PYONGYANG: North Korea has been adversely hit by food shortage, which North Korea blames the shortfall on a combination of bad weather and “barbaric” international sanctions, media reports said. Critics argue that the North is simply trying to use the situation to undermine support for sanctions without addressing the nuclear issues that led to them in the first place or the government’s systemic economic problems.

Potential donors, meanwhile, face the old but still controversial question: should the world help a government that seems determined not to help its own people?

Kim, the ambassador to the U.N., said record-high temperatures, drought and flooding last year shaved more than 500,000 tons off of the 2018 harvest from the nearly 5 million tons produced in 2017. His statement was released just days ahead of Kim Jong Un’s Feb. 27-28 summit with President Donald Trump in Hanoi.

He said North Korean farmers have been hamstrung by “dreadful” restrictions on imports of everything from tractors, harvesters and sowing machines to chemical fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and imports of refined petroleum. He also claimed that sanctions, or the fear of running afoul of them, are blocking or delaying legitimate assistance from possible donors and international organizations.

Humanitarian assistance from the U.N. agencies is “terribly politicized,” he said, and sanctions against North Korea are “barbaric and inhuman.”

North Korea claims it is now “channeling all its efforts” to importing food and increasing the output of early and basic crops such as wheat and barley in coming months. Even if Pyongyang achieves its targets of importing 200,000 tons of food and producing 400,000 tons of early crops, supplies will still fall short by 1.486 million tons.

BEIRA: The death toll from floods triggered by Cyclone Idai in southern Africa has surpassed 500 so far, news agencies said.

Hundreds more have been feared dead in towns and villages that were completely submerged in the floods and landslides triggered by the cyclone a week ago.

The UN food aid agency said 400,000 people were displaced in Mozambique’s coastal city of Beira and flooded areas along the Pungue and Buzi rivers.

Aid agencies and several governments continued to step up their deployments.

SHANGHAI: As many as 40 people were killed while 640 sustained injuries in an explosion that occurred at a pesticide plant in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, China, media reports said on Friday.

It occurred on Thursday at the Chenjiagang Industrial Park in the city of Yancheng while the fire was brought under control at 3 am today, according to state television.

Survivors were taken to 16 hospitals with 640 people being treated for injuries. Thirty-two of them were critically injured, it said.

The cause of explosion is not known yet. Authorities said the investigation into the incident is underway.

Here’s a breakdown of the people who have officially announced their candidacies or exploratory committees so far for the 2020 presidential candidates.

Democrats
Cory Booker
Age: 49
Experience: U.S. senator from New Jersey, 2013-present; mayor of Newark, 2006-2013.
Quote: “I believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind.”
Fast facts: New Jersey’s first African-American senator, Booker has backed liberal policies from marriage equality and abortion rights to marijuana legalization and criminal-justice reform.
Campaign site: https://corybooker.com/

Pete Buttigieg
Age: 37
Experience: Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, 2012-present
Quote: “We can’t look for greatness in the past. Right now, our country needs a fresh start.”
Fast facts: A lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve who served in Afghanistan, Buttigieg would be the first openly gay nominee for a major political party.
Campaign site: https://www.peteforamerica.com/

Julián Castro
Age: 44
Experience: Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2014-2017; mayor of San Antonio, 2009-2014
Quote: “Today we’re falling backwards instead of moving forward. And the opportunities that made America, the America we love, those opportunities are reaching fewer and fewer people.”
Fast facts: The grandson of a Mexican immigrant and son of a Latina activist, Castro’s twin brother, Joaquin Castro, is a Democratic congressman from Texas.
Campaign site: https://www.julianforthefuture.com/

John Delaney
Age: 55
Experience: U.S. House representative from Maryland, 2013-2019; Entrepreneur
Quote: “Trump wants this campaign to be about socialism and we shouldn’t give him what he wants. We need to update our social programs to better fit today’s world, and we need to make capitalism more just and inclusive.”
Fast facts: Delaney, who founded two publicly traded companies, was one of the first Democrats to announce and has been a 2020 presidential candidate since July 2017
Campaign site: https://www.johndelaney.com/

