MOSCOW: Russia said Monday it plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons amid rising tensions following comments by senior Western officials about the possibility of deeper involvement in the war in Ukraine. The announcement came on the eve of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inauguration to a fifth term in office and in a week when Moscow on Thursday will celebrate Victory Day, its most important secular holiday, marking its defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Brittney Griner continues her efforts to settle into a normal routine following her release from a Russian prison 17 months ago. Life isnt what it once was for the perennial WNBA All-Star. It may never be. The 6-foot-8 center looks different and has different priorities. Gone are her familiar dreadlocks that couldnt be maintained during her incarceration. She regularly sees a therapist to help her cope after being imprisoned for 10 months. And since her release, Griner has been an advocate for t

CHANDIGARH: A 22-year-old MTech student was allegedly stabbed to death in Australia during a fight between some Indian students, the victim's uncle said on Monday. He said that one more student was injured in the incident, which took place on Saturday around 9 pm local time in Melbourne. According to Yashvir, the victim's uncle, Navjeet Sandhu was fatally attacked with a knife by another student when he tried to intervene in a dispute between a few Indian students over some rent issue. Navjeet's

N'DJAMENA, CHAD: Chadians began voting for a president on Monday in an election purportedly aimed at ending military rule but dismissed by opponents of junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby as a fix following violent repression. Voters will choose whether to extend decades of Deby family rule in one of the world's poorest countries, a crucial territory in the fight against jihadism across the Sahel desert region. They have the chance to opt instead for Deby's own prime minister, Succes Masra, denounc

NEW YORK: Prosecutors in Donald Trump's hush money trial are moving deeper into his orbit following an inside-the-room account about the former president's reaction to a politically damaging recording that surfaced in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign. Hope Hicks, a former White House official and for years a top aide, is by far the closest Trump associate to have taken the witness stand in the Manhattan trial. Her testimony Friday was designed to give jurors an insider's view of a chaotic an

PORT OF SPAIN: The T20 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the USA and West Indies, has received a terror threat, Trinidad's Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has revealed but asserted that extra effort in national security preparations and response readiness will be be put in to neutralise the danger. The tournament -- featuring 20 teams, including India -- is due to start on June 1. As of now, the threat, according to media reports, is specific to the West Indies, which aside from some preliminary matc

JERUSALEM, UNDEFINED: The Israeli army Monday called on Gazans living in eastern Rafah to head to an expanded humanitarian area in the Palestinian territory, ahead of an expected military operation in the southern Gaza city. IDF (military) encourages the residents of eastern Rafah to advance towards expanded humanitarian area, the military said in a statement. The prospect of an invasion in Rafah has triggered alarm from aid groups and world leaders. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Frida

RIO DE JANEIRO: Massive floods in Brazils southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday. At least 155 people were injured, while damage from the rains forced more than 88,000 people from their homes. Approximately 16,000 took refuge in schools, gymnasiums and other temporary shelters. The floods left a wake of devastation, including landslides, washed-out roads and collapsed bridges a

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected international pressure to halt the war in Gaza in a fiery speech marking the countrys annual Holocaust memorial day, declaring: If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. The message, delivered in a setting that typically avoids politics, was aimed at the growing chorus of world leaders who have criticized the heavy toll caused by Israels military offensive against Hamas militants and have urged the sides t

BEIRUT: Official media in Lebanon said an Israeli strike Sunday on a southern village killed four family members, with Hezbollah announcing retaliatory attacks, in the latest cross-border violence since the Gaza war erupted. Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group have exchanged regular cross-border fire since Palestinian militant group Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel sparked war in the Gaza Strip. Fighting has intensified in recent weeks, with Hamas ally Hezbo

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: A Hamas official told AFP that the group's negotiators in Cairo were leaving for Doha Sunday after talks ended in the Egyptian capital, part of mediation efforts towards a truce in Gaza. The meeting with the Egyptian intelligence minister has ended and the Hamas delegation is leaving for Doha for further consultations, said the official, who is close to the negotiations, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to publicly discuss the talks. In a separate statement,

KARACHI: Four suspected terrorists were gunned down by security forces after they fired on a police vehicle on Saturday night on the Quetta-Sibi road in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Balochistan said four terrorists were hunted down and killed after they opened fire on the police vehicle. A senior CTD official said that in the late hours of Saturday, four terrorists riding two motorbikes attacked a police vehicle patrolling in the Shalkot area

JERUSALEM: Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza on Sunday after Hamas militants attacked it, reportedly wounding several Israelis, while the defense minister warned of a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza. Both struck blows to ongoing cease-fire efforts in Cairo mediated by Egypt and Qatar after reported signs of progress. Israel hasn't sent a delegation, unlike Hamas, and Defense Minister

