Modi addresses rally in Karnataka, Cardinal Pell faces trial, and other news in pictures

"A BJP storm is sweeping poll-bound Karnataka," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a rally in Chamaraja Nagar ahead of the Karnataka election.

His visit gains significance with the elections expected to be a cliffhanger and various pre-poll surveys predicting a fractured mandate. Since February-end, several central leaders of the BJP have been visiting the State. It was during this period that AICC president Rahul Gandhi held roadshows and rallies in different regions of the State.

Vatican treasurer faces historical sexual offences trial

Australian Cardinal George Pell leaves the Melbourne Magistrate Court in Melbourne on May 1, 2018.   | Photo Credit: AP

 

Australian Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Vatican official to be charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis, must stand trial on charges that he sexually abused multiple victims decades ago, a magistrate ruled on Tuesday. Magistrate Belinda Wallington dismissed some of the charges that had been heard in the four-week preliminary hearing in Melbourne but decided the prosecution’s case against was strong enough to warrant a trial by jury.

Dominican Republic forges tie with China, breaks with Taiwan

Dominican Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas (left) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi prepare to shake hands after they signed the joint communique at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Tuesday.   | Photo Credit: AP

The Dominican Republic’s government announced on Monday that it is establishing diplomatic relations with China and breaking diplomatic ties with Taiwan and will later recognize Taiwan as an “inalienable part of Chinese territory.” The decision was the latest setback for Taiwan in the Caribbean and Latin America. Panama dropped its long-time ties with Taiwan last year and established relations with China, which considers Taiwan to be Chinese territory. The island is recognised as a sovereign nation by only 19 mainly small, developing countries, 10 of them in this region.

Korean Air heiress apologises before police questioning

Former Korean Air senior vice-president Cho Hyun-min (centre) speaks as she arrives at a police station in Seoul, South Korea on May 1, 2018.   | Photo Credit: AP

A Korean Air heiress apologised on Tuesday for causing trouble in her first public appearance as a suspect in an abuse of power case after she allegedly threw a drink at someone during a business meeting. The police questioning of Cho Hyun-min, a former senior president at Korean Air, comes amid mounting pressure for elite families to scale back their influence over the companies founded by their relatives decades ago.

Workers in Philippines rally to mark May Day

Protesters, mostly workers march towards the Presidential Palace during the global commemoration of Labour Day on May 1, 2018 in Manila, Philippines.   | Photo Credit: AP

Thousands of workers and activists marched to the Philippines’ presidential palace on Tuesday to demand the government address labour issues, as workers in the Southeast Asian country and elsewhere marked May Day. In Manila, about 5,000 people from various groups held a rally near Malacanang Palace to protest the failure of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to fulfil a major campaign promise to end contractualisation, the widespread practice of short-term employment.