Tulsi Gabbard
Age: 37
Experience: U.S. House representative from Hawaii, 2013-present
Quote: “I’m running for president to end regime change wars, work to end the new Cold War and nuclear arms race, and take the trillions of dollars wasted on these wars and put it back in the pockets of the American people.”
Fast facts: Born in Leloaloa, American Samoa, Gabbard is the first Hindu member of Congress. She served in the Hawaii National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2004.
Campaign site: https://www.votetulsi.com/

Kirsten Gillibrand
Age: 52
Experience: U.S. senator from New York, 2009-present; U.S. House representative from New York, 2007-2009
Quote: “I’m going to run for president of the United States because as a young mom, I’m going to fight for other people’s kids as hard as I fight for my own.”
Fast facts: Gillibrand is the mother of two boys and was the sixth woman ever to give birth while serving in Congress.
Campaign site: https://kirstengillibrand.com/

Kamala Harris
Age: 54
Experience: U.S. senator from California, 2017-present; California attorney general, 2011-2016; San Francisco district attorney 2004-2011
Quote: “As we embark on this campaign, I will tell you this: I am not perfect. Lord knows, I am not perfect. But I will always speak with decency and moral clarity and treat all people with dignity and respect. I will lead with integrity. And I will speak the truth.”
Fast facts: In 2017, Harris – whose mother emigrated to the U.S. from India – became the first South Asian-American, and the second African-American female senator in U.S. history.
Campaign site: https://kamalaharris.org/

John Hickenlooper
Age: 67
Experience: Governor of Colorado, 2011-2019; mayor of Denver 2003-2011; restaurateur
Quote: “Donald Trump is alienating our allies, ripping away our health care, endangering our planet and destroying our democracy.”
Fast facts: Hickenlooper suffers from prosopagnosia, or face blindness, which makes it difficult for someone to recognize people. Hickenlooper told CNN the condition has a silver lining “because the way I have overcompensated was to treat everyone who come towards me as a friend, just to assume that I know them.”
Campaign site: https://www.hickenlooper.com

Jay Inslee
Age: 68
Experience: Governor of Washington, 2013-present
Quote: “We’re the first generation to feel the sting of climate change and we’re the last that can do something about it.”
Fast facts: An avid cyclist and hiker, Inslee intends to make climate change a central part of his campaign. As governor, he has pushed for clean energy and recently backed a state carbon fee to limit pollution.
Campaign site: https://jayinslee.com/

Amy Klobuchar
Age: 58
Experience: U.S. senator from Minnesota, 2007-present; Hennepin County prosecutor, 1999-2006
Quote: “I don’t have a political machine. I don’t come from money. But what I do have is this: I have grit, I have family, I have friends, and I have all of you.”
Fast facts: Klobuchar is positioning herself as a Midwest moderate who can work with Republicans. According to GovTrack, Klobuchar introduced the most pieces of legislation in the 115th Congress of any Democratic senator and had the most non-Democratic co-sponsors on her bills.
Campaign site: https://amyklobuchar.com/

Beto O’Rourke
Age: 46
Experience: U.S. House representative from Texas, 2013-2019; El Paso City Council member, 2005-2011
Quote: “I want to be president because I feel that we can bring this country together. We can unify around our ambitions, our aspirations, the big things that we know we are capable of when all of us have the opportunity to contribute.”
Fast facts: O’Rourke is a lover of punk rock, and co-founded the band Foss during his college years. The band toured during his summer break and put out an album in 1993 titled, “The El Paso Pussycats.”
Campaign site: https://betoorourke.com/

Bernie Sanders
Age: 77
Experience: U.S. senator from Vermont, 2007-present; U.S. House representative from Vermont, 1991-2000
Quote: “Our health care system today essentially says that if you happen to be poor, you are less deserving of getting care than a wealthy person. That is fundamentally immoral and that is not the kind of nation we should be.”
Fast fact: Although he is seeking the Democratic nomination, Sanders has run as an independent for every other office he has sought. Before being elected to Congress in 1990, he lost two Senate campaigns (1972 and 1974) and three gubernatorial campaigns (1972, 1976 and 1986) in Vermont.
Campaign site: https://berniesanders.com/

