International

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the BRICS’ summit in South Africa amid a possible warrant of arrest under the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Ukraine. South Africa’s presidential office announced that the Russian president would not be attending the summit after holding a “number of consultations” with the Kremlin. South Africa is an ICC signatory and would be expected to aid in his arrest if the Russian leader came to the summit. Putin’s potential attendance had sparked a domestic political scandal. President Cyril Ramaphosa said taking part in arresting Putin would risk a war with Russia. “Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting president would be a declaration of war. It would be inconsistent with our constitution to risk e...

Russia's president has said members of the Wagner mercenary group were fully funded by the state. According to Vladimir Putin, Wagner was given 86.262bn roubles ($1bn) from May 2022 to May 2023 alone for salaries and bonuses, which came from the defence ministry and state budget. The private army's revolt on Saturday rocked Russia. Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, arrived in Belarus on Tuesday after agreeing to leave Russia. His arrival was confirmed by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko. Earlier, a private jet linked to Prigozhin was tracked landing in Minsk, the Belarusian capital. On Saturday, mercenary troops led by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin took over the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, marched on Moscow and shot down Russian military helicopters and a pla...

Confirmation that the crew aboard the submersible that went missing during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic nearly a week ago have all died means the massive search operation that was launched in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean has new priorities. The US Coast Guard confirmed on Thursday afternoon that all five men aboard had perished following what was probably a "catastrophic implosion" of the OceanGate Titan sub. But many questions about what exactly happened remain and doing everything possible to try and answer these will be the focus moving forward. Will the bodies be recovered? Rear Adm Mauger said he could not confirm whether or not the US Coast Guard would be able to locate the victims' bodies. "This is an incredibly unforgiving environment," he said. Those a...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been officially welcomed at the White House as part of a state visit, kicking off a day of events that will be capped by a lavish state dinner. Modi was greeted by US President Joe Biden on Thursday, as a military band played both countries’ national anthems and soldiers paraded on the south lawn. The Indian leader met chants of “Modi, Modi, Modi” from supporters. Protesters also gathered outside the White House gates. “I’ve long believed the relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century,” Biden said. “Prime Minister Modi, welcome back to the White House.” “The challenges and opportunities facing the world in this century require that India and the United States work and lead ...

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has been charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women. His brother Tristan and two associates also face charges. All have denied the allegations. The Tate brothers were first arrested at their Bucharest home in December. In March, they were moved from custody to house arrest following a ruling by a Romanian judge. The indictment deposited with the Bucharest court says that the four defendants formed an organised criminal group in 2021 to commit human trafficking in Romania, but also in other countries including the US and the UK. It names seven alleged victims who it says were recruited by the Tate brothers through false promises of love and marriage. The alleged victim...

By Timoteus Iyambo Moscow has announced almost 98% of residents in Russian-occupied regions voted to join Russia amid condemnation by International Community and several European Nations. Russia's state-owned Ria Novosti news agency reported that all ballots have now been counted with majority vowed for annexation of Ukraine occupied regions. “Election officials indicated 93% win in Zaporizhzhia region, as did 87% agreed to join Russia in Kherson region, 98% in the Luhansk region and as well as 99% in Donetsk,” Rio Novosti news agency reported. According to Sergey Tsvetkov, a former Ukrainian politician turned Russian senator from Crimea, referendums can be considered valid. “The referendums were held in accordance with international norms, legislation, and can be recognized as l...