Author: Mike Harrison

The latest village massacres come amid a dangerous escalation in attacks following the election of Niger’s new President, Mohamed Bazoum, several weeks ago. Niamey (Niger) Gunmen aboard motorcycles have attacked a series of villages near Niger’s troubled border with Mali, leaving at least 137 people dead in the deadliest violence to strike the African country in recent memory, the government has announced.The latest village massacres come amid a dangerous escalation in attacks following the election of Niger’s new President, Mohamed Bazoum, several weeks ago.Government spokesman Abdourahmane Zakaria confirmed on Monday the latest killings took place on Sunday, the same day…

In the earlier list, G-23 members like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari were missing. The Congress has named Manish Tewari, a member of the group of 23 dissenters (G-23) as a star campaigner for the second phase of polling in Bengal. In the earlier list, G-23 members like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari were missing. In the past two weeks, Mr Tewari has also been the party’s lead speaker on most debates in the Lok Sabha as other articulate MPs are busy with elections in their States. Source

A seven-year-old boy was killed and another boy sustained injuries when a crude bomb exploded in the Rashidpur area in Bardhaman town on Monday. The bomb was kept in a bag and the children accidentally came in contact with it while playing on the street.Locals took the children to the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital. The deceased has been identified as Sheikh Afroz (7), while Sheikh Ibrahim (9) is undergoing treatment at the hospital. The Election Commission has sought a report from the district administration over the incident. The incident has sparked fresh fears of violence five days before West…

The sanctions were applied under the U.S.’s Global Magnitsky Act, which means their U.S. assets, if any, will be frozen and U.S. entities are prohibited from doing business with them. Days after the Biden administration held its first bilateral meeting with Beijing, the U.S. joined Canada, the U.K., and the European Union in imposing sanctions against two Chinese officials who it said had been involved in human rights abuses. The officials, Wang Junzheng, the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), and Chen Mingguo, Director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (XPSB), were sanctioned…

Rohan Narayan beat Akash Kulhary 6-3, 6-3 to set up a pre-quarterfinal against top seed Aditya Khanna in the ITF seniors tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Monday.The results (first round):Over-35: Rohan Narayan bt Akash Kulhary 6-3, 6-3; Nitin Sharma bt Kunal Moktan 6-1, 6-3; Raj Kumar bt Sandeep Pant 6-0, 6-1; Vipin Sirpaul bt Punar Bhasin 6-4, 6-4; Manav Arora bt Rohit Sharma 6-2, 6-4; Mohit Phogat bt Rohan Bhasin 6-2, 6-0.Over-45: Kuldeep Rawat bt Pradeep Gupta 6-0, 6-1; Narendra Kankaria bt A. Rastogi 6-3, 6-4; Naresh Kumar bt Satyakam Goswami 6-0, 6-3; Sunil Lulla bt Amit Ranjan…

Volunteers from abroad will not be allowed into Japan for the postponed Tokyo Olympics, organisers said on Monday.The announcement came two days after Tokyo organisers said they would ban international fans from coming into Japan. Both measures are aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. Organisers said a limited number of volunteers might be allowed if they have special skills.No other choice“I’m really sorry, but we have decided there is no other choice but to drop the plan,” said Toshiro Muto, the CEO of the organising committee.Organisers had planned to use about 80,000 unpaid volunteers. The Tokyo Metropolitan government had…

Lionel Messi scored twice on Sunday as Barcelona trounced Real Sociedad 6-1 to keep the pressure on Atletico Madrid, which squeezed past Alaves thanks to a late penalty save from Jan Oblak.Oblak’s 86th-minute heroics ensured Luis Suarez’s 500th career goal was enough for a 1-0 victory at the Wanda Metropolitano, meaning the gap at the top of LaLiga remains at four points, with 10 games left to play.But the contrast between Atletico’s nervy win against 19th-placed Alaves and Barca’s demolition of a Real Sociedad side with hopes of qualifying for Europe spoke volumes about where the momentum lies in the…

Kanyaon ki cricket hogi, zaroor aayiye (There will be a cricket match by girls, do come).Thus announced Mahendra Kumar Sharma on a microphone, as he moved around the streets of Lucknow in an autorickshaw one Saturday afternoon five decades ago. Those were the earliest days for women’s cricket in India.There was no such announcement this past weekend, but an excellent crowd — notwithstanding the recent increase in COVID-19 cases — turned up at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium on Sunday to watch India take on South Africa in the second T20I match. The women’s game has indeed a come long…

It also promises ₹5,000 a month as interim relief to families of migrant workers till they get employment The Congress on Monday released its manifesto for the West Bengal Assembly polls with a promise of social security for the most economically backward families and a promise for industry.In the manifesto released by State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the party assured a monthly support of ₹5,700 to 20% of the most economically backward families. The manifesto also promised ₹5,000 a month as interim relief to families of migrant workers till they get employment.The Congress, which is contesting in 92 of…

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the West seeks to dominate global economy and politics and impose its will on others Russia’s relations with China were currently at “the best in their entire history”, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said as he began a key visit to China on Monday.The visit comes shortly after the March 19 China-U.S. dialogue in Alaska and follows the first leaders’ summit of the Quad – India, Australia, Japan and the U.S. – held virtually on March 12.Mr. Lavrov said in an interview with Chinese State media, ahead of his talks with his counterpart Wang Yi, that…