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Agencies
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JAPAN
Takaichi’s popularity slips
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s sky-high poll numbers have slipped, as voters question how she intends to pay for her tax-cut pledge, media surveys released yesterday showed. Her approval rating fell to 67 percent from 75 percent last month, falling “below 70 percent for the first time since she took office last October,” a weekend survey by Nikkei Shimbun said. The dip came as Takaichi faced criticism for abruptly calling a snap election for Sunday next week. Among Takaichi’s campaign pledges was to waive the consumption tax on food for two years, but she has not offered details of how to pay for it. “But 56 percent of respondents to the new Nikkei poll said they did not think a zero tax rate on food would be effective against rising prices,” the daily said. A similar weekend poll by the liberal Mainichi Shimbun also showed Takaichi’s approval rating drop to 57 percent from 67 percent last month. The Mainichi said many people were frustrated over the abrupt election, as it slowed down legislative debates on a new government budget before the Japanese fiscal year ends in March.
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi holds up her party’s election predictions during the Panel Discussion by the Leaders of 7 Parties at the Japan National Press Club (JNPC) in Tokyo on Monday.
Photo: AFP
VENEZUELA
104 political inmates freed
More than 100 political prisoners were freed on Sunday, as detainees are slowly being released under pressure from the US, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Foro Penal said. “At Foro Penal we have verified 104 releases of political prisoners in Venezuela today,” the NGO wrote on social media. Director Alfredo Romero said on X that the group was verifying the identities of those released from jails nationwide. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who took power after then-president Nicolas Maduro was captured by US special forces early this month, has promised to release a “large number” of the hundreds of Maduro opponents languishing in prison.
INDIA
EU leaders feted at parade
EU leaders yesterday joined India’s Republic Day parade as guests of honor, a day before New Delhi and Brussels are expected to seal a long-awaited free trade agreement. Military bands and horse and camel cavalry units paraded through the capital, New Delhi, while fighter jets buzzed overhead and the latest military hardware was put on display. “The occasion inspires us in our collective resolve to build a developed India,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said before the parade. The fanfare also featured Indian air defense systems — including missiles and drones X— that were deployed in the four-day conflict with arch-enemy Pakistan last year. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were both in attendance, before an EU-India summit today, when the two sides are expected to announce a landmark free-trade deal and security partnership.
BRAZIL
Lightning injures 89 at rally
Lightning struck near a rally of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia on Sunday, injuring 89 people, the fire department said. Thousands gathered in the rain in the capital to support Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison last year for leading a failed coup d’etat following his narrow re-election loss. Footage shared online shows crowds with colorful umbrellas and plastic ponchos stunned by a sudden flash of light and rumbling sound. The fire department said it treated 89 people at the scene, including 47 who were taken to hospital. Eleven people “required major medical care,” it added.