DOHA: Qatar-based network Al Jazeera on Sunday condemned as criminal a move by the Israeli government to ban the broadcaster from operating over its coverage of the Gaza war. We condemn and denounce this criminal act by Israel that violates the human right to access information, Al Jazeera said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, in Arabic. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday his government had decided unanimously to close the channel. Al Jazeera has been the focus of mon

DOHA: Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday accused Israel's prime minister of sabotaging efforts by mediators involved in ongoing talks aimed at a truce and hostage exchange in Gaza. Qatar-based Haniyeh said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to invent constant justifications for the continuation of aggression, expanding the circle of conflict, and sabotaging efforts made through various mediators and parties. Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators met a Hamas delegation in Cairo on S

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded its wettest April since 1961, with more than double the usual rainfall for the month, the national weather center said. The country experienced days of extreme weather in April that killed scores of people and destroyed property and farmland. Experts said Pakistan witnessed heavier rains because of climate change. Last month's rainfall for Pakistan was a 164% increase from the usual level for April, according to a report published Friday by Pakistan's national we

WASHINGTON: A driver died after a vehicle crashed into an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, and the incident late Saturday was being investigated as a traffic crash, police said. President Joe Biden was spending the weekend in Delaware, and the Secret Service said there was no threat to the White House. The male driver, who was not immediately identified, was found dead in the vehicle following the crash shortly before 10:30 p.m., according to a Secret Service statement. The Metro

TOKYO: Juro Kara, who helped shape Japans postwar avant-garde theater, defiantly yet playfully transforming the essence of Kabuki aesthetics into modern storytelling, has died. He was 84. The playwright, director and troupe leader died late Saturday from a blood clot in the brain after he collapsed at home and was rushed to a Tokyo hospital on May 1, his theater group Karagumi said in a statement on Sunday. Kara, whose real name was Yoshihide Otsuru, rose to stardom in the so-called Japanese und

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that his government has voted unanimously to shutter the offices of the Qatar-owned broadcaster Al Jazeera in Israel. Netanyahu announced the decision on X, formerly Twitter. Details on when it would go into effect or whether it was permanent or temporary were not immediately clear. : . @shlomo_karhi Benjamin Netanyahu - (@netanyahu) May 5, 2024 The decision escalated Israels long-running feud against Al Jazeera . I

PANAMA CITY: Panamanians head to the polls Sunday to vote in an election that has been consumed by unfolding drama surrounding the countrys ex-president, despite not even being on the ballot. Voters in the normally sleepy Central American nation will weigh promises of economic prosperity and migratory crackdowns with a corruption scandal. Panamas election will be one of the most complex in its modern history. The vote is marked by increased political fragmentation and social discontent under out

NEW YORK: Theyre hallmarks of American history: protests, rallies, sit-ins, marches, disruptions. They date from the early days of what would become the United States to the sights and sounds echoing across the landscapes of the nations colleges and universities during this activist spring. And just as much a part of that American history? Those same events being met with irritation, condemnation, anger, calls to desist, and at times the use of law enforcement and aggressive tactics to make that

MELBOURNE: Western Australian police shot and killed a adicalised 16-year-old boy with a knife who had stabbed a man in a Perth car park, police and the state premier said Sunday. The teenager ushed at police who responded by shooting him twice with Tasers before firing a single fatal shot, they said. There are indications he had been radicalised online. But I want to reassure the community at this stage it appears he acted solely and alone, PremierRoger Cook said. Police received a call late

WASHINGTON: A top UN official said Friday that hard-hit northern Gaza was now in full-blown famine after more than six months of war between Israel and Hamas and severe Israeli restrictions on food deliveries to the Palestinian territory. Cindy McCain, the American director of the UN World Food Program, became the most prominent international official so far to declare that trapped civilians in the most cut-off part of Gaza had gone over the brink into famine. It's horror, McCain told NBC's Meet

TEL AVIV, Israel: A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported noticeable progress in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war. Pressure has been mounting to reach a deal Gazas humanitarian crisis is dramatically escalating while Israel insists it will launch an offensive into Rafah, the territorys southernmost city. The stakes are high to find a halt to the

BEIJING: A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the countrys mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people. Wang Xiangnan was driving Wednesday along the highway in Guangdong province, a vital economic hub in southern China. At around 2 a.m., Wang saw several vehicles moving in the opposite direction of the four-lane highway and a fellow driv

A man wades through an area flooded by heavy rains, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Heavy rains in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul killed 39 people, with another 68 still missing, the state civil defense agency said Friday, asrecord-breaking floodsdevastated cities and forced thousands to leave their homes. It was the fourth such environmental disaster in a year, following floods in July, September and November 2023 that killed 75 people in total. The flooding

