BANGKOK: The Election Commission of Thailand has disqualified Princess Ubolratana for prime minister.

In a statement issued by the commission on Monday ended the candidacy of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s sister releasing the final name list of the candidates for the prime minister without the name of 67 years old princess.

Princess had filed her candidacy for a populist party Thai Raksa Chart party. The king, however, opposed her candidacy terming it as ‘inappropriate’ and had added that it was against the spirit of the constitution for royalty to be involved in politics.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed the confidence that India could be the second-largest economy in the world by 2030.

Stating that India would continue to be the fastest-growing large economy, PM Modi said India has displayed resilience as an anchor of the world economy, a report on India’s Business Today said.

Stated that India has the fourth-largest refining capacity in the world, he added that this will continue to grow up by about 200 million metric tons by 2030. (Agencies)

BERLIN: A survey conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Center concluded that climate change has been the top security concern in several countries.

According to the survey, Islamist terrorism and cyber-attacks have been listed as other concerns after climate change. In the survey, respondents in a number of countries expressed their worry about the power and influence of the United States, reports said.

The survey said that in 13 of 26 countries, people listed climate change as the top global threat. Likewise, Islamic State militant group topped the list in eight and cyber-attacks in four, according to Reuters.

Heres’s a chronological timetable of events that occurred on this day in history. Let’s find out what happened today in history.

660 BC   Traditional founding day of Japan by Emperor Jimmu Tenno.

1531       Henry VIII recogniz0ed as supreme head of the Church of England.

1809       Robert Fulton patents steamboat.

1815       News of the Treaty of Ghent that ended the War of 1812

1904       President Theodore Roosevelt proclaims strict neutrality for the US

1926       Mexican government nationalizes all church properties.

1953       Walt Disney’s film Peter Pan premieres.

1959       Iran turns down Soviet aid in favor of a U.S. proposal for aid.

1966       Vice President Hubert Humphrey begins a tour of Vietnam.

1975       Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to lead the

British Conservative Party.

1990       South African  leader Nelson Mandela released from prison in Paarl,

Born on February 11

1847       Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor.

1898       Leo Szilard, physicist, instrumental in the Manhattan Project.

1907       William J. Levitt, U.S. businessman and community builder.

1908       Phillipe Dunne, screenwriter and director (How Green Was My Valley).

1912        Roy Fuller, poet and novelist.

WELLINGTON: Thousands of people are forced to leave their homes in the Pigeon Valley of South Island in New Zealand after strong winds fan forest fires that have been burning for a week through the area.

The fire has covered around 5,700 acres of land, according to the officials. No casualties have been reported so far.

It has been reported that around 155 firefighters are battling the blaze on the ground and 23 helicopters and 3 fixed-wing planes for aerial support, which is believed to be the largest of its kind in the country’s history.

LONDON: Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, has voluntarily given up his driving license after a crash last month, Buckingham Palace said.

According to Reuters, Philip, 97, escaped without injury on January 17 when the Land Rover he was driving flipped in a collision with a car in eastern England.

In a statement, the Royal Palace said that the Duke of Edinburgh has taken the decision to voluntarily surrender his driving license after careful consideration.

Philip also received a warning from police for driving without a seat belt two days after the crash, according to the report.

Britain has no legal age to stop driving. However, drivers over 70 have to renew their licenses every three years. (Agencies)

CARACAS: Sources have claimed that Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA is asking its joint venture customers to deposit oil sales proceeds in an account recently opened at Russia’s Gazprombank AO, according to Reuters.

Citing an informal document, Reuters has said that PDVSA’s move comes following the United States’ tough, new financial sanctions aimed at blocking Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro’s access to the country’s oil revenue. (Agencies)

QAMISHLI, Syria: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has begun an assault against the Islamic State (IS) enclave in eastern Syria. This has been aimed at wiping out the last vestige of the group’s “caliphate” in the SDF’s area of operations, according to agencies.

US President Donald Trump had on Wednesday said that the U.S.-led coalition operating in support of the SDF had reclaimed almost all territories earlier held by the jihadist group. (Agencies)

Here’s a chronological timetable of events that occurred on this day in history. Find out what happened today in history.

1258                      Mongol leader, Hulagu seizes Baghdad bringing an end to the Abbasid caliphate.

1763                      Treaty of Paris ends French-Indian War.

1799                      Napoleon Bonaparte leaves Cairo, Egypt for Syria, leading 13,000 men.

1840                     Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert.

1904                     Russia and Japan declare war .

1939                     Japanese occupy Hainan Island.

1941                      London (UK) severs diplomatic relations with Romania.

1941                      German planes attack Iceland.

1945                     B-29s hit Tokyo area.

1955                     Bell Aircraft displays a fixed-wing vertical-take-off plane.

1979                     Metropolitan Museum announces first major theft

1986                     The largest Mafia trial with 474 defendants opens in Palermo, Italy.

Born on February 10

1893                     Jimmy Durante, American comedian, film actor.

1894                     Harold MacMillan, British Prime Minister (1957-1963).

1898                     Bertolt Brecht, German poet, dramatist.

1902                     Walter Brattain, inventor of transistor.

1920                     Alex Comfort, English physician, author.

1927                     (Mary Violet) Leontyne Price, opera singer.

Source: History Net

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde in Dubai on Sunday for talks on issues which have held up bailout negotiations, a Pakistani minister said on Saturday.

Pakistan is seeking its 13th bailout since the late 1980s to deal with a current account deficit that threatens to trigger a balance of payments crisis, but talks have been delayed by difficulties in reconciling IMF reform demands with Islamabad’s fears the push is too drastic and could hurt economic growth.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told Reuters Khan will meet IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai.

“This will give us a chance to understand the IMF views and we will be able to give our version to Lagarde,” said Chaudhry, who will accompany Khan to Dubai along with Finance Minister Asad Umar.

Chaudhry said Pakistan wants any agreed bailout package, which would be the country’s second IMF bailout since 2013, to be the nation’s last such economic rescue by the IMF.

Officials had expected talks to conclude in November but they have been delayed as Islamabad harbors concerns that the programme could derail the economy and Khan’s plans for his term in office.

Pakistan has in the meantime sought financial assistance from Middle Eastern allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who have loaned it in excess of $10 billion to ease the pressure on its dwindling foreign currency reserves.

“The problem is not the (IMF) deal, the problem is the condition attached to the deal,” Chaudhry said.

“We don’t want conditions that hurt Pakistan’s growth prospects. We want a fair deal that can actually help Pakistan in the short term, without affecting our long-term economic goals.”

The IMF talks come amid a worsening macroeconomic outlook, with growth expectations slashed for the current fiscal year to about 4 percent from 6 percent previously forecast.

On Saturday, Pakistan also revised its growth figures for the last financial year to 5.2 percent from a previously reported 5.8 percent, after a sharp cut in the figure for large-scale manufacturing, the statistics office said.

When the original estimate was reported in April by the government of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi it was hailed as the strongest growth in 13 years.

Before the revisions to last year’s GDP figures, Pakistan’s deficit to GDP ratio, estimated at 5.8 percent in 2017-18, was expected to hit 6.9 percent this year, according to IMF data.

Reuters