Indian court orders Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail for Modi comment.

A lower court in India sentenced opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday to two years in jail on charges of defamation for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. Gandhi will appeal against the order in a higher court, but any jailing for…

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Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Bill approved.

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Bill which was proposed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policy. Accordingly, the Cabinet had approved the relevant …

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues war crimes arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday (17) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia. The court said there “are reasonable grounds to believe t…

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Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav elected as Nepal’s third Vice President.

Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav, a leader of the Janata Samajbadi Party, has won the election to become Nepal‘s third Vice President. He was able to secure victory over Astalaxmi Shakya of CPN (UML) and Mamata Jha of the Janamat Party with support from Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist …

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Global Terrorism Index (GTI) - 2023.

The Global Terrorism Index is an annual ranking produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace. The GTI ranks 163 countries based on four indicators weighted over five years. A country’s annual GTI score is based on a unique scoring system to account for the relative imp…

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New Zealand to ban TikTok on devices linked to parliament.

New Zealand said on Friday it would ban TikTok on devices with access to the country's parliamentary network due to cybersecurity concerns, becoming the latest nation to limit the use of the video-sharing app on government-related devices. Concerns have mounted globally …

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North Korea fires long range missile ahead of Japan-South Korea talks.

North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) just hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were due to meet for landmark talks. Both Japanese and South Korean officials confirmed the long-range missile's launch on Thursday morning. It flew about…

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UK ministers banned from using Chinese-owned app on government phones.

British government ministers have been banned from using Chinese-owned social media app TikTok on their work phones and devices on security grounds. The government fears sensitive data held on official phones could be accessed by the Chinese government. Cabinet Minister Olive…

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Japan retrial for world's longest-serving death row inmate.

A Japanese man who was on death row for nearly half a century has been granted a retrial. Iwao Hakamada, now 87, is the world's longest-serving death row inmate, according to Amnesty International. He was sentenced to death in 1968 for murdering his boss, the man's wi…

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Ram Chandra Poudel elected as Nepal's New President.

Ram Chandra Poudel of Nepali Congress was on Thursday elected as the new president of Nepal, amid increasing political instability in the country ruled by a fragile coalition headed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. Poudel, a common candidate of the e…

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Xi Jinping starts unprecedented third term as China’s President.

Xi Jinping has officially started his precedent-breaking third term in office as Chinese president, effectively cementing his status as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. He received on Friday a unanimous endorsement from the country’s largely rubber-stamp …

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Sheikh Mohammed appointed as Qatar’s new prime minister.

Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has appointed Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani as the country’s new prime minister. The decision to appoint Sheikh Mohammed, who was the deputy prime minister, came after the amir accepted the resignation…

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World's first openly transgender member of parliament dies.

New Zealander Georgina Beyer, the world’s first openly transgender member of parliament and tireless advocate for LGBTQ rights, has died at the age of 65. She had long battled kidney disease but statements about her death did not mention the cause. A former sex worker, actor …

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The Indian-American CEO who tries to be the US president.

Two of the three Republicans who have announced plans so far to enter the US presidential race are Indian-Americans. While Nikki Haley is a familiar name, surprise candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is much less well known. California-based journalist Savita Patel assesses his chanc…

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Bola Tinubu elected as the new President of Nigeria.

Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Bola Tinubu has been declared the winner of the presidential election, triggering mixed reactions across the West African country. On Wednesday, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood …

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Canada bans TikTok on government devices.

The U.S. and Canada issued orders this week banning the use of TikTok on government-issued mobile devices as privacy and cybersecurity concerns about the video-sharing app grow. TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, has long maintained that it does not sha…

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UN approves resolution calling for Russia to leave Ukrain.

The U.N. General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution Thursday that calls for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its forces, sending a strong message on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion that Moscow’s aggression must stop. The resolution, d…

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UN condemns Russian invasion ahead of anniversary.

The UN General Assembly in New York has overwhelmingly backed a resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago. It called for the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine and a halt to fighting. The motion was backed by 141 nations with 32 abstaining and se…

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G20 finance chiefs to discuss debt, crypto, inflation.

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will discuss debt troubles in developing economies, crypto currencies and global inflationary pressures at a meeting later this week, Indian officials said on Tuesday. The Feb. 22-25 meeting in the Nandi Hills summer retreat n…

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Seattle becomes first US city to ban caste discrimination.

Seattle has become the first US city to ban discrimination based on caste after a vote by the city council. Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, who wrote the legislation, said the fight against caste bias "is deeply connected to the fight against all forms of oppression". A…

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