Kremlin spokesman added that if the new US administration «will be eyeing peace instead of conflict,» it will certainly do better than its predecessors

For over a decade, Kishore Meshram has made a monthly 85km journey to Nagpur for his son's life-saving blood transfusions, highlighting the plight of countless impoverished tribals battling thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia. The Thalassaemia and Sickle Cell Centre (TSCC) in Nagpur has emerged as a beacon of hope, providing free transfusions, consultations, and advocating for prenatal screening to combat these preventable genetic disorders.

The Rajasthan government has appealed to the Supreme Court to prevent the closure of approximately 23,000 mines. The closure, ordered by the National Green Tribunal, is due to a lack of reappraisal by state environmental authorities. The state government argues that the closures will lead to unemployment and economic disruption.

Relates to graft in issuance of lease deed for valuable land

Mauritius votes Sunday in an election overshadowed by a wire-tapping scandal that has rocked the Indian Ocean archipelago amid fears that rights are eroding in one of Africa's biggest success stories. The legislative poll comes as the country celebrates the historic deal last month that saw Britain relinquish sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius following a long-running legal dispute. But Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth's hopes of an easy re-election were battered when secretly recorded phone calls of politicians, diplomats and journalists began to be leaked online in October. The authorities responded last week by banning social media until after the election. But an uproar from the opposition and local media forced an embarrassing climbdown within 24 hours. Mauritius, a country of 1.3 million people, has seen remarkable stability and growth since independence from Britain in 1968, building an economy based on tourism, manufacturing and financial services. More than one million people are registered to vote in the 12th legislative election in Mauritius since independence, but there are fears that its lauded democracy is eroding. «In the last five years, the institutions that were ensuring checks and balances have not been functioning and corruption has increased,» said democracy researcher Roukaya Kasenally. She highlighted procurement scandals during the Covid-19 pandemic, harassment of opposition parties in parliament, and the use of police against political opponents. Mauritius last month slipped from the top spot to second place in the latest Ibrahim Index, which monitors governance across the African continent. The index highlighted worsening discrimination, which Kasenally put down to the «systematic» disadvantages faced by the Creole population descended from African slaves. The Creole population has struggled for representation in Mauritius, which is predominantly Hindu but has sizeable Christian and Muslim minorities. «After independence we developed this democratic success story and 'Mauritian miracle' economy, and never thought we were going to backslide,» said Kasenally. «But because of that, a number of issues were not seriously addressed,» she added, including the winner-takes-all election model that means single coalitions often dominate parliament. - Rotating families - Just three families have rotated the leadership of the East African island group since independence. Jugnauth, 62, inherited the premiership from his father when he died in 2017, before winning by a wide margin at the 2019 election as head of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM). He is hoping to build on the MSM-led  alliance's majority of 38 seats in the 70-seat National Assembly and win a new five-year term. His main opponent is Labour Party leader Navin Ramgoolam, 77, of the progressive Alliance of Change -- himself a former premier and son of the country's first leader. However, the established leaders face a new outside challenge from the Linion Reform alliance, campaigning under the slogan «Neither Navin, Nor Pravind». It has criticised corruption, nepotism and called for greater transparency -- which may hit home in the aftermath of the wire-tapping leaks. The deal with Britain over the Chagos archipelago was a major success for the government, however, even if the UK will retain a lease to keep a joint US military base on the island of Diego Garcia for an «initial» 99 years. Commentators in Mauritius have suggested that president-elect Donald Trump's approach to the US presence in the Indian Ocean could impact the Chagos agreement. © Agence France-Presse

Donald Trump's election victory spells immediate doubt for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, with President Joe Biden's administration expected to sprint in its final days to ensure -- insofar as possible -- long-term US support. Trump, who won an overwhelming victory in Tuesday's election, has in the past voiced admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin and scoffed at the $175 billion in US assistance committed for Ukraine since Moscow's 2022 invasion. The 78-year-old tycoon has repeatedly boasted that he can end the war in 24 hours, without explaining how. His aides have mused about conditioning aid to Kyiv to force concessions, with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance once bluntly saying he did not care what happened to Ukraine, seeing the country as strategically insignificant compared with the global US rivalry with China. With 10 weeks to go until Trump takes over, the Biden administration is looking to push out the more than $9 billion of remaining funding appropriated by Congress for weapons and other security assistance to Ukraine, officials said. The Biden team is also looking for structural ways to put European allies in greater charge of assistance to Ukraine before Trump returns, diplomats said. In a pre-emptive «Trump-proofing» measure, NATO -- the transatlantic alliance that has been criticized by the president-elect -- has already agreed to take over from the United States in coordinating aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also moved quickly with Trump in hopes of preserving ties with Kyiv's top backer. Zelensky called him Wednesday, offering flattery on his «tremendous victory» and voicing hope for «strong and unwavering US leadership» to bring a «just peace.» - Not so simple - Brian Taylor, a Russia expert at Syracuse University, said that if Trump seeks a direct role in Ukraine-Russia talks, he will «quickly find out that the details and the nuances are not so simple as simply telling everyone to stop shooting at each other.» Even a deal to freeze the grinding conflict raises questions on where to draw battle-lines, with Ukraine's military fighting in regions which Russia says it has annexed. At the same time, Taylor doubted that Europe could immediately replace US military assistance. «I'm not sure Europe has the stomach or the institutional capacity to just step up and fill that role instantly, although maybe it will develop that capacity over time,» he said. Olga Khakova, of the Atlantic Council, said that Biden could lift restrictions on use of Western weapons on Russian soil, a long-running demand of Kyiv, and boost Ukraine's air defenses to protect its energy infrastructure. Boosting Ukraine could also appeal to Trump by giving him a stronger negotiating hand, she said. «Much is still unknown, but this offers a unique opportunity to negotiate from a position of strength and decisiveness and boldness,» Khakova said. - Bringing both to table - Leon Aron, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said Trump could ultimately be disappointed by Putin's refusal to budge on demands, resulting in a deal politically unpalatable even in Trump's Washington. For now, Trump's victory mostly means uncertainty, said Brian Finucane, a former State Department official now at the International Crisis Group. «Further substantial US military aid seems doubtful, but Trump himself has been vague about how specifically he would deal with the conflict,» Finucane said. Representative Michael Waltz, a Republican army veteran seen as a contender for a national security position, said in a pre-election interview that Trump could find ways to press Putin, including by tightening enforcement of sanctions on Russian energy exports. «I think that will get Putin to the table. We have leverage, like taking the handcuffs off of the long-range weapons we provided Ukraine as well,» Waltz told National Public Radio. Trump, he said, is «very focused on ending the war rather than perpetuating it.» © Agence France-Presse

