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bjp: 2 weeks after quitting as governor, Baby Rani Maurya appointed BJP national vice-president ] TOI AGRA: Two weeks after stepping down as Uttarakhand governor, Baby Rani Maurya was appointed national vice-president by the BJP along with Dilip Ghosh , who was dropped as the party’s West Bengal chief, on Monday.“My main objective is to fulfil the responsibility given to me by my organisation. I have been performing my duty with full dedication, whether as a member of the national commission, as mayor or as governor. I will continue to do so,” Maurya toldafter the announcement. “I am happy the party has given me such an important position.”With no political lineage, Maurya, 65, worked her way up the party ranks over decades. She was the first Dalit woman to become Agra’s mayor in 1995 as a BJP candidate. After holding the post for five years, she served on the National Commission for Women from 2002 to 2005 before being appointed the governor of Uttarakhand in 2018.Within the party, she had been appointed an office-bearer for the SC wing which Ram Nath Kovind was heading at the time — in 1997. She had also contested the 2007 UP assembly election from Etmadpur as a BJP candidate but lost by a narrow margin to BSP’s Narayan Singh. She is likely to be the party’s Dalit face for the UP assembly election next year.With the two appointments on Monday, BJP now has 13 national vice-presidents. ...

China’s Xi warns of ‘grim’ situation with Taiwan ] China’s President Xi Jinping (File image) Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that relations between Beijing and Taipei were “grim” on Sunday, urging the island’s main opposition party to help seek “unification of the country.” China views self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and vows to retake it one day, by force if necessary. Xi has become the most bellicose leader since Mao Zedong, describing the seizure of the island as “inevitable.” ...

‘VHP Threatening To Demolish Churches in MP,’ Bishop Appeals to President To Intervene ] New Delhi: Seeking president Ramnath Kovind’s urgent intervention to ensure the safety and security of Christians in Madhya Pradesh, a bishop in an appeal said that the ongoing “anti-Christian violence” in the state should be stopped immediately. The letter is also addressed to Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Governor Mangubhai C. Patel. ...

Biden’s pick for ambassador to Canada says U.S. waiting for Trudeau’s updated China policy ] Cohen added that it’s key for the U.S. and Canada to improve their collaboration and coordination in taking on the “existential threat that is China.” During the hearing, the former telecom executive and Democratic fundraiser also offered a glimpse at his thinking on a number of other key U.S.-Canada issues. They included Ottawa’s defense spending, bilateral coordination on international sanctions and damage to the relationship inflicted by the Trump administration. ...

Biden’s pick for ambassador to Canada says U.S. waiting for Trudeau’s updated China policy ] Cohen added that it’s key for the U.S. and Canada to improve their collaboration and coordination in taking on the “existential threat that is China.” During the hearing, the former telecom executive and Democratic fundraiser also offered a glimpse at his thinking on a number of other key U.S.-Canada issues. They included Ottawa’s defense spending, bilateral coordination on international sanctions and damage to the relationship inflicted by the Trump administration. ...