World Echo

Iran holds a parliamentary election on Friday seen as a test of the clerical establishment's popularity at a time of growing dissent over an array of political, social and economic crises. The vote will be the first formal gauge of public opinion after anti-government protests in 2022-23 spiralled into some of the worst political turmoil since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Critics from inside and outside the ruling elite, including politicians and former lawmakers, say the legitimacy of Iran's theocratic system could be at stake due to economic struggles and a lack of electoral options for a mostly young population chafing at political and social restrictions. Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called voting a religious duty. He accused the country's "enemies" - a term he normally uses for the United States and Israel - of trying to create despair among Iranian voters. Iranian men put campaign posters on a wall during the last day ...

President Vladimir Putin told Western countries on Thursday they risked provoking a nuclear war if they sent troops to fight in Ukraine, warning that Moscow had the weapons to strike targets in the West. The war in Ukraine has triggered the worst crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Putin has previously spoken of the dangers of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, but his nuclear warning on Thursday was one of his most explicit. Addressing lawmakers and other members of the country's elite, Putin, 71, repeated his accusation that the West was bent on weakening Russia, and he suggested Western leaders did not understand how dangerous their meddling could be in what he cast as Russia's own internal affairs. He prefaced his nuclear warning with a specific reference to an idea, floated by French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, of European NATO members sending ground troops to Ukraine - a suggestion that was quickly reje...

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny's funeral service and burial will take place in Moscow on Friday, his spokesperson said, but his allies accused the Kremlin of thwarting their attempts to organise a bigger event a day earlier. Kira Yarmysh, his spokesperson, posted on X that a service for Navalny would be held on Friday at 2 p.m. (1100 GMT) in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in the Moscow district of Maryino where Navalny used to live. Navalny would then be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, which is located on the other side of the Moskva River to the south, Yarmysh said. Such services, presided over by a priest and accompanied by choral singing, usually allow people to file past the open casket of the deceased to say their farewell. The chosen Russian Orthodox church is an imposing five-domed white building in a built-up suburb of southeastern Moscow. It was not immediately clear how the authorities would ensure crowd control. Read also: Navalny was clos...

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday attended the high-level segment of the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council via video, stressing that all parties should protect people's right to survival and development as a priority. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the world is becoming more turbulent, crises and conflicts keep flaring up, and deficit in global human rights governance is widening at the moment. Noting that the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict has cost the lives of nearly 30,000 civilians, and left close to two million people displaced, Wang said it falls upon the entire international community to protect the human rights of all ethnic groups and all people in a fair, equal and effective way. Wang called on all parties to put people first and safeguard people's interests, which is the basis and goal of the human rights cause. People's right to survival and development shou...

New Zealand will repeal on Tuesday a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, the government said, even while researchers and campaigners warned of the risk that people could die as a result. Set to take effect from July, the toughest anti-tobacco rules in the world would have banned sales to those born after Jan. 1, 2009, cut nicotine content in smoked tobacco products and reduced the number of tobacco retailers by more than 90%. The new coalition government elected in October confirmed the repeal will happen on Tuesday as a matter of urgency, enabling it to scrap the law without seeking public comment, in line with previously announced plans. Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said the coalition government was committed to reducing smoking, but was taking a different regulatory approach to discourage the habit and reduce the harm it caused. "I will soon be taking a package of measures to cabinet to increase the tools available to help people quit smoki...

DNA analysis has confirmed that a 70-year-old man who confessed on his hospital deathbed last month to being one of Japan's most-wanted fugitives was indeed the suspect, police said Tuesday. Satoshi Kirishima, a former member of a Japanese radical leftist group behind deadly bomb attacks in the 1970s, was wanted for nearly 50 years, with his bespectacled, smiling mugshots almost omnipresent outside police stations across Japan. The saga took a sudden twist last month when a terminally ill man hospitalised near Tokyo declared on his deathbed that he was Kirishima -- prompting hospital staff to alert police -- only to die a few days later. Through subsequent DNA analysis, "the person who died at the hospital on January 29 was confirmed to be Satoshi Kirishima himself", a Tokyo police spokesman told AFP on Tuesday. With his identity now verified, "we sent five case files (involving him) to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office today", the spokesman said. In ...

