GAZA OFFENSIVE, CAMPUS PROTEST / Democratic divide hurting Biden: poll
Democrats are deeply divided over President Joe Biden’s handling of both the offensive in Gaza and the US campus protests against it, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found, fraying the coalition that he relied on four years ago to defeat Republican Donald Trump.
Sudan facing ‘inferno’ of violence, aid holdups: UN
Residents of conflict-hit Sudan are “trapped in an inferno of brutal violence” and increasingly at risk of famine due to the rainy season and blocked aid, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the country warned Wednesday.
Slovak PM ‘able to speak’ after shooting
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was speaking yesterday but tired and still in a “really difficult condition” a day after being shot multiple times, the president-elect said after visiting his ally.
INDIA ELECTION / Opposition slams Modi for anti-Muslim remarks
India’s main opposition party yesterday condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for anti-Muslim comments in election campaign speeches that have heightened concerns over sectarian tensions in the world’s biggest democracy.
RETALIATORY STRIKES / Hezbollah fires rocket barrage at Israeli positions
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it yesterday launched “more than 60” rockets at Israeli military positions in retaliation for overnight air strikes on the country’s east.
Jailed ex-Pak PM Imran appears in SC by video link
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan appeared before the Supreme Court by video link from prison yesterday to plead his petition against changes in Pakistan’s anti-graft laws.
India Election: Dance videos of Modi, rival turn up AI heat
An AI video shows an ecstatic Narendra Modi sporting a trendy jacket and trousers, grooving on a stage to a Bollywood song as the crowd cheers. The Indian prime minister reshared the video on X, saying “such creativity in peak poll season is truly a delight.”
Xi, Putin condemn US
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday condemned what they cast as increasingly aggressive US behaviour and pledged to deepen their countries’ already close defence and military ties.
China shows off robot ‘dogs of war’
China’s military yesterday showed off its machine gun equipped robot battle “dogs” at the start of its biggest ever drills with Cambodian forces, as the United States frets about Beijing’s growing influence in the Southeast Asian country.
Monet painting fetches $35 million at New York auction
A Monet sold for nearly $35 million at auction Wednesday evening, Sotheby's said, marking a solid start to New York's spring art sales
Women, children make up 56pc of Gaza dead: UN
Women and children make up at least 56 percent of the thousands killed in the Gaza offensive, the UN said Tuesday, amid controversy over the toll based on numbers from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Blinken, guitar in hand, tells Ukraine to keep 'rockin' in the free world'
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 14 picked up a red guitar at a basement bar in Kyiv with a message for Ukraine - that the US and much of the world was fighting not just for Ukraine but for the free world
Biden admin plans $1b in new arms for Israel despite Rafah threat
US President Joe Biden's administration informed Congress on Tuesday of a $1 billion weapons package for Israel, official sources told AFP, a week after threatening to withhold some arms over concerns of a Rafah assault
US says Boeing can be prosecuted for 737 MAX crashes
The US Justice Department on Tuesday said Boeing can be prosecuted for two subsequent 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people approximately five years ago
Seed-dropping drones seek to halt Kosovo’s deforestation
A hovering drone drops linden and pine seeds wrapped in soil onto a barren hillside outside Kosovo’s capital Pristina, part of an effort to reforest thousands of hectares lost to illegal logging and wildfires.
Modi files nomination from Varanasi
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended himself against criticism that he is stoking divisions between Hindus and Muslims to win national elections as he filed his nomination yesterday for re-election from Varanasi, one of Hinduism’s holiest cities.
450,000 displaced from Rafah since May 6
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said yesterday that nearly 450,000 people have been displaced from Rafah since Israel began issuing evacuation orders for the south Gaza city eight days ago.
Putin to visit China on May 16-17 to deepen ties with Xi Jinping
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China on May 16-17, the Kremlin said yesterday, using the first foreign trip of his new six-year term to underscore the deepening partnership with China’s Xi Jinping.
US military aid ‘on its way’
American military aid for Ukraine is “on its way”, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Kyiv yesterday, as Russia pressed on with a new offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
Recruits march to training as junta presses conscription
Myanmar’s embattled junta is pressing ahead with military conscription, state media said yesterday, with video footage showing new recruits being marched to training centres across the country.
AAP will be made accused in liquor policy case: ED
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be made an accused in the alleged liquor policy scam, which has seen three of its key leaders - including party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal - land behind bars, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has informed the Delhi High Court.