Elizabeth Warren
Age: 69
Experience: U.S. senator from Massachusetts, 2013-present
Quote: “The man in the White House is not the cause of what’s broken, he’s just the latest – and most extreme – symptom of what’s gone wrong in America: A product of a rigged system that props up the rich and the powerful and kicks dirt on everyone else.”
Fast fact: Warren came into the national spotlight for her passionate criticism of Wall Street, the banking industry and large corporations after the 2008 financial crisis hit. Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appointed her the chair on a panel to oversee the federal bailout in response to the crisis.
Campaign site: https://elizabethwarren.com/

Marianne Williamson
Age: 66
Experience: Motivational speaker, New Age spiritual guru and self-help author
Quote: “I believe a moral and spiritual awakening is necessary in this country. And nothing short of that will fundamentally disrupt the patterns of political dysfunction.”
Fast fact: Williamson’s spent the last 35 years as a spiritual guide and author with connections throughout the celebrity world, including Oprah Winfrey.
Campaign site: https://www.marianne2020.com/

Andrew Yang
Age: 44
Experience: Entrepreneur; founder of non-profit fellowship program Venture for America
Quote: “I fear for the future of our country. New technologies – robots, software, artificial intelligence – have already destroyed more than 4 million U.S. jobs, and in the next 5-10 years, they will eliminate millions more.”
Fast fact: Yang’s platform includes providing every American 18 and older with a basic universal income of $1,000 a month.
Campaign site: https://www.yang2020.com/

The Republicans

President Donald Trump
Age: 72
Experience: U.S president, 2017-present; real estate developer; reality TV star
Quote: “Considering that we have done more than any Administration in the first two years, this should be easy.”
Fast fact: Trump filed for re-election the day he was inaugurated, and his campaign already has raised more than $100 million.
Campaign site: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/

William Weld
Age: 73
Experience: Governor of Massachusetts, 1991-1997
Quote: “We have a president whose priorities are skewed towards promotion of himself rather than for the good of the country.”
Fast fact: Weld ran for vice president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2016. In 1974, he worked as an associate minority counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate investigation.
Campaign site: https://www.weld2020.org/

Who is considering a run?
Joe Biden: The former vice president could enter his third presidential run after deciding against it in 2016. He is a party favorite for his appeal to working-class Democrats — a segment of the voter base some feel was lost to conservatives.
Sen. Michael Bennet: The Colorado Democrat, a former superintendent of Denver’s public school system, joined the Senate in 2009 and has trumpeted his support for the “next generation” by focusing on education, health care and climate change. He’s already visited early caucus state Iowa to meet with activists.

Who’s out?
Hillary Clinton: The Democrats’ 2016 nominee quashed rumors she’d make another run, telling a New York television station, “I’m not running, but I’m going to keep working and speaking and standing up for what I believe.”

Sen. Sherrod Brown: Brown and his wife toured early primary and caucus states just days before the Democrat announced he’d rather remain a senator. “We’ve decided the best place for me to continue fighting for Ohio and all the workers is to stay in the U.S. Senate.” Brown was seen as someone with the potential to win back an increasingly red Midwest. He has served as senator since 2006 and just won a contentious re-election race against Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci.

Michael Bloomberg: The former New York City mayor and billionaire owner of the software and media company Bloomberg, will invest in clean energy and liberal causes rather than hit the campaign trail. The eighth-richest person in the U.S., he’s considered a moderate — having run and won mayoral elections as a Republican and Independent.

Sen. Jeff Merkeley: The Oregon Democrat abandoned his 2020 White House ambitions, opting instead to run for re-election in 2020. “There are Democrats now in the presidential race who are speaking to the importance of tackling the big challenges we face,” he said.

