Rand Paul also criticized the US administration’s plans to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

The yuan rate remained unchanged, at 12.39 rubles

The trip to Belarus became the second foreign visit for Vladimir Putin after he was inaugurated as Russia's president for a new term on May 7

The Armenia’s National Security Council statement says that Armenia’s border guards are taking charge of border stretches near the villages of Berkaber, Voskepar and Baganis

The council is expected to approve the Concept of Cooperation of CIS Member States in Energy until 2035 and the roadmap for improving infrastructure and developing international transport corridors until 2030

The first batch of Kiev’s pilots in US F-16 training program has completed preparation at a military base in Arizona, according to Politico Read Full Article at RT.com

Moscow recognizes Palestinian statehood, just as its predecessor the Soviet Union did, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Read Full Article at RT.com

The Czech President Petr Pavel was admitted to hospital after he was injured while riding a motorcycle, the presidential office has said Read Full Article at RT.com

To combat voter apathy and a scorching summer, civil society groups in India are working hard to increase women’s turnout Read Full Article at RT.com

India’s cops made a dramatic arrest on the third floor of a premier medical institute  Read Full Article at RT.com

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a merchant vessel was boarded 420 nautical miles southeast of Merca, Somalia. A resurgence in pirate activity, dormant since 2018, has been noted since late last year.

In his Cannes-history-making feature, Somali filmmaker Mo Harawe portrays an ambitious family living under the threat of drone strikes and death.

WASHINGTON (HOL) — Kenyan President William Ruto has raised alarms about the potential rise in terrorism following the withdrawal of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). During his state visit to the United States, Ruto urged American intervention to prevent security deterioration in the region.

Kelly Rowland has broken her silence on the incident in Cannes in which she appeared to scold a security guard while walking the red carpet on Tuesday.

Around one hundred emergency responders including police and firefighters have raced to the scene of the incident, a terrace at a beach bar in Playa de Palma

The Prime Minister wants to take on the opposition leader every week of the campaign before polling day on July 4, more than any of his predecessors have ever agreed to.

Chaotic scenes showed sparks from friction between baton-wielding officers and residents rallying against the use of public property for a Louis Vuitton runway.

A local neighbourhood association shared pictures of damage to the steps around barriers set up in the historic Park Güell earlier this month, before days of dramatic protest erupted in the city

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

Charlie Schnell killed himself after his parents say the Landon School ignored warning signs and accused him of drawing a racist image. Now they’re suing.

The former president sought to appeal to young people and voters of color, criticizing the Biden administration’s immigration policies while casting himself as a better president for minorities.

A man was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in the Falkland community in Boundbrook, Portland on Thursday afternoon.  The deceased has been identified only as 'Bertie' of a Boundbrook address. 

Police raided rapper Sean Kingston's rented South Florida mansion on Thursday and arrested his mother on fraud and theft charges that an attorney says stems partly from the installation of a massive TV at the home.

A 35-year-old taxi operator has been charged for murdering and burying a security guard in St Catherine earlier this month.  The accused is Paul Drummond, otherwise call 'Chris'. 

Rapper Sean Kingston was arrested in California on fraud charges Thursday, several hours after a police team raided his rented South Florida mansion and carted away a van load of items.

Beijing on Friday said ongoing drills encircling Taiwan were testing the military's ability to seize power over the self-ruled island, days after its new president was sworn in. China's military kicked off the war games Thursday morning, surrounding Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft, while vowing the blood of «independence forces» on the island would flow. The exercises -- codenamed «Joint Sword-2024A» -- come after Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan's new president this week and made an inauguration speech that China denounced as a «confession of independence». The drills are part of an escalating campaign of intimidation by China that has seen it carry out a series of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan in recent years. The two-day exercises are testing the «capability of joint seizure of power, joint strikes and control of key territories», said Li Xi, spokesman for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. The United Nations called for all sides to avoid escalation, while the United States -- Taiwan's strongest ally and military backer -- «strongly» urged China to act with restraint. - 'Strong punishment' - Beijing, which split with Taipei at the end of a civil war 75 years ago, regards the island as a renegade province with which it must eventually be reunified. As the drills got under way, Beijing said they would serve as «strong punishment for the separatist acts of 'Taiwan independence' forces». Footage published by China's military showed soldiers streaming out of a building to battle stations and jets taking off to a rousing martial tune. State broadcaster CCTV reported that Chinese sailors had called out to their Taiwanese counterparts at sea, warning them against «resisting reunification by force». President Lai said he would «stand on the front line» to defend Taiwan in a speech on Thursday afternoon, without directly referring to the ongoing drills. China has repeatedly branded Lai a «dangerous separatist» who would bring «war and decline» to the island. Beijing was further incensed with his inauguration speech on Monday, in which he hailed a «glorious» era for Taiwan's democracy. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Thursday delivered a warning that included language more commonly used by China's propaganda outlets. «Taiwan independence forces will be left with their heads broken and blood flowing after colliding against the great... trend of China achieving complete unification,» Wang told reporters. And Beijing's Xinhua news agency and ruling party organ the People's Daily both ran editorials hailing the drills on Friday, slamming Lai's «treacherous behaviour» and promising a «severe blow». The drills are taking place in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of the island, as well as areas around the Taipei-administered islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu and Dongyin. Beijing has said the drills will last until Friday, but analysts say it could choose to extend the war games or launch missiles near Taiwan, as it did after a visit to the island by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022. Taipei's defence ministry said Thursday that the Chinese military had gotten within 24 nautical miles (44 kilometres) of Taiwan's main island. © Agence France-Presse