Glitter and rhinestones or pro-Palestinian demonstrations and slogans? The 2024 Eurovision Song Contest opens in the southern Swedish city of Malmo on Tuesday overshadowed by the war in Gaza. Looming over the festivities is Israel's participation in the almost 70-year-old contest, which this year brings together 37 countries, concluding with the final on May 11. Malmo President Anders Puschel told AFP that he will be taking part in a demonstration on May 9, the same day Israel will be competing

The United Nations food agency warned Sudans warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they dont allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region. Leni Kinzli, the World Food Programs regional spokesperson, said at least 1.7 million people in Darfur were experiencing emergency levels of hunger in December, and the number is expected to be much higher today. Our calls for humanitarian access to conflict hotspots i

OTTAWA/NEW YORK: Canadian authorities, who arrested three Indian nationals in connection with the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, said their investigation has not concluded and others played a role in the homicide. Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karanpreet Singh, 28, all Indian nationals, residing in Edmonton have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The three are believed by investigators to be members of an alleged hi

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: A top Hamas official accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of trying to derail a proposed Gaza truce and hostage release deal with his threats to keep fighting the Palestinian militant group. Netanyahu was the obstructionist of all previous rounds of dialogue... and it is clear that he still is, senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP by telephone. Foreign mediators have waited for a Hamas response to a proposal to halt the fighting for 40 days

The United Nations humanitarian aid agency says hundreds of thousands of people would be at imminent risk of death if Israel carries out a military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The city has become critical for humanitarian aid and is highly concentrated with displaced Palestinians. Leaders internationally have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be cautious about any incursion into Rafah , where seven people mostly children were killed overnight in an Israeli airs

Dror Or, a 49-year-old held captive in Gaza, has died, the Hostages Families Forum said Friday. Or marks the 38th hostage killed, the forum said. He was one of about 250 peopleabducted when Hamas attackedsouthern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel says militantsstill hold around 100 hostagesand the remains of more than 30 others. Dozens of people demonstrated Thursday night outside Israels military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release the hos

India ranks 159th in the 2024 world Press Freedom Index published annually by Reporters Without Borders ( RSF). Pakistan is ranked 152 while Sri Lanka 150. India's ranking was 161 out of 180 countries last year. The index ranks 180 countries on the ability of journalists to work and report freely and independently. In the Asia-Pacific region the worlds second most difficult region for practising journalism five countries are among the worlds ten most dangerous countries for media personnel: My

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden has called Japan and India xenophobic countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the US on immigration. The remarks, at a campaign fundraising event Wednesday evening, came just three weeks after the White House hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a lavish official visit, during which the two leaders celebrated what Biden c

TORONTO: Indian couple and their three-month-old grandchild were among four persons killed in a fiery multi-vehicle collision in Canada's Ontario province after police pursued a liquor store robbery suspect driving the wrong way. All four people were pronounced dead at the scene on Highway 401 in Whitby, about 50 kilometres east of Toronto, police said. Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) in a statement on Thursday said that two of the victims, a 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman,

TEL AVIV: Israel's Iron Dome defence system has long shielded it from incoming rockets. Now it is building a cyber dome to defend against online attacks, especially from arch foe Iran. It is a silent war, one which is not visible, said Aviram Atzaba, the Israeli National Cyber Directorate's head of international cooperation. While Israel has fought Hamas in Gaza since the October 7 attack, it has also faced a significant increase in cyberattacks from Iran and its allies, Atzaba said. They are tr

LONDON: Britain's governing Conservative Party is suffering heavy losses as local election results pour in Friday, piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a U.K. general election in which the main opposition Labour Party appears increasingly likely to return to power after 14 years. Labour won control of councils in England it hasn't held for decades and was successful in a special by-election for Parliament. Its only negative has been in some areas with large Muslim populations,

LOS ANGELES (AP) Police have arrested nearly 2,200 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, sometimes using riot gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings. One officer accidentally discharged his gun inside a Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters camped inside, authorities said. No one was injured by the officer's mistake late Tuesday inside Hamil

TBILISI: Georgia has been engulfed by huge protests triggered by a proposed law that critics see as a threat to media freedom and the countrys aspirations to join the European Union. Here is a look at the bill and the protests it has ignited: WHAT IS THE NEW BILL? The bill would require media and nongovernmental organizations and other nonprofits to register as pursuing the interests of a foreign power if they receive more than 20% of funding from abroad. The legislature approved a second readin

PESHAWAR: At least ten people were killed when a passenger bus skidded off a mountainous terrain and plunged into a ravine in northwest Pakistan on Friday, authorities said. The incident occurred on the Karakoram Highway in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan region when the bus with at least 30 passengers aboard was on its way from Rawalpindi to Gilgit, a police official said. Rescue efforts are in progress and the injured as well as dead bodies are being shifted to hospital, the official said.