Elections for the state assembly of West Bengal are scheduled to take place in eight phases starting from 27 March. The Model Code of Conduct came into effect last week when the election schedule was announced and remains in force until election results are declared. Source link
Sputnik
9002 posts
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A commission of Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos believes that cracks in Russia’s Zvezda module at the International Space Station (ISS) were most likely formed due to metal fatigue or micrometeorite impact, a source in the rocket and space sphere said on Wednesday. Source link
The Armenian Prime Minister has been facing calls to step down after he signed the deal arranged by Russia to end a war with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020. Source link
Bollywood stars have been criticised by farmers for not standing up to support them against the three new farm laws passed by the government. Since 26 November 2020, farmers from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh states have been protesting on the borders of Delhi, demanding the laws be repealed. Source link
The FBI director said that the Capitol events had “no place in our democracy”, adding that tolerating it would make a “mockery of our nation’s rule of law”. Source link
After being crowned Miss World in 2000, Indian-American actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas carved a niche for herself not just in Bollywood but Hollywood, as well, with roles in ‘Baywatch’, ‘Isn’t It Romantic’ and ‘A Kid Like Jake’, along with American TV show ‘Quantico’. The 38-year-old global icon recently released her memoir ‘Unfinished’. Source link
‘Interference in Russia’s Domestic Affairs’: Kremlin Vows to Respond to New EU, US Sanctions Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Two South Korean citizens, who had multiple underlying diseases, died after receiving AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, media reported on Wednesday, citing officials. Source link
Last week, India and Pakistan issued a joint statement to strictly observe all agreements on the ceasefire along the Line of Control and other sectors, and to address “each other’s core issues and concerns”. The sudden announcement was their first joint statement in over eight years. Source link
The ministry added it will retaliate against the sanctions on a reciprocal basis. The development comes after the United States imposed individual sanctions targeting senior Russian officials over the alleged poisoning of jailed Russian vlogger Alexei Navalny. Source link
The traditional freshman rite, designed to create cohesion among students, has come under fire for racist and degrading impersonations of other cultures. In the words of a critic and former graduate: “White people cannot decide when something is racist.” Source link
It is no secret that a good professional coach can make any workout session go much smoother and help one be more motivated to achieve their goals. But when the coach is as charming as this doggo, the workout becomes so much more enjoyable. Source link
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Nicaragua has started inoculating the population with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Prensa reported. Source link
YEREVAN (Sputnik) – The leader of Armenia’s united opposition, Vazgen Manukyan, said President Armen Sarkissian had agreed to a meeting. Source link
PARIS (Sputnik) – French President Emmanuel Macron, during a telephone conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, expressed concern over decisions made by Iran in violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Elysee Palace said in a statement. Source link
Letterlocking is considered a centuries-old technique in which an individual intricately folds a piece of correspondence in order to safeguard the contents from any eagle-eyed snooper. The practice was even tapped by Mary, Queen of Scots, who protected the contents of an 1587 letter to her brother-in-law with a so-called “butterfly lock” seal. Source link
Kayleigh McEnany was the last White House press secretary to serve under former US President Donald Trump, closing shut a revolving door of Trump-era insiders who took up the post during the administration’s four years. Prior to McEnany, the position was filled by Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Stephanie Grisham. Source link
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – A mere 20 percent of Americans consider promoting democracy in other nations a top US foreign policy priority, placing global US proselytizing of democratic virtues less important than 19 objectives, according to a PEW Research Center poll. Source link
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – President Joe Biden said there is no immigration crisis and his administration will be able to handle the influx of migrants illegally crossing the US-Mexico border. Source link
The US President Joe Biden administration last week imposed dozens of sanctions on Saudi officials and individuals believed to be connected to the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist. Source link
US Blacklists Several Russian, German, Swiss Companies Over Alleged Poisoning of Navalny Source link
The US has on spurious grounds banned Chinese tech firms for ostensibly placing surveillance backdoors into their technology on behalf of the Chinese government. However, the head of the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation has revealed the law enforcement agency is pressuring tech firms to do just that. Source link
Earlier, Iran rejected an invitation from global partners of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to discuss the Middle Eastern country’s potential return to the negotiating table. Iran has repeatedly indicated it will not negotiate as long as US sanctions remain in place, a stance firmly opposed by Washington officials. Source link
The text reads like “a memory aid”, says Egyptologist Sofie Schiødt, from the University of Copenhagen, noting the target audience was likely real connoisseurs of the sophisticated embalming rituals considered to be sacred in ancient Egypt. Source link
