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Sebastian Kurz: Austrian conservative set to become world's youngest leader

Austria's conservative People's Party, led by 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz, is set to win the country's general election, projections suggest.

Mr Kurz is on course to become the world's youngest national leader.

The People's Party was set to win more than 31%. It is so far unclear whether the Social Democrats or the far-right Freedom Party will finish second.

Short of a majority, Mr Kurz's party could seek an alliance with the anti-immigration Freedom Party.

Addressing his supporters, Mr Kurz said: "It is time for change in this country. Today is a strong order for us, to change this country, and I say thank you to you all who made this possible.

"I'm overwhelmed, I am happy, and I look forward to working for Austria."

Who is Sebastian Kurz?

Before the election, Mr Kurz served as Europe's youngest-ever foreign minister, after he was appointed in 2013 aged just 27.

In May 2017 he became the leader of the People's Party. He began his political career in the youth wing of the party, which he chaired before moving on to serve on Vienna's city council.

Nicknamed "Wunderwuzzi" (very roughly translated as wonder hotshot), he has been compared to the young leaders of France and Canada, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau.

Much like Mr Macron, Mr Kurz has created a movement around himself, rebranding the People's Party – which has been in power for more than 30 years – as "The New People's Party".

What were the main issues?

Immigration was the dominant issue in the run-up to the vote, and Mr Kurz moved his party to the right in the wake of Europe's 2015 refugee crisis.

He appealed to conservative and right-wing voters with pledges to shut down migrant routes to Europe, cap benefit payments to refugees, and bar immigrants from receiving benefits until they have lived in Austria for five years.

The rightward shift was seen as a response to the success of the Freedom Party, which narrowly missed out on the presidency in December when Norbert Hofer was defeated by Alexander Van der Bellen, head of the Greens.

The stance proved popular with Austrian voters after a huge influx of undocumented migrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.

The Freedom Party accused Mr Kurz of stealing their policies. Their candidate, Heinz-Christian Strache, has called him an "imposter".

• Parties clash in final TV debate
• Austrian ban on veil comes into force
• Austria's far right choose a flower with an ugly past

What next?

Mr Kurz is on course to win the lion's share of the vote but not a majority. If the forecasts are correct, he will need to form a coalition, most likely with the Freedom Party.

The last coalition between the Social Democrats and the conservatives fell apart this spring – and there may be reluctance to renew it. But an alliance with the populist, far-right Freedom Party could prove controversial among Austria's EU counterparts.

Mr Kurz refused to discuss his plans, saying only that he would talk to other parties. He says he wants to wait for final results.

Republic of Austria

Capital: Vienna

• Population 8.7 million

• Area 83,871 sq km (32,383 sq miles)

• Major language German

• Major religion Christianity

• Life expectancy 80 years (men), 84 years (women)

• Currency euro

UN, World Bank Getty Images

Polls have put the Freedom Party at an all all-time high of 26.9%, suggesting that the European far-right is not dead after emphatic defeats in France and the Netherlands.

The relative success of the Freedom Party follows an electoral breakthrough by the far right in neighbouring Germany last month.

What about the opposition?

The current chancellor, Social Democrat leader Christian Kern, could lose his position after a campaign marred by several scandals, including allegations that his adviser led an online smear campaign against Mr Kurz.

But Mr Kern said on Sunday he had no intention of standing down as leader, despite the party's loss. "I have said I will stay in politics for 10 years and there are nine years to go," he told broadcaster ORF.

After a tumultuous year with internal rifts, the pro-refugee Greens party is among several smaller parties uncertain of reaching the 4% threshold required to enter parliament.

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Source – bbc.com

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20. Set Your Priorities Straight:

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Priorities are extremely important if you want to achieve anything in life. Never compromise on your priorities otherwise you will regret them throughout your life.

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It is not possible that you will do all the good while others will just sit back and do nothing. Learn to appreciate all the good others do.

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Insecurities destroy the peace of everything. Try to stay confident about everything you do or you possess in your life and never feed your insecurities.

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If you want to achieve something in your life, leave behind your comfort zone. Do the things which you thought you will never be able to do.

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In reality, the thing which matters the most is quality, not quantity. You always see what is shown by the world in a larger amount but that should not be your measuring scale of anything in life. Always give preference to the quality.