Anti-Muslim hate speech in India rose by 62% in the second half of 2023 compared to the first six months of the year, a Washington-based research group said on Monday, adding the Israel-Gaza war played a key role in the last three months. India Hate Lab documented 668 hate speech incidents targeting Muslims in 2023, 255 of which occurred in the first half of the year, opens new tab while 413 took place in the last six months of 2023, the research group said in a report released Monday. About 75%, or 498, of those incidents took place in states governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the report. The states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh accounted for the most hate speech. Between Oct. 7 - when Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel, sparking the conflict in the Gaza Strip as Israel retaliated - and Dec. 31, there were 41 incidents of hate speech against Indian Muslims that mentioned the war, the repo...

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was close to being freed in a prisoner swap at the time of his death, a close ally said on Monday, repeating an allegation by his family and supporters that President Vladimir Putin had him killed. Speaking on YouTube, Maria Pevchikh said talks about exchanging Navalny and two unnamed US nationals for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian FSB security service hit man in jail in Germany, were in their final stages at the time of his death. Navalny, 47, died at an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16. The Kremlin has denied Russian state involvement in his death. Navalny's death certificate stated that he died of natural causes, according to his supporters. "Alexei Navalny could be sitting in this seat right now, right today. That's not a figure of speech, it could and should have happened," said Pevchikh. "Navalny should have been out in the next few days because we got a decision about his exchange. In early February, Putin was offered ...

The ongoing Israeli war on Gaza has once again brought attention to the substantial military support provided by the US to Israel, fuelling controversy and raising humanitarian concerns. The self-immolation of a 25-year-old US Air Force member outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, who shouted that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide,” before setting himself ablaze, has brought to light the military aid and support that Israel has been receiving from its biggest ally. Since Oct. 7, Israel has received immense support from the US, ranging from arms and ammunition to consultancy from top-level commanders. Munitions and weapons Since the conflict began, the US has sent to Israel thousands of military equipment, including ammunition, vehicles, armaments, personal protective equipment, and medical supplies. By December, the US had sent 230 cargo planes and 20 ships loaded with weapons and military equipment to Israel. A report by the Wall Street Journal in December said that mun...

A US military service member set himself on fire, in an apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza, outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. The man was transported to an area hospital after the fire was put out by US Secret Service officers, DC Fire and EMS posted online. The man remains in critical condition, a Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson said Sunday afternoon. An Air Force spokesperson confirmed that the incident involved a active duty airman. "I will no longer be complicit in genocide," said the man, wearing military fatigues, in a video he broadcasted live over the internet, according to the New York Times. He then doused himself in a clear liquid and set himself on fire, screaming "Free Palestine," the Times reported. Local police and Secret Service are investigating the incident. Israel's embassy has been the target of continued protest against the war in Gaza. The war in Gaza has led to pro-Pal...

India's Assam state has scrapped an 89-year-old law that allowed marriage involving underage Muslims, against opposition from leaders of the minority community who called the plan an attempt to polarise voters on religious lines ahead of elections. Assam, which has the highest percentage of Muslims among Indian states at 34%, has previously said it wants to implement uniform civil laws for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance, as the state of Uttarakhand did earlier this month. Nationwide, Hindus, Muslims, Christians and other groups follow their own laws and customs or a secular code for such matters. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised a Uniform Civil Code, opposed by Muslims. Assam repealed the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935, effective from Feb. 24, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X on Saturday. "This act contained provisions allowing marriage registration even if the bride and gro...