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier accused Tehran of being behind the explosions that damaged an Israeli-owned cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman, but failed to provide any evidence to support the claims. Source link
Despite actively implementing sanctions ever since bilateral relations started to deteriorate in 2014, Washington has maintained cooperation with Russia in the space industry, namely continuing to buy heavy boosters for space launches from Moscow. Source link
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked over the telephone with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and urged the Ethiopian government to take specific steps to prevent further violence in the Tigray region, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – German-based SoundCloud music platform said on Tuesday it introduced a new payment system under which independent artists will gain royalties based on the number of their actual listeners, thus the funds that users pay for a subscription will be equally divided among the artists they listen to. Source link
Prices for petrol and diesel in India have jumped 16 times in the past month. The cost of the Liquified Petroleum Gas cylinder largely used for domestic and commercial cooking too saw a sharp surge from 1 March. Source link
Lucy Flores is among several women who accused the Democrat of inappropriate hugging, kissing, and touching. One of the women who came forward with accusations even claimed that Biden sexually assaulted her when she worked for him as a staff assistant. Source link
Polling for assembly elections is scheduled for four states in India – West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Assam along with one Union Territory, Puducherry over the next two months. Political campaigning is one of the most awaited times for many helpless or poor people to share their personal or locality’s grievances with leaders. Source link
Staying at a hotel overlooking planet Earth sounds like a science fiction scenario, but in only six years this might be a reality – that, at least, is what the Orbital Assembly Corporation, which is working on such a guesthouse, promises. Source link
Emma Coronel Aispuro, 31, was arrested in the United States last week and faces several charges, including drug trafficking . For years she has denied any involvement in the criminal activities of her husband’s Sinaloa group, which is one of the largest and most dangerous cartels. Source link
The Chennai-Vladivostok shipping lane is considered a crucial component of India’s own Indo-Pacific vision, which aims at enhancing connections in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Amid growing maritime security, convergence between India and the US in the Indo-Pacific waters, New Delhi says it needs Russia to boost its maritime sector. Source link
Despite the loss of the White House and Senate majority in the 2020 electoral cycle, the GOP managed to boost its position in the House of Representatives, gaining 14 new seats, and falling just five seats short of retaking the majority. Source link
Between 2018 and 2019, India reported 4,05,861 cases of crimes against women out of which, 59,853 incidents were reported in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), as per the National Crime Record Bureau’s 2019 “Crime in India” report. In recent days, cases of brutal rapes and murders of women have also emerged from Uttar Pradesh. Source link
Former President Nicolas Sarkozy has been convicted in a French court and sentenced to 3 years in prison for corruption and influence-peddling. Source link
MINSK (Sputnik) – The Belarusian Investigative Committee announced on Tuesday it was initiating extradition of ex-presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled to Lithuania amid unrest after the election. Source link
In June 2020, Cameron denounced Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to abolish the Department for International Development as a mistake, which will “mean less voice for development at the top table and ultimately less respect for the UK overseas”. Source link
China banned BBC World News from broadcasting in the country last month. The ban came amid severe criticism of the news channel’s reporting on the coronavirus and the alleged persecution of ethnic minority Uighurs. A similar ban is now being called for in India as well. Source link
The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a spike in the amount of people who are poor, which reached two million in 2020. But another reason for the alarming figures has been attributed to the lack of a solid policy, as well as unwillingness of the government to acknowledge the problem. Source link
On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that Brussels is set to propose a digital vaccination passport across the EU that will “provide proof that a person has been vaccinated” against COVID-19. Source link
The senator from Utah was previously spotted on Capitol Hill with a black eye and stitches on his face, above his eye and his mouth. Source link
SUWAYDA (Syria) (Sputnik) – Servicemen of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria distributed food packages to residents of the Bakka locality and refugees from different provinces of the country housed in a children’s summer camp in the province of Suwayda. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – SpaceX has cancelled the planned launch of a Falcon 9 carrier rocket with 60 Starlink satellites for the second time in the past two days. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The new design of a Russian carrier rocket powered by liquefied natural gas (methane) has been put together, a space industry source told Sputnik. Source link
Under the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence was established in a bid to review advances in AI and related technologies, and to ensure that the US is functioning on all cylinders and can meet new demands. Source link
Back in December, Twitter Safety announced the social media platform would begin prioritizing the “removal of the most harmful misleading information” from users’ timelines. Twitter has since removed over “8,400 Tweets and challenged 11.5 million accounts worldwide.” Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Measures are needed that would force foreign IT giants to comply with Russian laws and fulfill the demands of Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor, Russian upper house speaker, Valentina Matviyenko, told Sputnik. Source link