1. Stay Loyal:

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Loyalty is not very common nowadays. You should always strive to be as much loyal as possible. If you will be loyal, that will lead you to stay truthful and for this, you will always remain thankful to yourself.

Liked This? Read This! 10 Celebrities Who Wish They Had Never Taken Embarrassing Photos

Article By: Born Realist

The post 20 Uncomfortable Things You Have to Remember If You Don’t Want To Regret Your 20’s appeared first on Born Realist.

Source – bornrealist.com

Kyrgyzstan election: Sooronbai Jeenbekov wins historic election

Voters in Kyrgyzstan have elected a new president in a historic election.

Sooronbai Jeenbekov, a former prime minister backed by incumbent Almazbek Atambayev, won outright, confounding predictions of a tight race.

His main rival Omurbek Babanov got just over a third of the vote.

The former Soviet republic, a close ally of Russia, is now on track for its first peaceful power transfer between elected presidents since independence in 1991.

The first two presidents were ousted by riots.

Unlike other Central Asian states, which have been run by authoritarian leaders, Kyrgyzstan is a democracy.

Presidents are restricted to a single six-year term under a constitution that has been in force since 2010.

• A historic vote, but is it fair?
• Kyrgyzstan profile
• President's daughter in breastfeeding row

Election officials said Mr Jeenbekov had secured well over 50% of the vote in Sunday's first round, against about 33% for Mr Babanov, an oil tycoon.

The election has been overshadowed by a row over allegations of interference from neighbouring Kazakhstan.

Current Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev angered the Kazakh authorities by saying Mr Babanov, who made his money there, was their choice for president. He has denied that he was backed by them.

In response Kazakhstan tightened customs checks at the border, leading to long queues.

Source – bbc.com

Airbus boss 'would step down if needed'

Airbus chief executive Tom Enders has said he would be prepared to step down if he was "no longer part of the solution", as the firm deals with ongoing corruption probes.

The aircraft maker is under investigation in the UK and France into its use of middlemen in plane sales.

Mr Enders said he saw no reason to resign, but added he would be ready to do so if needed.

The Airbus board said last week that it had full confidence in Mr Enders.

The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and later its French counterpart opened investigations into Airbus after the firm reported itself in 2016.

In an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt, Mr Enders said: "You can be assured: once I am no longer part of the solution, and I hope I would realise myself when that is, I will draw the consequences [and step down].

"But for now, I don't think we're at this point," he added, according to a pre-released version of the paper's Monday edition.

'Significant fine'

The SFO opened an investigation in August 2016 into allegations of "fraud, bribery and corruption" in the civil aviation business of Airbus.

The firm, which employs more than 130,000 people globally – including about 10,000 in the UK – asked the regulator to look at documentation about its use of overseas agents.

On Friday, Mr Enders said it was "not impossible that the fine will be significant" from the UK and French probes.

Airbus also faces an investigation in Austria over a €2bn (£1.8bn) deal struck more than a decade ago for its Eurofighter jet.

The firm confirmed in April that Mr Enders was a subject of the Austrian inquiry, adding that the allegations were "completely unsubstantiated".

Source – bbc.com

Harvey Weinstein: More women accuse Hollywood producer of rape

Two more women have accused Harvey Weinstein of raping them as the top Hollywood producer finds himself increasingly shunned by his peers.

British actress Lysette Anthony says he attacked her at her London home in the late 1980s while another, unidentified woman says she was raped in 1992.

The organisation behind the Oscars has voted to expel Weinstein and his own brother called him "sick and depraved".

Weinstein, 65, insists sexual relations he had were consensual.

Police in London and New York are investigating various allegations against Weinstein.

More than two dozen women – among them actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan – have made accusations against him including rape and sexual assault.

Weinstein has been a huge figure in the film world, where his productions received more than 300 Oscar nominations and won 81.

• Woody Allen 'sad' for Harvey Weinstein
• Exploring the casting couch culture of LA
• Harvey Weinstein: The accusers' stories
• Women in his own words

'Pathetic, revolting'

Lysette Anthony told The Sunday Times she had reported an attack by Weinstein to the London Metropolitan Police.

The actress, who stars in the British TV soap Hollyoaks, said she had met the producer when she starred in 1982 sci-fi film Krull and the alleged assault had come a few years later.

It was a "pathetic, revolting" attack, she said, that had left her "disgusted and embarrassed".

The Metropolitan Police said it was passed an allegation of sexual assault, without giving details.