UK political leaders kicked off six weeks of campaigning on Thursday, firing the first angry shots in their electoral battle before the country votes for a new government on July 4. Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ended prolonged speculation about the general election in a rain-soaked speech Wednesday outside Downing Street, which some took as an omen for his Conservatives' chances at the ballot box. UK commentators were virtually unanimous in describing his decision to hold a vote six months before he has to as a «gamble». But Sunak hit the airwaves for a round of radio and television interviews Thursday, before a whistlestop tour of the country, and insisted insist he was right to call the vote. «This is what Downing Street is thinking: things are basically not going to get any better for the prime minister,» former finance minister George Osborne said on his Political Currency podcast. «Nothing is shifting the polls,» he added, calling the election a way to «shift the dial» and force the choice on the electorate. - Tall order - The Conservatives have been in power since 2010, first with David Cameron as prime minister, then Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, and increasingly beset by scandal and ideological infighting with hardliners. The right-wingers' tumultuous time in power has been dominated by Brexit and its chaotic aftermath, as well as Covid and a cost-of-living crisis -- all of which has eaten into public support. The gap between them and the main opposition Labour party over the last two years has opened to a likely insurmountable 20 percentage points. «As of now, it looks as if there will be a change of government on July 4,» Tony Travers, from the department of government at the London School of Economics, told AFP. A snap Survation poll of voting intentions after Sunak's announcement put centre-left Labour on 48 points -- its highest since November 2022 and 21 points ahead of the Tories, on 27. Survation said the results were consistent with Labour's polling throughout 2023 and this year. Other surveys have suggested similar results. Anti-immigration fringe party Reform UK is snapping on the heels of the Tories, polling at 11 percent with the potential to split the right-wing vote by fielding candidates in almost every constituency. Brexit champion Nigel Farage announced he will not try to become an MP after seven previous unsuccessful attempts, promising instead to «do (his) bit» for Reform during the campaign. - Change? - The vote -- the first to be held in July since 1945, when Labour under Clement Attlee defeated Winston Churchill's Conservatives -- is Sunak's first national electoral test. He was appointed leader by his own MPs in October 2022. The 44-year-old former financier is presenting himself as the safe choice in an increasingly dangerous world and trumpeting the Tories as the party of economic stability. Inflation has slowed to 2.3 percent, figures showed on Wednesday, a three-year low after highs of more than 11 percent in 2022. «I know there's more work to do... but we have undeniably made progress and stability has returned,» Sunak told BBC television. He repeated his mantra that Labour, trounced in the last vote in 2019, was an unknown quantity, and accused Starmer of ideological flip-flopping on policy to curry favour with voters. But Starmer, who has dragged the party back to the centre since taking over from his hard-left predecessor Jeremy Corbyn four years ago, said voters had a clear choice. «Two countries, two different futures. Decline and chaos continuing under the Tories or rebuilding our country under Labour,» the 61-year-old former human rights lawyer said on a campaign stop. Labour is also promising economic stability, saying the Tories' reputation for sound stewardship of the nation's finances had been stained by Truss's short-lived tenure. Sunak replaced Truss after just 49 days, when her tax cut plans spooked financial markets, sinking the pound and increasing mortgage rates, piling fresh misery on households already hit by higher food and energy prices. On immigration -- another key issue -- Sunak promised that the first of the government's controversial deportation flights of failed asylum seekers will take off for Rwanda, but only after the election. Starmer has called it a «gimmick». © Agence France-Presse

At the same time, the General Staff said that «it can be said with certainty that the crashed helicopter caught fire only after hitting an elevation»

An unspecified commercial facility near the city of Alushta was also hit, but it was empty at the time of the attack