A Singaporean man almost became the target of a lynch mob in Batam on April 29 after he was suspected of trying to kidnap a child. According to an iNews report on May 1, the man, who was identified as GW, had gone to a convenience store in a residential area at Batu Aji, Batam. When he came out of the store, the bespectacled man gave some of his sweets to a child who was playing nearby. An individual saw this and accused GW of trying to kidnap the child. Locals started to crowd around the trio and the mob became more hostile as it grew in size. Fortunately, a police patrol car was passing and officers stepped in to take the Singaporean away from the mob. GW had trouble explaining himself at the police station as he did not speak Bahasa Indonesia but the police did not find any reason to suspect a kidnapping attempt as alleged by the locals. Batam Immigration Office head Samuel Toba said: «What the man did was not a common gesture in the area, so the community grew suspicious.» Toba added that GW was deported in order to remove him from the hostile situation.

Maria Zakharova also stressed that Russian diplomatic missions abroad become «centers of historical celebration»

Maria Zakharova stressed that the Kiev regime banned the Russian language, «ignoring its own constitution»

The sides paid special attention to expansion of cooperation in the trade and economic area, industry, energy, transport, agriculture, finance, healthcare, culture, science, trans-regional interaction, education and tourism, according to the statement

According to the agency, «37 children lose their mother every single day»

Maria Zakharova said Russian agencies in charge of defending the country would undoubtedly retaliate if there were any strikes inside Russia

A special effort could be made to put in place incentives for individuals and companies to install solar panels, as has been done in many of our neighboring countries.

Canada's first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel will officially be brought into the Pacific fleet today and Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles, is scheduled to take part in its commissioning ceremony.

Nova Scotia's premier is drawing criticism from the opposition over a recent trip to Spain that his office didn't announce publicly.

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was reported west of Vancouver Island Thursday evening.

A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.

A Winnipeg judge is expected to decide today whether the trial of a man accused of killing four women will still be heard by a jury.

Testimony continues Friday in Donald Trump’s trial on allegations of business fraud related to hush money payments.

C'est pour coller à la vision du Président de la Transition, le Général Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema et pour concrétiser la volonté de la première Dame, Zita Oligui Nguema que le collectif des femmes des anciens agents de la Garde républicaine a décidé de mettre en place, un village agricole. Cette mise en place du village agricole s'inscrit dans l'optique de créer un point focal. Ce point focal leur servira cette année, à partir du mois de juin, de créer deux grandes plantations sur l'axe (...) - SOCIETE / SUJET_ECRIT_MAISON

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Live updates from the 2024 campaign trail with the latest news on presidential candidates, polls, primaries and more.

Testimony continues Friday in Donald Trump’s trial on allegations of business fraud related to hush money payments.

«I don’t think that anyone in Finland would venture to impose any restrictions,» Alexander Shenzheryuk-Zhidkov noted

The international arbitration, brokered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, made its ruling a decade after the case started in 2014

The official yuan rate was ticked up by two kopecks to 12.6972 rubles

It is reported that the German side argued at a meeting at the Foreign Ministry that alleged "attacks by 'Russian state hackers' on Germany in cyberspace are unacceptable, condemnable and can have consequences

Deposit interest rates are monitored by the regulator in Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Rosbank, Alfa-Bank, Bank FC Otkritie, Promsvyazbank, Tinkoff Bank, the Russian Agricultural Bank, and Sovcombank

Maria Zakharova also said Chisinau is setting up a legislation to rewrite history and strengthening «double standards regarding mercenaries»

Maria Zakharova emphasized that all Western projects similar to Ukraine «ended the same way»

The duty on the export of barley and corn will be zero, the Ministry of Agriculture said

The presidents «noted the close coordination of law enforcement agencies and security services in combating terrorism, extremism and manifestations of transnational organized crime, as well as the importance of further strengthening their cooperation»

Seychelles has gone down three places on the World Press Freedom Index going from 34th to place in 2023 to 37th in 2024 published by the Reporters Without Borders (RWB), a Paris-based non-governmental organisation. The ranking is released every year to coincide with World Press Freedom Day on May 3, a date that celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom around the world. The ranking is based on five indicators - political, economic, legislative, social and security. The political indicator has fallen the most, registering a global average fall of 7.6 points. In 2022, the island nation was ranked 13th out of 180 countries and was the highest ranking in Sub-Saharan Africa - a ranking it lost last year when it fell 21 places on the index. The chairman of the Association of Media Practitioners in Seychelles (AMPS), Rassin Vannier, told reporters on Friday morning that the AMPS plans «to hold consultative meetings with the authorities to stop a further decline.» Vannier was speaking at a half-day seminar AMPS held in collaboration with the French Embassy in Seychelles at L'Escale Resort and Spa to mark World Press Freedom Day. The seminar was organised jointly by AMPS and the French Embassy in Seychelles. (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY «What is important for the Association is to establish what has us continually going down in the rankings. Once we have determined the causes, we will approach the authorities concerned to see how we can find solutions for the problems so that we can go back up in the RWB ranking released annually,» he added. Reporters Without Borders defines press freedom as «the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.» Vannier said, «It is important that we have a dialogue and come up with a solution together.» The World Press Freedom Index compares the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories.  Vannier added that with the «harassment of our journalists, something we see every day, there is a dialogue that needs to take place between the authorities and the profession.» At the seminar which took place on Friday, Vannier said, «As elections are coming up next year, and we have had some issues when working with the Commission in the 2020 elections, we felt it would be beneficial for both parties to have a dialogue now.» Representatives from the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), TeleSesel, Seychelles Nation, Today in Seychelles and The People were among the media houses present. Also present, was the chief elections officer, Manuella Amesbury and her team that made presentations on the role and mandate of the Electoral Commission of Seychelles (ECS). It was also a chance for the journalists in attendance to voice their concerns on reporting on the election process as well as receive clarifications about issues concerning ECS. 

The International Olympic Committee Executive Board convened for a meeting at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 19-20 and following the opening day it decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in the Parade of Athletes and also exclude them from the 2024 Olympics overall medal standings

According to Maria Zakharova, ahead of Victory Day celebrations in Russia, «the Kiev regime and its Western patrons are plotting new terror attacks on Russian soil,» while aiming for the news to «reverberate in the media and have a propaganda effect»