Separately an unidentified woman told the Mail On Sunday newspaper she had been raped by Weinstein in 1992 when she was working at his film company offices in West London.

'End of an era'

On Saturday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said its board had "voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority" to expel Weinstein.

Board members include Hollywood figures such as Tom Hanks and Whoopi Goldberg.

The "era of wilful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behaviour and workplace harassment in our industry is over", the Academy said.

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Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter magazine, Bob Weinstein said he had had no idea of "the type of predator" his brother was.

He refused to comment on reports that he and the board of Weinstein Company had been aware of Weinstein's settlements with women during recent contract negotiations, saying only that the board "did not know the extent of my brother's actions".

The New York Police Department is looking into an allegation against Weinstein dating from 2004 and is reviewing whether there are any additional complaints.

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The last time Harvey Weinstein was seen in public, outside his daughter's home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, he told reporters: "Guys, I'm not doing OK but I'm trying. I got to get help. You know what, we all make mistakes."

Weinstein's spokeswoman Sallie Hofmeister said earlier this week: "Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein."

"Mr Weinstein obviously can't speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual," her statement added.

• What it was like to work for Weinstein

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Source – bbc.com

Austrian conservative set to become world's youngest leader

Austria's conservative People's Party (ÖVP), led by 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz, is set to win the country's general election, projections suggest.

The victory would make Mr Kurz the world's youngest national leader.

The People's Party was set to win 31.5%, followed by the Social Democrats with 27.1% and the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) with 25.9%.

Short of a majority, Mr Kurz's party could seek an alliance with the FPÖ, which campaigned against immigration.

Who is Sebastian Kurz?

Before the election, Mr Kurz served as Europe's youngest-ever foreign minister, after he was appointed in 2013 aged just 27.

In May 2017 he became the leader of the ÖVP. He began his political career in the youth wing of the party, which he chaired before moving on to serve on Vienna's city council.

Nicknamed "Wunderwuzzi" (roughly translated – someone who can walk on water), he has been compared to the young leaders of France and Canada, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau.

Much like Mr Macron, Mr Kurz has created a movement around himself, rebranding the ÖVP – which has been in power for more than 30 years – as "The New People's Party".

What were the main issues?

Immigration was the dominant issue in the run-up to the vote, and Mr Kurz moved his party to the right in the wake of Europe's 2015 refugee crisis.

He appealed to conservative and right-wing voters with pledges to shut down migrant routes to Europe, cap benefit payments to refugees, and bar immigrants from receiving benefits until they have lived in Austria for five years.

The rightward shift was seen as a response to the success of the FPÖ, which narrowly missed out on the presidency in December when Norbert Hofer was defeated by Alexander Van der Bellen, head of the Greens.

The stance proved popular with Austrian voters after a huge influx of undocumented migrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.

The FPÖ accused Mr Kurz of stealing their policies. Their candidate, Heinz-Christian Strache, has called him an "imposter".

• Parties clash in final TV debate
• Austrian ban on veil comes into force
• Austria's far right choose a flower with an ugly past

What next?

Mr Kurz looks to be on course to win the lion's share of the vote but not a majority. If the polls are correct, he will need to form a coalition, most likely with the FPÖ.

The last coalition between the Social Democrats and the conservatives fell apart this spring – and there may be reluctance to renew it. But an alliance with the populist, far-right FPÖ could prove controversial among Austria's EU counterparts.

Republic of Austria

Capital: Vienna

• Population 8.7 million

• Area 83,871 sq km (32,383 sq miles)

• Major language German

• Major religion Christianity

• Life expectancy 80 years (men), 84 years (women)

• Currency euro

UN, World Bank Getty Images

Polls currently put the FPÖ at an all all-time high of 26.9%, suggesting that the European far-right is not dead after emphatic defeats in France and the Netherlands.

The relative success of the FPÖ follows an electoral breakthrough by the far right in neighbouring Germany last month.

What about the opposition?

The current chancellor, Social Democrat leader Christian Kern, looks certain to lose his position after a campaign marred by several scandals, including allegations that his adviser led an online smear campaign against Mr Kurz.

Mr Kern said on Sunday he had no intention of standing down as leader, despite the party's loss. "I have said I will stay in politics for 10 years and there are nine years to go," he told broadcaster OBF.

