Russian soldiers get detention in 'underground' prisons as punishment for refusing to fight or alcohol abuse

The Ministry of Defence has said that Russian commanders are possibly punishing soldiers by putting them into confined earthen pits.

The MoD stated that troops are likely confronting the makeshift prisons as a kind of punishment for behaviours like being intoxicated or refusing to participate in the Ukraine war in its daily intelligence update on Sunday.

According to the report, the “Zindans” are simply ground-level holes that have been “covered with a metal grille.” According to the MoD’s statement, there have been numerous instances of Zindans being used.

According to the report, Russian commanders have likely started holding rebellious soldiers in improvised cells called “Zindans,” which are made of holes in the ground topped with a metal grille, as a form of punishment for disciplinary violations.

“Numerous recent reports from Russian personnel give similar accounts of being sent to Zindans for offences including intoxication and attempting to break contracts,” according to one article.

“In the early months of the war, many Russian commanders took a relatively light touch in enforcing discipline, allowing those who refused to soldier to return home quietly,” the MoD continued.

Since the autumn of 2022, numerous increasingly harsh measures have been taken to tighten up the force’s discipline, particularly since Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov took over as commander of the operation in January 2023.

Zindans are an age-old method of punishment where the prisoner might be humiliatingly kept in full sight while being refused food or supplies.
Also Read: ‘Thick-skinned’ Russian soldiers down with radiation sickness after fishing, digging trenches in Chernobyl

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin has been repressing his detractors and opponents.

Alexei Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition who is currently in prison, has witnessed the full extent of the retribution that awaits detractors.

Initially given a two-and-a-half-year prison term for violating his parole, Mr. Navalny was last year given a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court. He is currently serving his time 250 kilometres east of Moscow.

Navalny has spent months in a small one-man cell while in detention for offences including allegedly failing to correctly fasten his prison robe, properly present himself to a guard, or washing his face at a predetermined time, among other reported infractions.

His supporters have charged that the jail staff failed to give him the required medical care, exposed him to dazzling light in his cell, and put him close to a mentally ill inmate.

In the meantime, Gleb Karakulov, a member of Vladimir Putin’s elite, covert personal security force, quit the Russian army in October.

He gave an interview earlier this month to rally his former coworkers to oppose the president while he was safe and sound outside of Russia.

“What is happening now [with the war in Ukraine] is beyond the pale, it defies reason,” he said in a video address to Russian officers. “You can’t serve this war criminal Vladimir Putin by carrying out his criminal orders.”

You have knowledge that is not broadcast on television, he continued. I’ve only caught a glimpse of it. Come forward and provide me with additional proof. You’ll discover the reality.

The Russian president, he claimed, was once an inspiring figure but is now more alone and refuses to use a cell phone or the internet while insisting on having access to Russian state television wherever he goes.

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Interstellar War: India needs ‘space-based’ weapons says Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari

It looks like the Indian armed forces believe that someday, in the near future, we will have to be ready to fight in space. Perhaps that is why Indian Air Force’s Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, has pointed out the need for defensive and offensive capabilities in the space domain.

Armed skirmishes or full-fledged wars being fought in space isn’t exactly a new concept. As more and more countries are sending their own missions to space, there is a very good chance that there will be some serious contention over some issue or the other, especially considering that many countries don’t have any treaties as to how they’re supposed to conduct their business in space.

“Future lies in space-based platforms”
India must improve its defensive and offensive space capabilities since the “future lies in having space-based platforms,” Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari said on Saturday at a national security and geopolitics seminar.

Also read: Space is next frontier: As China pushes ahead, India needs to bridge the gap

“In the future, instead of having purely land-based offensive systems, we should also have space-based offensive systems,” Chaudhari told The Economic Times.

The competition and rivalry between global powers in space “will have ramifications across all domains of warfare,” he predicted, predicting that his Air Force will soon be transformed into an Air Space Force and “will be called upon to participate in space situational awareness, space denial exercises, or space control exercises.”

Battlefield of the next war: Land, Sea, Air, Computers, and Space
“The race to weaponize space has already begun, and the day is not far away when our next war will spread across all domains of land, sea, air, cyber, and space,” said the air force chief in March. On Saturday, he said that the race has been going on since Nazi Germany launched its V-2 rocket about 80 years ago.