Israeli troops and Palestinian freedom fighters clashed throughout the Gaza Strip over the weekend, both sides said on Sunday, as mediating countries sought common ground for a possible ceasefire that would release hostages held by Hamas. Almost 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war with Israel in which the settler-colonial state has levelled entire towns and brutally bombed Palestinian civilians. Prospects for securing any truce looked uncertain, however, with Israel saying it was, in parallel, planning to expand its sweep to destroy Hamas, while the resistance faction stood firm on its demand for a permanent end to the nearly five-month-old war. Residents said Israeli forces shelled several areas of the enclave as tanks rolled into Beit Lahiya and soldiers and gunmen waged running battles in the Zeitoun sector of Gaza City - both in the north, which had been conquered early in the offensive. At least 86 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes since Saturday, medics said...

US and British forces carried out strikes against more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, officials said, the latest round of military action against the Iran-linked group that continues to attack shipping in the region. The United States has carried out near daily strikes against the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and have said their attacks on shipping are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza. The strikes have so far failed to halt the Houthis' attacks, which have upset global trade and raised shipping rates. A joint statement from countries that either took part in the strikes or provided support, said the military action was against 18 Houthi targets across eight locations in Yemen including underground weapons and missile storage facilities, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes were meant "to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed...

Britain's Conservative Party suspended one of its lawmakers, Lee Anderson, on Saturday after he said the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, was under the control of Islamists. Khan, the first Muslim to be mayor of London and a member of the opposition Labour Party, is a frequent target of Conservative criticism for his handling of policing in Britain's capital, including regular pro-Palestinian marches. On Wednesday hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside parliament, during a chaotic vote over whether to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and the exact language to use. The speaker of the lower house of parliament, Lindsay Hoyle, said he broke with usual parliamentary procedure for the vote because of previous threats of violence some lawmakers had received due to their views on the conflict. Speaking on Friday to the television channel GB News, Anderson said: "I don't actually believe these Islamists have got control of our country. But what I do believe is they...

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, on Saturday demanded that Russian authorities release his body for burial and accused a "demonic" Russian President Vladimir Putin of "torturing" his corpse. In a six minute video posted on YouTube, Navalnaya accused Putin of holding her husband's body "hostage", and questioned Putin's often-professed Christian faith. Navalny's mother Lyudmila said on Friday that Russian investigators were refusing to release his body from a morgue in the remote Arctic city of Salekhard until she agreed to lay him to rest without a public funeral. She said an official had told her that she should agree to their demands, as Navalny's body was already decomposing. On Saturday, Navalny aides said that authorities had threatened to bury him in the remote prison colony where he died unless his family agreed to their conditions. In the video, an emotional Yulia Navalnaya claimed that...

Germany on Friday joined the small group of countries and jurisdictions that have legalised cannabis when the Bundestag passed a law allowing individuals and voluntary associations to grow and hold limited quantities of the drug. The law passed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's ruling three-party coalition legalises cultivating up to three plants for private consumption and owning up to 25 grams of cannabis. Larger-scale, but still non-commercial, cannabis production will be allowed for members of so-called cannabis clubs with no more than 500 members, all of whom must be adults. Only club members can consume their product. "We have two goals: to crack down on the black market and improved protection of children and young people," Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said at the start of a rowdy debate where the opposition accused him of promoting drug use. "You are asserting in all seriousness that by legalising more drugs we will contain drug use among young people," sai...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the international body looks forward to working with the new government in Pakistan for "macroeconomic stability and prosperity for Pakistanis". “We look forward to working with the new government on policies to ensure macroeconomic stability and prosperity for all of Pakistan’s citizens," said the Head of the Communications Department at the IMF Julie Kozack when asked whether Pakistan was on track to secure the third tranche of the stand-by agreement reached in June 2023. “On January 11, the IMF Executive Board approved the first review of the Stand-By Arrangement, with Pakistan that brought total disbursements under the Stand-By Arrangement to $1.9 billion.” Julie added “The Stand-By Arrangement is supporting the authority’s efforts to stabilize the economy and to, of course, with a strong focus on protecting the most vulnerable.” IMF spokesperson also stated that the authorities maintained economic stability during ...

