 "FirstUp: Canada heads to the polls and other big headlines of the day")
Today, April 28, is expected to be an eventful day.
Canadians head to the polls today for federal elections amid US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable global tariff policies and his suggestion that Canada should become the 51st US state.
Germany’s chancellor-designate, Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democrats (CDU) will hold a small party conference to make a decision on the coalition agreement.
The results of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections will be announced today.
A group of men known as the “grandpa robbers”, accused of stealing millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery from Kim Kardashian, are set to go on trial today.
After several delays, the first 27 satellites of Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet constellation are due to launch.
Today also marks 80 years since the death of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was shot alongside his mistress.
Let’s take a look at these in detail:
Canada heads to polls
Canadians will head to the polls today for a federal election that follows several months of uncertainty, influenced by Trump’s unpredictable global tariff policies and his calls for Canada to become the 51st state.
Mark Carney , Canada’s Prime Minister, called for the April 28 election in March, shortly after replacing former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Voters will choose their local representative to the House of Commons, but the ballot will not include a direct vote for Prime Minister.
All ballots are counted by hand by federal election officials, who are supervised by witnesses, typically campaign or party representatives. The counting process can vary depending on how votes are cast.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsElections Canada has said that it expects to count the “vast majority” of ballots on election night. However, only preliminary results will be available that evening.
Vote totals will be double-checked in the following days, with final, official results typically being available about six months after the election day.
Merz’s party to approve new German coalition government
Friedrich Merz , Germany’s chancellor-designate and leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), will hold a small party conference today to decide on the coalition agreement.
Once that is finalised, elections for the Chancellor could take place as early as the following week.
Merz’s Union bloc emerged as the largest party following Germany’s election on February 23. Merz has since turned to the Social Democrats, Scholz’s centre-left party, to form a coalition with a parliamentary majority.
The new leader is expected to assume office around May 6, after Germany’s parliament approves the new administration.
JNU Students’ Union Polls results
The results of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) elections will be announced today.
Voting for the JNUSU elections took place on Friday. This year, 7,906 students were eligible to vote.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) put forward a complete panel, with Shikha Swaraj running for president and Nittu Goutham for vice-president.
Meanwhile, the All India Students Association (AISA)-Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF) alliance nominated Nitish Kumar for president and Manisha for vice-president.
The SFI-BAPSA-AISF-PSA bloc selected Choudhary Tayyaba Ahmed for president and Santosh Kumar for vice-president.
‘Grandpa robbers’ face trial over Kim Kardashian jewellery heist
In October 2016, Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint, with jewellery worth millions of dollars taken during the dramatic heist in Paris.
It was the largest robbery of an individual in France in over 20 years and made headlines worldwide.
The group of men, referred to as the “grandpa robbers,” are among ten people going on trial today for the theft of millions of dollars worth of jewellery.
The trial will involve over 2,000 documents, and four civil parties are part of the case.
The suspects, wearing ski masks, tied Kardashian up in the bedroom of the luxury hotel suite before fleeing with a $4 million engagement ring given to her by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), along with other jewels.
The launch of Amazon’s Kuiper 1 internet satellites
After several delays, Amazon’s first 27 satellites for the Kuiper internet project are set to launch today aboard an Atlas V rocket.
This mission, named Kuiper 1, is the first of 83 planned launches for Amazon’s broadband constellation.
“Project Kuiper will deliver high-speed, low-latency internet to virtually any location on the planet, and we expect to begin delivering service to customers later this year,” Amazon said in a press release.
While the Kuiper 1 mission will use the powerful Atlas V rocket, Amazon will also launch future batches aboard Arianespace’s Ariane 6, ULA’s new Vulcan Centaur, and Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets.
80th anniversary of Italian dictator Mussolini’s execution
Today marks 80 years since the execution of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini , who was shot along with his mistress by Italian partisans after they were captured while trying to flee to Switzerland.
The 61-year-old former dictator, once supported by Germany as the head of a puppet government in northern Italy during the German occupation towards the end of World War II, sought to escape after his fall from power.
Fearing capture by the British or Americans, and aware that the communist partisans would treat him severely, he decided to flee to a neutral country.
However, upon reaching the Swiss border, Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, discovered that the border guards had sided with the partisans.
They were soon captured and shot. Their bodies were later transported to Milan, where they were hung upside down for public display.
With inputs from agencies
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