Also read: Star Wars: Classified CIA document says China readying cyber weapons to disable enemy satellites in space

General Anil Chauhan, India’s Chief of Defence Staff, has declared that “military applications of space is the dominant discourse from which we cannot remain divorced.”

“The goal for all of us should be to develop dual-use platforms with a special emphasis on incorporating cutting-edge technology,” he said on April 11 at the Indian DefSpace Symposium.

Mission Shakti to guide future weapons of space?
It’s unclear what type of futuristic space weaponry the military wants, but Chaudhari believes India could capitalise on the success of its 2019 anti-satellite missile launch. The so-called Mission Shakti destroyed a satellite 300 kilometres distant in low-Earth orbit, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised it as an “unprecedented achievement” at the time.

After the United States, Russia, and China, India has become the fourth “space superpower” to officially display its ASAT missile capacity. Members of the space club have frequently accused one another of weaponizing space, raising concerns about covert military launches and dual-purpose testing, but have never confessed to holding any orbital weapons systems.

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Zelenskiy holds call with Macron, discussed Ukraine's military needs

French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke by phone on Sunday and discussed Ukraine’s peace formula and the situation on the frontline.

Both leaders also discussed Ukraine’s military needs, both sides said. Zelenskyy said, “I am grateful to France and Emmanuel personally for their support of our country and our people,”. He thanked France for promising to send weapons to Ukraine.

Zelenskiy said he had a long and meaningful talk with Macron during which the two men coordinated their positions on the war and on how to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

“I am grateful to France and Emmanuel personally for their support of our country and our people,” he said in an evening video address, in which he also thanked France for promising to send weapons to Ukraine.

The French presidency said Macron had reaffirmed France’s support for Ukraine to Zelenskiy, and that Macron had given an update on European coordination to give Ukraine military help.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed confidence earlier this week that the bloc would finalise a plan within days to buy ammunition for Ukraine after Kyiv expressed frustration at wrangling among EU member states.

With inputs from agencies.

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Widening manhunt for Texas gunman slowed by 'zero leads'

The FBI appeared no closer to apprehending the assailant after nearly two days of searching with a team that has grown to hundreds of people as officers knocked on doors, the governor offered a $50,000 reward, and the widening manhunt for a Texas gunman who fatally shot five neighbours continued coming up empty on Sunday.

“I can tell you right now, we have zero leads,” James Smith, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters while again asking the public for tips in the rural town of Cleveland, where the shooting took place just before midnight Friday.

The scope of the hunt for the shooter in the Houston area has expanded. According to reports, by Sunday night, more than 200 police officers from various jurisdictions were looking for Francisco Oropeza, with many of them knocking on doors in quest of any information that would help them locate the 38-year-old culprit. The FBI and local authorities both contributed to the reward fund, bringing the sum up to $80,000 for any information regarding Oropeza’s whereabouts.

Oropeza, who reportedly fled the neighbourhood on foot on Friday night, is thought to be armed and dangerous. Sheriff of San Jacinto County Greg Capers stated that officials had expanded the search area beyond the shooting’s scene. The incident took place after the suspect’s neighbours begged him to cease firing shots in his yard at odd hours of the night because a baby was attempting to fall asleep.

Wilson Garcia, the father of the infant, spoke at a vigil on Sunday in Cleveland about the terrifying attempts his friends and family made inside his home that evening to flee, hide, and protect the children after Oropeza approached the house and started firing, killing his wife first at the front door.

Another of Garcia’s children, 9-year-old Daniel Enrique Laso, was also killed. Garcia said he and two other people had gone to “respectfully” ask Oropeza to shoot his gun farther away from the house on a street where residents say it is not uncommon for neighbours to unwind by firing off guns.

Garcia said he walked away and called the police when Oropeza refused. It was 10 to 20 minutes later, he said he saw Oropeza loading his AR-style rifle while running toward the house.

“I told my wife, ‘Get inside. This man has loaded his weapon,'” Garcia said. “My wife told me to go inside because, ‘He won’t fire at me. I’m a woman.'”

Authorities have said at least five other people who were in the house at the time were uninjured.

During the early hours of the search, investigators found clothes and a phone while combing an area that includes dense layers of the forest, but tracking dogs lost the scent, Capers said.

Authorities were able to identify Oropeza by an identity card issued by Mexican authorities to citizens who reside outside the country, as well as the doorbell camera footage. He said police have also interviewed the suspect’s wife multiple times.

