Welcome back to our continued live coverage of the Russian election, as predictably Vladimir Putin has claimed a landslide victory after a three-day vote widely condemned by Western nations as a “pseudo-election”. Late on Sunday, the Kremlin announced that the Russian leader had cemented another six-year term after securing 87% of the vote. However, no credible opposition candidate was allowed...
WORLD
Israel-Hamas war: Netanyahu approves plans for Rafah military operation
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved plans for a ground offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, his office said in a statement today. The Israeli military is “preparing for the operational side and for the evacuation of the population,” it said. More than 1 million people are sheltering in the city, many of them displaced after escaping Israeli military offensives in...
US House passes bill to ban TikTok amid national security concerns
The United States House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill that could eventually ban the social media platform TikTok in the country, in its latest salvo against both China and big tech. The bill received resoundingly bipartisan support, with vote of 352 to 65 in favour. It now heads to the 100-member Senate, where its prospects are less clear. For his...
Romanian court approves UK’S request to extradite Andrew Tate
A Romanian court has approved a request from Britain to extradite internet personality Andrew Tate but postponed doing so until Romanian trial proceedings finish. The court said on Tuesday it had also ruled that Tate and his brother Tristan should be released from police custody immediately. The Tates had been detained for 24 hours pending a ruling on the British...
Biden Books Place In US Presidential Elections Rival Trump Almost There
US president Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald trump on Wednesday secured nominations as presidential candidates for the elections later this year, setting up a rematch between the rivals after four years. Both Mr Biden and Mr Trump, who had already disposed of their primary challengers, secured enough delegates in the states of Mississippi, Washington and Georgia to push them...
UK Targets Khalistan Funding, Freezes Hundreds of Accounts
In a significant move targeting anti-India extremism, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has reportedly formed a special task force with the aim of dismantling the funding network of Khalistan supporters. According to a report by DailySamvad, this has resulted in the freezing of over 300 bank accounts and the seizure of approximately Rs 100 crore (roughly £10 million) linked to these...
Israel abused Gaza war detainees, UN report alleges
The draft document compiled by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), the main UN agency supporting Palestinians, includes detailed testimony from detainees who describe an extensive range of ill-treatment. They include being stripped and beaten, being forced into cages and attacked by dogs, forced into stress positions for extended periods, and subjected to “blunt force trauma” including the...
Biden slams Trump; says democracy and freedom under threat in US and world
Seeking a second term, US President Joe Biden has launched a vitriolic attack against his rival and predecessor Donald Trump and accused him of threatening democracy within the country and globally, kneeling before Russia and supporting “resentment, revenge and retribution”. Without taking the name of Trump, Biden in his final State of the Union Address to the joint session of...
Sweden Becomes NATO’s 32nd Member After Two-Year Wait
Sweden on Thursday became the 32nd member of NATO in the shadow of the war in Ukraine, ending two centuries of official non-alignment and capping two years of torturous diplomacy. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Thursday hailed his country’s entry into NATO as a “victory for freedom,” as it turned the page on two centuries of non-alignment following Russia’s...
Israel-Hamas war: Biden is hopeful a cease-fire is coming
The U.S. State Department is in touch with three Americans who were detained by Israel last month, agency spokesman Matthew Miller said. Last week, embassy officials met with Samaher Esmail, a U.S. citizen being held in the occupied West Bank, over allegations of “incitement on social media.” Officials also met today with Borak Alagha, 18, and Hashem Alagha, 20, two brothers born in the Chicago...
Indian Dies, 2 Others Injured As Hezbollah Strikes Orchard In Israel
In the first Indian casualty in the Israel-Hamas war, a man from Kerala died in a missile strike in north Israel’s Margaliot yesterday. The Israel embassy in India said in a statement this morning that two others were injured in the “cowardly” attack by Hezbollah. The three were cultivating an orchard at the time of the missile strike, the statement...
France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion in constitution
French lawmakers have approved a bill that will enshrine the right to an abortion inthe Constitution of France in a joint session of Parliament at the Palace of Versailles.The bill was approved in an overwhelming 780-72 vote on Monday, and nearly theentire joint session stood in a long-standing ovation. There were celebratory scenes across the country as women’s rights activists...