After a tumultuous year with internal rifts, the pro-refugee Greens party is among several smaller parties uncertain of reaching the 4% threshold required to enter parliament.

Source – bbc.com

Somalia: At least 230 dead in Mogadishu blasts

A massive bomb attack in a busy area of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday is now known to have killed at least 230 people, police say.

Hundreds more were wounded when a lorry packed with explosives detonated near the entrance of a hotel.

It is the deadliest terror attack in Somalia since the Islamist al-Shabab group launched its insurgency in 2007.

It is not clear who staged the bombing, but Mogadishu is a target for al-Shabab militants battling the government.

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President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed has declared three days of mourning for the victims of the blast.

Local media reported families gathering in the area on Sunday morning, looking for missing loved ones amid the ruins of one of the largest bombs ever to strike the city.

Police official Ibrahim Mohamed told AFP news agency the death toll is likely to rise. "There are more than 300 wounded, some of them seriously," he said.

Officials also confirmed that two people were killed in a second bomb attack in the Madina district of the city.

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Photos from the scene. In our 10 year experience as the first responder in #Mogadishu, we haven't seen anything like this. pic.twitter.com/cNxeDD86u6

— Aamin Ambulance (@AaminAmbulance) October 15, 2017

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The director of @AaminAmbulance services said they had carried an unknown number of dead and injured. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/1UM9bKvu0p

— Somalia Live Update (@HassanIstiila) October 14, 2017

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A BBC Somali reporter at the scene of the main blast said the Safari Hotel had collapsed, with people trapped under the rubble.

An eyewitness, local resident Muhidin Ali, told news agency AFP it was "the biggest blast I have ever witnessed, it destroyed the whole area".

Meanwhile, the director of the Madina Hospital, Mohamed Yusuf Hassan, said he was shocked by the scale of the attack.

"Seventy two wounded people were admitted to the hospital and 25 of them are in very serious condition. Others lost their hands and legs at the scene.

"What happened yesterday was incredible, I have never seen such a thing before, and countless people lost their lives. Corpses were burned beyond recognition."

Source – bbc.com

Iraq conflict: Kurdish leaders refuse to reject referendum result

Kurdish leaders have refused Iraqi government demands to reject the result of an independence referendum ahead of talks on the future of Iraqi Kurdistan.

They met Iraqi President Fuad Masum on Sunday in a bid to reduce spiralling tensions following the vote, which the central government called illegal.

Government-backed Shia troops and Kurdish fighters are currently facing off near the disputed city of Kirkuk.

However, Kurdish leaders say they want "to reach peaceful resolution".

They reject the "military option" but are "ready to defend" the city against outside forces, said Hemin Hawrami, an aide for Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani.

Iraq's central government had demanded they reject the result of the referendum, held in three autonomous provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan, but also in nearby Kurdish-held areas including Kirkuk, before beginning talks.

The government also denied setting a deadline for Kurdish fighters to withdraw from key sites in Kirkuk, which has now passed.

The Iraqi parliament asked Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to send troops to Kirkuk and other disputed areas after the official referendum results – which overwhelmingly backed independence – were proclaimed.

The province, which bears the same name as the city, is thought to have a Kurdish majority, but Kirkuk has large Arab and Turkmen populations.

On Saturday, there was a brief outbreak of fighting near Kirkuk, with each side blaming the other, reports the BBC's Orla Guerin in Iraq.

• Iraqi Kurds decisively back independence
• Independence: What is at stake?

In an attempt to stop tensions spiralling further still, President Masum, himself a Kurd, met with leaders from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Dukan on Sunday.

After it finished, Mr Hawrami sent a series of tweets, one of which said: "Good news on reiterating our national unity in the face of all pressure."

However, he also said Kurdish political leaders were not prepared to accept any preconditions before sitting down to negotiate with Baghdad.

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There will not be any unilateral negotiation with Baghdad by either PUK or KDP. If there be any negotiation with Baghdad it will be a joint delegation representing all Kurdistan parties. KDP/PUK reject any demands to nullify the referendum results. Refuse preconditions

— Hemin Hawrami (@heminhawrami) October 15, 2017

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The oil-rich Kirkuk province is claimed by both the Kurds and Baghdad, though the two sides were recently united in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

Kurdish Peshmerga forces took control of much of the province in 2014, when IS militants swept across northern Iraq and the army collapsed.

