at campaign events and promised to appoint him to a committee to reduce government bureaucracy if re-elected.

Musk’s America PAC raised $74.95 million between July and September, focusing on grassroots efforts to boost voter turnout in key battleground states like Pennsylvania.

The PAC’s website offers volunteers $30 per hour to help increase voter participation, with performance bonuses available.

In contrast, Kamala Harris’s Harris Victory Fund PAC raised $633 million during the same period.

Harris, who entered the presidential race after President Joe Biden’s withdrawal, has energized the Democratic base with a strong campaign focused on swing states.

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Orji Uzor Kalu reveals amount he earns monthly as senator

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The lawmaker representing Abia North in the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, has disclosed that he earns a total of N14 million every month as a Senator.

The Senator, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, dismissed the belief among some Nigerians that lawmakers are living in affluence while the masses live in poverty.

“I earn N14 million for everything in a month. That is everything encompassing, the overhead, the worker’s salary, everybody,” Uzor-Kalu said.

Uzor Kalu, who is a former governor of Abia State, argued that the N14 million is not enough to buy petrol to travel to his constituency, maintain the constituency office among other things.

No official vehicles for lawmakers
One of the most controversial issues that have always been raised against the national assembly is the luxury cars given to lawmakers as their official vehicles.

However, Senator Uzor Kalu denied that lawmakers are given official personal vehicles, saying that the only the various committees in the national assembly that are given vehicles.

“I am in the Senate and a lot of things are said about the Senators and I sit there quietly and watch, and most of these things are not true. All I know is that committees get vehicles, no lawmaker is given any vehicle,” the Senator said.

On the economic hardship in Nigeria, Senator Uzor Kalu said it is not peculiar to Nigeria as the impact of COVID-19 is still affecting economies globally. He said the only reason some countries are no longer feeling the COVID-19 impact the way Nigeria is feeling it is because they have built a robust economy for a very long period.

According to him, President Bola Tinubu is aware of the country’s unstable economy and is taking steps to address the challenges facing Nigeria.

“The president himself knows that Nigerians are suffering and hungry. He is a street person; he knows the street very well.

“The president some nights uses his car to go around and know what is happening in Abuja here,” he said.

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NATO opens its doors: Putin is furious

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NATO opens its doors: Putin is furious © Pixabay
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NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte , said on Thursday that Ukraine would be a NATO member state in the future.

He also acknowledged that he was unable to say exactly when the country would join the transatlantic organization.

Arriving at the meeting of the Atlantic Alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels from today to Friday, Rutte said that at the moment, it seemed that Ukraine would become the 33rd ally, with NATO currently having 32 members, while admitting that another country could join the transatlantic organization before Kiev. A demonstration of NATO’s determination to thwart Moscow’s plans.

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