TASS has compiled a summary of the Russian leader’s remarks

In his words, it was not the only example of «egoistic and timeserving interests standing in the way of the common good»

A total of 58 members of parliament voted in favor. The opposition abstained from the vote

The Russian leader added that he is open to the Western media whenever possible

That Hurricane Rafael caused no deaths on the territory of Cuba, although damage was reported

Bilateral trade turnover is almost $60 billion, Putin said

She wanted to give the popular attraction a try but ended up with a broken leg after riding down the tube slide at Changi Airport's Terminal 4. The incident happened on Monday (Nov 4) night, shortly before the 23-year-old finance executive was supposed to fly home. The Malaysian woman, only wanting to be known as Z, uploaded a video documenting the incident to Xiaohongshu. Speaking to AsiaOne on Wednesday, Z shared that she was travelling home with her friends after a three-day holiday in Singapore. Having reached the airport early, they decided to kill some time at the tube slide before their 8.55pm flight. In her video, she recounted her «very fun» experience riding the slide for the first time, though she was wary about the dangerous turns. She noted that she encountered significant friction while going down the slide at a high speed. Despite that, she decided to ride the slide again. That was when she heard her bones crack. Z said she screamed for help upon reaching the end of the slide but there were «no staff within the vicinity».

The Duchess of Gloucester has paid tribute to fallen soldiers in a poignant ceremony at Westminster Abbey's Field of Remembrance.

TeenTechJa will be hosting its highly anticipated annual conference at Wolmer's Boys School in Kingston, on Friday, November 8, under the theme 'The Future is Here! We Are Ready!'. The event, scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m., will...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff. Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump's inner circle for running what was, by far...

Jamaica-born Brooklyn-based pastor, Reverend Edward-Richard Hinds, has been arrested by New York police on sex crime charges. The charges, unsealed in the Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday, accuse Hinds of third degree rape and having sex with an...

A 48-hour curfew has been imposed in sections of Lucea, Hanover. The curfew began at 6:00 p.m. today and will remain in effect until 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 9. The boundaries of the curfew are: North: From the rear of the Johnson Town...

Gunmen reportedly robbed a homeowner of an undisclosed sum of money and a motor vehicle in Buff Bay, West Portland, earlier today. According to preliminary reports, around 6:45 p.m., three men, armed with handguns, broke into a home under the cover...

A woman who died by suicide was likely triggered by lawsuits filed against her and mounting legal fees, a coroner’s court heard on Nov 7. Ms Geno Ong Kay Yong, 46, who died on Sept 6, 2024, was found with two suicide notes. One of them blamed her death on Mr Raymond Ng, who is associated with anti-vaccine group Healing the Divide. Taken through his report by Deputy Senior State Counsel Teo Lu Jia in court on Nov 7, the senior investigation officer in charge of the case, Inspector Jeremy Kuan, said Ms Ong had also scheduled a Facebook post on the day of her death detailing some of the reasons for taking her own life. In it, she cited two lawsuits initiated against her by one “RN of Healing the Divide”, later established to be referring to Mr Ng. She said the suits caused her to incur costs, with Mr Ng promising more lawsuits. Insp Kuan said Ms Ong formed the view that Mr Ng and “IK”, later established to be referring to Iris Koh, who is Mr Ng’s wife, were targeting innocent, average Singaporeans who would be easily threatened and intimidated by suing them so they could get money.

Susie Wiles has led Trump’s operation since 2021 — when he was widely viewed as a pariah after the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

At the same time, Putin said some other countries are showing rapid development as well

As an example, Putin named the BrahMos cruise missile project

Putin stressed once again that Russia did not see the Western civilization as an enemy

This applies to the green agenda as well, Putin continued

He acknowledged certain difficulties on the border between India and China

To combat rising air pollution, India has doubled the fines for farmers burning crop residue in several northern states. The increased penalties, ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000, took effect immediately. Despite a decrease in burning this season, over 400,000 cases have been reported across six states, with Punjab accounting for the majority.

The Supreme Court has ordered the liquidation of Jet Airways after the Jalan Kalrock Consortium, the winning bidder, failed to deposit the first installment of the resolution plan. The court invoked its special powers to order the liquidation, citing the consortium's violations and the lack of progress in reviving the airline.

A station master's casual «OK» during a heated phone argument with his wife was misconstrued as authorization to dispatch a train. This mistake cost the railways Rs 3 crore and led to the station master's suspension, fueling a tumultuous 12-year divorce battle that ultimately reached the Chhattisgarh High Court.