Source – bbc.com

Catalonia: No sign of movement as Spanish deadline looms

The leader of Spain's Catalonia region has attended a commemoration less than 24 hours before a Spanish deadline to give his final say on independence.

Carles Puigdemont and other senior politicians paid tribute in Barcelona to a Catalan leader who was executed under Franco in the Civil War.

He said his government was "against aggression and against imposed rule".

Spain has given him until 10:00 (08:00 GMT) on Monday to clarify whether he has or has not declared independence.

If he confirms that he has, he will have until Thursday to withdraw the declaration or Catalonia, which has substantial autonomy, faces the prospect of direct rule from Madrid.

• Catalan crisis in 300 words
• The man who wants to break up Spain
• Would Catalonia be a viable country?

On Sunday, Mr Puigdemont and others including the Mayoress of Barcelona, Ada Colau, visited the grave of Lluis Companys near Montjuïc Castle on the 77th anniversary of his execution by firing squad.

The spokesman for Spain's ruling Popular Party, Pablo Casada, warned this week that Mr Puigdemont might end up like Companys, clarifying later that he had only meant he might end up in prison.

Who was Lluis Companys?

Born in 1882, he studied law and became involved in left-wing politics, rising to become Catalonia's president in 1933, just a year after Spain had restored the region's autonomy after a gap of more than two centuries.

When he proclaimed a "Catalan state" the following year, he was arrested and jailed, but walked free in 1936 after a left-wing government was elected in Spain.

During the ensuing Spanish Civil War (1936-39), the Catalan president struggled to maintain unity among various republican factions in Barcelona.

As Franco's forces swept into Catalonia in 1939, he crossed into France but was arrested there after the Nazi invasion and handed over to Franco by the Germans.

Convicted of "military rebellion", he was executed by firing squad in Barcelona's Montjuïc Castle on 15 October 1940.

"We will be committed towards peace, against violence, against aggression and against imposed rule," Mr Puigdemont said.

On Tuesday, he signed a declaration of Catalonia as an independent republic but simultaneously announced he was suspending its implementation to allow for talks.

Since then, there have been no negotiations with the Spanish government, which regards a self-determination referendum held in Catalonia on 1 October as illegal.

The European Union has made clear that should Catalonia split from Spain, the region will cease to be part of the EU.

Madrid is, for the first time, invoking Article 155 of the constitution allowing it to suspend a region's autonomy and impose direct rule.

Source – bbc.com

Somalia: At least 137 dead in Mogadishu blasts

A massive bomb attack in a busy area of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday is now known to have killed at least 137 people, police say.

Hundreds more were wounded when a lorry packed with explosives detonated near the entrance of a hotel.

It is one of the deadliest attacks in Somalia since the Islamist al-Shabab group launched its insurgency in 2007.

It is not clear who staged the bombing, but Mogadishu is a target for al-Shabab militants battling the government.

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President Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" Mohamed has declared three days of mourning for the victims of the blast.

Local media reported families gathering in the area on Sunday morning, looking for missing loved ones amid the ruins of one of the largest bombs ever to strike the city.

Police official Ibrahim Mohamed told AFP news agency the death toll is likely to rise. "There are more than 300 wounded, some of them seriously," he said.

Officials also confirmed that two people were killed in a second bomb attack in the Madina district of the city.

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Huge blast errupted near safari hotel @HassanIstiila @HussienM12 pic.twitter.com/PtIcUqgpuO

— Farah Bashir (@FarahBashirs) October 14, 2017

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Skip Twitter post by @HassanIstiila

The director of @AaminAmbulance services said they had carried an unknown number of dead and injured. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/1UM9bKvu0p

— Somalia Live Update (@HassanIstiila) October 14, 2017

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End of Twitter post by @HassanIstiila

A BBC Somali reporter at the scene of the main blast said the Safari Hotel had collapsed, with people trapped under the rubble.

An eyewitness, local resident Muhidin Ali, told news agency AFP it was "the biggest blast I have ever witnessed, it destroyed the whole area".

Meanwhile, the director of the Madina Hospital, Mohamed Yusuf Hassan, said he was shocked by the scale of the attack.

"Seventy two wounded people were admitted to the hospital and 25 of them are in very serious condition. Others lost their hands and legs at the scene.

"What happened yesterday was incredible, I have never seen such a thing before, and countless people lost their lives. Corpses were burned beyond recognition."

Source – bbc.com