Michael Avenatti: The media-savvy attorney who once represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her legal battles with the president, said he’ll keep his name off the candidate list “Out of respect for my family.” Avenatti burst onto the political scene, becoming a mainstay on cable news and a fierce critic of the president. He parlayed his fame into a period in which he was “exploring” a run, even making a visit to early caucus state Iowa.

Richard Ojeda: The former West Virginia state senator dropped out of the race in January, telling supporters he didn’t want them donating money to a campaign with little chance of success.

(With inputs from USAToday)

In 2019, a total of 53 countries around the world will witness elections to elect their leaders. Some of the elections having significance include polls in India, Indonesia, and Nigeria. According to data, India has 800 million eligible voters, while Indonesia and Nigeria have 187 million and 84 million registered voters respectively.

Three major types of elections:

Presidential election

Voters elect the country’s head of state or a president. The president holds the highest political position and officially represents the country.

Parliamentary election

The legislative body is elected by the people and, in turn, chooses the head of the government or prime minister. The legislative body implements laws and runs the government on a day-to-day basis.

In countries without a prime minister, such as South Africa, Brazil, and the United States, the president is both the head of state and head of government.

General Election

Voters elect the head of state as well as federal and local representatives.

Eligible to vote:

An adult of 18 years of age and above is eligible to cast the ballot in ninety percent of the countries. If you’re 16, you’d be eligible to vote in 7 countries such as Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Malta, and Nicaragua.

Voters can vote at the age of 17 in Ethiopia, Indonesia, South Sudan, Timor-Leste.

In Lebanon, Malaysia, Samoa, Singapore and Tonga, a voter has to be at least 21.

South Korea is the only country where voters are considered eligible at the age of 19.

Likewise, in Cameroon and Nauru, a voter has to be at least 20 years old.

Women’s right:

In 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote.

The last European country to allow women to vote was Switzerland in 1971.

In 1994, South Africa became the last African democracy to give equal voting rights to all following the end of apartheid.

In Afghanistan, women gained and lost the right to vote several times. They have continuously held the right to vote since 2004.

How often are elections held?

San Marino is only the country where the election is held every year. Countries like Australia, Fiji, Nauru, New Zealand hold elections in every three years. Similarly, 48 countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, USA have elections in every four years.

Likewise, 104 countries, including Nepal, India,  Maldives, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Cuba, France have elections in every five years. Six countries have the electoral process in six years where nine countries hold elections in seven years. Countries like Denmark, Greece, Jordan, Montenegro, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu do not have fixed term for elections.

How many terms can each leader serve?

Most leaders can either serve one or two terms in office. It’s not uncommon, however, for a country’s leader to have an unspecified term limit.

Leaders can serve only one term in 34 nations, 2 terms in 85 nations, including Nepal as per the current constitutions and unlimited term in 59 nations.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya is the world’s longest-serving, non-royal leader. He’s been in power for almost 44 years. He’s followed by Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – 40 years – and Cambodia’s Hun Sen – 34 years.

Likewise, 52 countries have given the permission to cast vote to the prisoners. In 65 countries, only ‘selected’ prisoners can cast their vote. Prisoners cannot vote in 60 countries.

JAKARTA: The death toll in floods of Papua Province of Indonesia has reached 107, media reports said on Thursday.

The number of casualties may go even higher as a large number of people are still missing, Indonesian officials say.

According to them a total of 93 people are still missing and a search and rescue operation is underway.

They went missing in the floods and landslides that occurred in Jayapura district of Papua Province since last Saturday.

Officials said they have evacuated over 7,000 flood-affected victims to safer areas. Over 350 buildings, three bridges, eight schools, eight religious sites, infrastructures including roads were damaged in the floods and landslides.

(Agencies)

CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand said it will ban the military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles under tough new gun laws.

The decision to this effect was made following the killing of 50 people in New Zealand’s worst mass shooting, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

Prime Minister Ardern has termed the attack as terrorism. She said New Zealand’s gun laws would change.