Millennial-focused and known for its edgy news and lifestyle content, Vice had been among the rising stars of a new breed of digital media firms but struggled as advertising revenues shrank. The move is the latest dose of depressing news for America's struggling media industry, which saw BuzzFeed News close up shop last year after 12 years in business. "With this strategic shift comes the need to realign our resources and streamline our overall operations at Vice," Bruce Dixon, chief executive of Vice Media Group, told employees in a memo, copies of which were posted online by several Vice reporters. "Regrettably, this means that we will be reducing our workforce, eliminating several hundred positions." Dixon said it is "no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously." Moving ahead, the company "will look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news...

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday said that all members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) should jointly pursue the organization's sound development and make it a stabilizing anchor amid the changes of the world. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks at a reception in Beijing in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the SCO Secretariat. Noting that changes unseen in a century are unfolding at a faster pace and the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, Wang pointed out that there is a greater need for carrying forward the Shanghai Spirit and such a cooperation platform as the SCO. He said that all member states should work together to make the SCO bigger and stronger. China will continue to take the SCO as a diplomatic priority, provide convenience and support for the work of the Secretariat as always, and support Kazakhstan's work during its rotating pre...

At least one skier of a foreign nationality was killed and several other skiers were trapped by an avalanche that hit Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir's (IIOJK) popular ski destination of Gulmarg on Thursday, officials said. Gulmarg has recorded about 5 feet (1.5 metre) of snowfall this week, following which authorities had issued an avalanche warning for the area. "So far one skier has died and five have been rescued," Manzoor Ahmad, head of the rescue team, told reporters, adding that the nationality of the deceased was yet to be determined. Most of the trapped skiers are foreigners, officials said. Read also: India to declare dead 79 people missing in Himalayan lake floods Waseem Raja, CEO of the Gulmarg Development Authority, said a "massive rescue operation" had been launched to save those who were trapped. The Himalayan region of IIOJK, with its snow-capped mountains, is a popular destination for winter sports but has seen several mishaps caused...

Israel intensified its bombardment of Rafah in Gaza's south, killing over a dozen members of one family in an air strike, residents said, as the death toll in the ruined Palestinian enclave reached 29,313 since October 7, last year. In Jerusalem, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz cited "promising early signs of progress" on a new deal to release hostages held by Hamas resistance fighters in Gaza amid talks conducted by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to secure a pause in the war. The Israeli army (IDF) said it had stepped up operations in Khan Younis, a city just north of Rafah. It made no mention of attacks on Rafah itself in its daily summary of events in Gaza and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. About 1.5 million people are estimated to be crammed into Rafah, on the southernmost fringe of the enclave close to the border with Egypt, most of them having fled their homes further north to escape Israel's military onslaught. The flow of aid ...

President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russian troops would push further into Ukraine to build on their success on the battlefield after the fall of the town of Avdiivka where he said Ukrainian troops had been forced to flee in chaos. The town, which once had a population of 32,000, fell to Russia on Saturday, Putin's biggest battlefield victory since Russian forces captured the city of Bakhmut in May 2023. Television footage released by Russia's defence ministry showed that almost every house in Avdiivka had been branded with war. Putin said on Tuesday the Ukrainian order to withdraw from the town had been announced after Ukrainian troops had already begun to flee in chaos. He said that all captured Ukrainian soldiers should be accorded their rights under international conventions on prisoners. "As for the overall situation in Avdiivka, this is an absolute success, I congratulate you. It needs to be built on," Putin told Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Kremli...