Africa as a whole has suffered comparatively less deaths from the novel coronavirus compared to many industrialized nations, for reasons still not entirely clear. However, if global vaccination trends are not reversed, the continent’s deaths could continue long after they decline in other places. Source link
The UAE and Israel signed a normalization agreement on August 13, 2020, officially referred to as the Abraham Accords. As a result, the UAE became the third Arab country after Egypt in 1997 and Jordan in 1994 to formally formalize its relationship with Israel. Source link
Paul Bond is the fourth man to be convicted in connection with Monaco-based consultancy Unaoil, which allegedly paid millions in bribes to secure contacts worth a total of $1.7 billion for a raft of prestigious Western firms. Source link
Ron Klain is an American attorney and former lobbyist who is currently serving as the White House Chief of Staff under US President Joe Biden. From 2009 to 2011, Klain served as Biden’s Chief of Staff when he was vice president. He had also previously served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Al Gore, from 1995 to 1999. Source link
Bill Gates let on that he preferred phones running the Android operating system to Apple’s iOS because they often came pre-installed with software from Microsoft, the Big Tech giant he founded back in 1975. Source link
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier engaged in a verbal rant on issues related to Islam’s status in Europe with French President Emmanuel Macron, which led to the further deterioration of bilateral ties between the two countries, as the duo has also been at odds over a number of geopolitical issues. Source link
Claims that Russian military intelligence offered bounties on American personnel first emerged in US media last June, months after then-president Donald Trump’s administration signed a treaty to end the 19-year Afghan war. New president Joe Biden’s team has already signalled that Washington will delay the agreed troop withdrawal. Source link
Last week, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington was continuing its review of potential “sanctionable activity” by companies involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. Source link
The golf legend has a history of car accidents. In 2017 police officers found him asleep in a car with its engine running. Further investigation revealed that he had several types of medication in his blood at the time of the accident. The athlete pleaded guilty to reckless driving and was sentenced to one year of probation. Source link
The US claims its jets raided the facility belonging to Iraqi militants, purportedly responsible for the February rocket attacks against American objects in Iraq, which claimed one life and left several US citizens injured. Washington insists that the attacks were sponsored by Iran. Source link
Guess who’s back? Donald Trump made a triumphant return to the spotlight as the former president enthralled thousands of Republicans at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump stood before his supporters and earned rapturous applause as he asked them, “Do you miss me yet? Source link
The study’s authors were frank in their assessment of the “Africa paradox” of apparent low COVID-19 rates in the densely-populated and poverty-afflicted continent — simply putting it down to a failure to test patients even when they showed symptoms of the disease. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Retired Russian tennis superstar Maria Sharapova has entered the Forbes list of the top 10 richest self-made women in Russia, according to a fresh ranking published on Monday. Source link
The announcement comes amid growing calls from EU member-states to adopt the passports amid concerns over a major decline in the bloc’s tourism industry, with others stating the documents could be prematurely imposed amid a lack of understanding of current vaccination efforts. Source link
Sarkozy, who served as president of France from 2007 to 2012, was charged with corruption in at least two cases after his retirement, as reports emerged suggesting that he illegally financed his failed 2012 political campaign. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev believes that the whole world should now act to tackle the nuclear problem without falling into hopelessness. Source link
The development comes as Trump hinted that he may run for president again in 2024. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the businessman-turned-politician dismissed rumours that he would start his own political party. Source link
Researchers from the Moscow State University of Psychology & Education (MSUPE) are developing a unique gaze-based system to control a computer with “the power of thought”. Source link
Not many Haredis, who make up some 12 percent of Israel’s population, are engaged in the nation’s workforce. Even fewer work in the hi-tech sector. Yet an entrepreneur who is a member of the Ultra-Orthodox community says most want to become integrated, but they don’t want to be forced to change. Source link
Washington previously stated that the US is “ready to reengage in meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to compliance with [the deal’s] commitments”. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The refusal of Iran to meet for informal consultations on the nuclear deal with the United States is not Tehran’s “final say,” Permanent Representative of Russia to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mikhail Ulyanov said on Monday. Source link
The P1 variant, which was first detected in the northern Brazilian city of Manaus in December, is thought to be similar to the so-called South African strain and responds less well to current vaccines. Source link
Before the demonstrations, Denmark, which has been under a partial lockdown since late 2020, had announced that it would ease some coronavirus restrictions but keep the majority of the restrictive measures in place despite protests from the opposition and members of the public who see the restrictions as an encroachment on their freedom. Source link