She said that on 15 March the country’s history changed forever and said the country’s law will too. (Agencies)

OTTAWA/TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remained under pressure over a corruption scandal on Wednesday as a legislator quit his party’s caucus and a pre-election budget aimed at swaying key voters appeared to offer too little to stem the tide of negative news.

The budget – the last before federal elections in October – lavished new spending on middle-class voters but ignored corporations. It also provided a little for key groups such as millennial voters who backed Trudeau in droves in Canada’s 2015 election.

The decision by a legislator, who had defended a former minister at the center of a political scandal, to quit the ruling Liberal Party and sit as an independent dealt a fresh blow to Trudeau’s embattled government.

Trudeau has been on the defensive since Feb. 7 over allegations top officials working for him leaned on the then justice minister to ensure construction firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc avoided a corruption trial.

The political crisis threatens the government’s chances of re-election. Polls have shown that Trudeau’s Liberals could lose the vote as the damage from the scandal spreads.

The latest defection overshadowed Tuesday’s budget which divided money between a large number of new initiatives and left few Canadians satisfied.

“It’s just too broad,” said Norman Levine, managing director at Portfolio Management Corporation. “They wanted to please lots of people and … when you try to please everybody you end up pleasing nobody, because you spread it too thin.”

Rob Edel, chief investment officer at Nicola Wealth Management, noted the government did not commit to reducing a budget deficit that is much larger than the Liberals promised. This was “a political rather than an economic decision,” he said.

The Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada as well as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce complained about the lack of tax reform. But the center-left Liberals may not care too much as their core supporters are progressive thinkers, women and younger voters. Finance Minister Bill Morneau stressed budget measures to help first-time home buyers, including allowing people to withdraw up to C$35,000 from a retirement savings account.

But asked on Wednesday how many younger first-time buyers actually had that much money available, he replied “that will help some people in the middle income range … not everyone, for sure.”

The main opposition Conservative Party has relentlessly attacked Trudeau over the SNC-Lavalin affair and described the budget as a bribe. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer has continuously demanded Trudeau’s resignation, which some Conservatives privately worry is the wrong approach.

Two strategists with deep ties to the party said given the complexity of the affair, and former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s statement that no one involved had broken any laws, Canadians would not necessarily agree that Trudeau should quit now.

Conservative over-confidence or missteps could be the Liberals’ best hope for reversing their slumping poll numbers, pollster Nick Nanos said.

On Tuesday, opposition lawmakers delayed Morneau’s budget presentation for an hour.

Conservatives initially drowned out his speech in the House of Commons with shouts and jeers and then walked out en masse, a tactic that did not sit well with some Canadians on social media.

(Reuters)

UTRECHT: A man opened fire in a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, injuring several people, police said.

A square near a tram station in the west of the city has been cordoned off by authorities, and emergency services are at the scene.

A police spokesman reportedly said the gunman fled the scene by car.

A shooting occurred on the #24oktoberplein in #Utrecht. The incident has been reported at 10.45 hour. Multiple people have been injured. The surrounding area has been cordoned off and we are investigating the matter.

— Politie Utrecht (@PolitieUtrecht) March 18, 2019

Police say they are investigating a “possible terrorist motive”. They have asked people to stay away to enable emergency workers to get through.

The shooting took place around the 24 Oktoberplein junction at about 10:45 local time (09:45 GMT). Three helicopters have been dispatched.

“A man started shooting wildly,” one eyewitness told Dutch news site NU.nl.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the government has been holding crisis talks after the shooting.

Utrecht’s transport authority said tram services in the city have all been cancelled.

JAKARTA: The death toll in Indonesia’s floods in eastern Papua province has reached 77, the disaster agency said on Monday.

Over three dozen people remain missing and scores have been injured in the disaster caused by torrential rains and landslides.

Earlier on Sunday the authorities had put the death toll at 58.

There is a rainy reason in Indonesia which lasts from October to April.

A total of 70 people were reported to have been killed in Sulawesi Island in January.