An Indian court Tuesday bailed senior opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case brought against him for referring to the home minister as an accused murderer -- his latest legal travails ahead of national elections. Critics have accused India's government of using the justice system to target political rivals, with several opposition figures the subject of active criminal investigations. Gandhi, 53, faces at least 10 other defamation cases and was briefly disqualified from parliament last year after being convicted of criminal libel in an unrelated case. He appeared in court in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh where his bail application was accepted, lawyer Santosh Pandey told reporters outside court. Tuesday's case stems from 2018 remarks in which he referred to home minister Amit Shah, a key confidante of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as a "murder accused". Shah was accused of ordering police to carry out the extrajudicial killing of a gangster in 2005 ...

The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday announced that it had halted food distribution in northern Gaza until safety conditions there improve. “The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger,” it said in a statement, adding that it remains committed to reaching people across the entire Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli attacks for months. However, it said, the safety and security to deliver critical food aid and for the people receiving it must be ensured. Stressing that the latest reports confirm Gaza’s slide into hunger and disease as food and safe water have become incredibly scarce and diseases are rife, it added: “WFP will seek ways to resume deliveries in a responsible manner as soon as possible. A large-scale expansion of the flow of assistance to northern Gaza is urgently needed to avoid disaster.” Read also: UN likel...

Indian farmers' unions have rejected five-year contracts for minimum support prices (MSPs) proposed by the Indian government, one of their leaders said in a video posted on social media platform X on Monday. The Indian government has offered guaranteed support prices for pulses, corn and cotton in a bid to break a deadlock with protesting farmers, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said on Sunday after week-long clashes between security forces and protesters. Tear gas and barricades were used to deter the farmers, who form an influential voting bloc, months ahead of a general election due by May, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a record third term. Goyal's comments followed marathon talks with farmers' unions after the protesters, who are demanding higher prices backed by law for nearly two dozen crops, were halted at a distance of about 200 kms (125 miles) from New Delhi. Goyal said the government had proposed five-year contracts for minimum support prices (MSPs) to f...

The Indian government has offered guaranteed support prices for pulses, corn and cotton in a bid to break a deadlock with protesting farmers, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said after week-long clashes between security forces and protesters. Tear gas and barricades were used to deter the farmers, who form an influential voting bloc, months ahead of a general election due by May, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a record third term. Sunday's comments followed marathon talks with farmers' unions after the protesters, who are demanding higher prices backed by law for nearly two dozen crops, were halted at a distance of about 200 km (125 miles) from New Delhi. Goyal said the government had proposed five-year contracts for a minimum support prices (MSPs) to farmers who diversify their crops to grow cotton, pigeon peas, black matpe, red lentils and corn, paid by co-operative groups it promotes. "These organisations will buy the produce and there will be no limit on quant...

India has stepped up development assistance to the Maldives with projects gaining pace last year, even as ties have soured over new Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's demand for Indian troops to leave his country. As global powers jostle for influence in the Indo-Pacific region, India and China have wooed the Indian Ocean nation, which has traditionally been close to neighbour India, but recently pivoted towards China under Muizzu. New Delhi has spent nearly 7.71 billion rupees ($93 million), or almost twice its budgeted 4 billion on projects in the Maldives during this fiscal year, which ends in March, according to an Indian official and government documents. That comes despite strained ties since Muizzu rode to office in October pledging to end the country's "India First" policy and ensure it removed nearly 80 Indian troops. Despite the roadblock, "development co-operation has not changed or stopped," said an Indian official aware of the matter, who adde...