It can be really slippery during the winter season, and, of course, people are not the only ones who suffer from that problem. It seems that our canine friends also lose their balance when they stay on ice – even though they have four legs to stand firm. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that less than 10 percent of the global population have antibodies to the coronavirus, WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said. Source link
Etna is Europe’s highest active volcano, located in Italy on Sicilia’s east coast. On 16 February, the volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month, spewing lava and ash into the sky and down its slopes. Source link
Two former Cuomo administration staffers, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett, earlier shared their stories of how the New York governor allegedly sexually harassed them during their tenure. Source link
On Friday, US intelligence declassified a report on the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which claimed that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, approved the assassination. The publication’s findings were immediately refuted by Riyadh, which saw support from a handful of other Arab countries. Source link
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States is preparing new measures against Myanmar in connection with the reported violence during the recent protests, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said. Source link
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is an annual forum, held this year in Florida by the American Conservative Union. Sunday is the final chapter of the four-day event, which is expected to give the ex-POTUS a platform to announce his future political plans. Source link
A black man in the US, George Floyd, died in Minneapolis after being brutally detained for the reported use of a fake banknote in a shop. A white police officer, Derek Chauvin, used his knee to press Floyd’s neck to the ground for eight minutes and forty-six seconds as the man pleaded for his life and subsequently died of asphyxiation. Source link
CAIRO (Sputnik) – Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has held a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and expressed support for Saudi Arabia’s position regarding the case of slain columnist Jamal Khashoggi amid the United States implying bin Salman’s responsibility, the state-run QNA news agency reported on Sunday. Source link
Already under fire for what is believed to be a concealment of the true numbers of coronavirus fatalities in New York state’s nursing homes, state Governor Andrew Cuomo also faces allegations of sexual harassment from two former aides: Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett. Source link
Damascus attributes frequent missile attacks that Syria faces to Tel Aviv. Israeli military operations are targeting what is believed to be Iranian-backed militia groups in the country. Source link
Dinosaur diversity came to a dramatic end around 66 million years ago, as scientists have long linked the end of this megafauna era to an celestial impact event that had struck what is today the Yucatan Peninsula in southeastern Mexico. Source link
On 27 February, the House of Representatives passed the much-discussed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill proposed by President Joe Biden on a near party-line 219-212 vote. While no GOP lawmaker endorsed the legislation, two Democrats, Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), cast votes against the proposal. Source link
The ex-president will deliver his first political speech since leaving the White House on the closing day of the key American conservative event. The topic, however, has been kept secret so far. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Iran has rejected the offer of the United States and the European Union to hold direct negotiations over the nuclear deal in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing two senior Western diplomats. Source link
The newly-elected Labour leader at Holyrood also attacked the devolved Scottish National Party administration’s “divisive” plan to hold a repeat of 2014’s independence referendum on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Source link
After a little over a month in office, the Democratic president gave his first order for military action targeting facilities in an Arab state where American troops have been illegally deployed for years and remain under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Source link
The Duke of Edinburgh, who will turn 100 in June, was admitted to the King Edward VII Hospital in London on 16 February. Initially, the Palace did not disclose the reason, but later said the he was being treated for an infection. Concerns have been growing about his condition, as the royal family said he would only be hospitalised for “a few days”. Source link
Washington earlier published an intelligence report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) claiming that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had “approved” the operation that resulted in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Riyadh has strongly rejected the findings of the report. Source link
America’s global power depends on a strategy of “containment” towards China. Containment is just a euphemism for aggression, hostility and confrontation. And such a strategy is bound to fail. Source link
Over the past few decades, researchers have increasingly proposed a handful of possible celestial alignments for the pyramids, especially with the Giza pyramid complex, given that ancient builders are believed to have been exceptionally attentive to signs from heaven, which is sure to have had a bearing on the choices they made. Source link
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Berlin might face compensation claims in arbitration courts if it suspends the Nord Stream 2 project, Environment Minister Svenja Schulze told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. Source link
Dogs are pack animals, so they are always ready to act together – even when they are planning shenanigans and trying to eat food that is not meant for them. Source link