At least five bodies were retrieved from mud after a landslide buried houses in eastern Afghanistan, local officials said on Monday. The landslide hit at least 20 houses in the Tatin village of the Nurgram district in the eastern Nuristan province, the Kabul-based Hurriyat Radio English reported. Efforts to recover others are underway, it added. Provincial officials expressed fears that the number of casualties may increase. Read also: Three killed in explosion in Afghanistan capital The area witnessed heavy rainfall in the past few days. Meanwhile, two miners were killed and another person was injured after being hit by an avalanche in the northeastern Panjshir province. The incident happened Sunday night in the Mukani village of the province's Hese-Awal district, the Kabul-based Tolo News reported. from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/DxpgAqW

The United Nations Security Council is likely to vote on Tuesday on an Algerian push for the 15-member body to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, said diplomats, a move the United States signalled it would veto. Algeria put forward an initial draft resolution more than two weeks ago. But US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield quickly said the text could jeopardize "sensitive negotiations" aimed at brokering a pause in the war. Algeria requested on Saturday that the council vote on Tuesday, diplomats said. To be adopted, UN Security Council resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, China or Russia. "The United States does not support action on this draft resolution. Should it come up for a vote as drafted, it will not be adopted," Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement on Saturday. Washington traditionally shields its ally Israel from UN action and has already twice veto...

Russia on Sunday said it had full control of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka after Ukraine withdrew though Moscow said that some Ukrainian troops were still holed up in a vast Soviet-era coke plant after one of the most intense battles of the war. The fall of Avdiivka is Russia's biggest gain since capturing the city of Bakhmut in May 2023, and comes almost two years to the day since President Vladimir Putin triggered a full-scale war by ordering the invasion of Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry said its troops had advanced 8.6 km (5.3 miles) in that part of the 1,000-km (620-mile) front line, and that Russian troops were pressing forward after a deadly urban battle that has left the town an almost completely depopulated wreck. Ukraine said it had withdrawn its soldiers to save troops from being fully surrounded after months of fierce fighting. Putin hailed the fall of Avdiivka as an important victory and congratulated Russian troops. After the failure of Ukraine to pierce Russ...

A visit by the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force to Baghdad has led to a pause in attacks on US troops by Iran-aligned groups in Iraq, multiple Iranian and Iraqi sources told Reuters, saying it was a sign Tehran wants to prevent a broader conflict. Esmail Qaani met representatives of several of the armed groups in Baghdad airport on Jan. 29, less than 48 hours after Washington blamed the groups for the killing of three US soldiers at the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan, the sources said. Qaani, whose predecessor was killed by a US drone near the same airport four years ago, told the factions that drawing American blood risked a heavy US response, 10 of the sources said. He said the militias should lie low, to avoid US strikes on their senior commanders, destruction of key infrastructure or even a direct retaliation against Iran, the sources said. While one faction did not initially agree to Qaani's request, most others did. The next day, elite Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah a...

There is "an extraordinary opportunity" in the coming months for Israel to normalise ties with its Arab neighbours, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday, while also emphasizing the need for the creation of a Palestinian state. The top US diplomat said there were genuine efforts led by Arab countries to revitalize the Palestinian Authority so it can be more effecting in representing the Palestinians. "Virtually every Arab country now genuinely wants to integrate Israel into the region to normalize relations...to provide security commitments and assurances so that Israel can feel more safe," Blinken said during a panel discussion at the annual Munich Security Conference. "And there's also, I think the imperative, that's more urgent than ever, to proceed to a Palestinian state that also ensures the security of Israel," he added. Read also: Blinken carries Arab message to Israel: keep hope of Palestinian state alive The Biden administr...

India's main opposition Congress party said on Friday its bank accounts had been frozen over a 2.1 billion rupee ($25.3 million) income tax demand in connection with a dispute, months before national elections. The party called the action "a deep assault on India's democracy", adding that an income tax tribunal had however allowed the party to partially operate its accounts until Feb. 21, when it would hear the case. Congress treasurer Ajay Maken told reporters the party had filed a complaint against the tax department after it told banks to freeze funds in its accounts. "We got information two days back that cheques being issued by us were not being honoured by banks ... We don't have money to pay electricity bills, to pay salaries to our employees," Maken said. Maken said the frozen accounts included funds collected by the party through crowd-funding and membership drives, adding that the dispute with the tax department was in connection with an issue ...