Police recovered the AR-15-style rifle that they said Oropeza used in the shootings. Authorities were not sure if Oropeza was carrying another weapon after others were found in his home.

Capers said he hoped the reward money would motivate people to provide information and that there were plans to put up billboards in Spanish to spread the word.

“We’re looking for closure for this family,” Capers said.

By Sunday, police crime scene tape was removed from around the victims’ home, where some people stopped by to leave flowers.

In the neighbourhood, an FBI agent, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and other officers were seen going door to door. One trooper stopped a red truck and asked to look inside before letting the driver continue on his way.

Veronica Pineda, 34, who lives across the street from the suspect’s home, said authorities asked if they could search her property to see if he might be hiding there. She said she was fearful that the gunman had not yet been captured.

“It is kind of scary,” she said. “You never know where he can be.”

Pineda said she didn’t know Oropeza well but occasionally saw him, his wife and his son ride their horses on the street. She said the family had lived there for about five or six years and that neighbours have called authorities in the past to complain about people firing guns.

According to authorities, the victims were between the ages of 9 and 31 years old and were all believed to have been shot from the neck up. All were believed to be from Honduras.

Enrique Reina, Honduras’ secretary of foreign affairs and international cooperation, said on Twitter that the Honduran Consulate in Houston was contacting the families in connection with the repatriation of remains as well as U.S. authorities to keep apprised of the investigation.

The FBI in Houston said in a tweet on Sunday that it was referring to the suspect as Oropesa, not Oropeza, to “better reflect his identity in law enforcement systems.” His family lists their name as Oropeza on a sign outside their yard, as well as in public records. Authorities had also previously stated that Garcia’s son was 8 years old, but the father and school officials said Sunday that the third grader was 9.

A total of three children found covered in blood in the home were taken to a hospital but found to be uninjured, Capers said. He said they were staying with family members.

FBI spokesperson Christina Garza said investigators do not believe those at the home were members of a single family. In addition to the young boy, the other victims were identified as Sonia Argentina Guzman, 25; Diana Velazquez Alvarado, 21; Julisa Molina Rivera, 31; and Jose Jonathan Casarez, 18.

Garcia said they had called police five times between the time they asked Oropeza to shoot farther away and when the gunman entered their home. Capers said police got there as fast as they could and that he had three officers covering 700 square miles (1,800 square kilometres).

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Wagner chief complains of ammunition shortage, warns Ukrainian counteroffensive can turn into 'tragedy' for Russia

The head of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin on Sunday warned that an upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive could turn into a “tragedy” for Russia and complained that his fighters lacked ammunition.

For months Wagner has spearheaded the Russian attack on Bakhmut, the east Ukrainian town at the epicenter of fighting.

Prigozhin is an ally of President Vladimir Putin but as head of the private military group has been involved in a power struggle with Russia’s defence ministry.

“We (Wagner) have only 10-15 percent of the shells that we need,” he said, blaming the leadership of the Russian army.

He spoke in an interview with Russian pro-Kremlin war correspondent Semyon Pegov.

Prigozhin said he expected a Ukrainian counterattack in mid-May.

“This counteroffensive could become a tragedy for our country,” he said.

Ukraine said recently that it was finalising preparations for a long-expected counteroffensive.

On Sunday, the governor of Russia’s western Bryansk region said Ukraine had shelled a border village, killing four people and wounding two others.

A day earlier, a suspected drone hit a fuel depot in Moscow-annexed Crimea.

Russia replaces logistics commander

Meanwhile, the Russian Army on Sunday replaced its highest-ranking general in charge of logistics ahead of an expected counteroffensive by Kyiv.

Speculation had been rife about the sacking of Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, under British sanctions for his role in the siege of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which Russian troops captured a year ago.

With inputs from AFP

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Russia blames Ukraine drone attack for major Crimea fuel depot fire

Russia-Ukraine War: Russia has blamed Ukraine for a drone strike that has set a major fuel depot in Crimea on fire.

A Ukrainian drone strike set ablaze a Russian fuel storage facility in the Crimean port of Sevastopol early on Saturday, sending a vast column of black smoke into the sky in the latest attack on the Russia-occupied peninsula.

The city’s Moscow-installed governor blamed Ukraine and later said the fire had been put out before a disaster occurred.

A Ukrainian military intelligence official said more than 10 tanks of oil products with a capacity of about 40,000 tonnes intended for use by Russia’s Black Sea Fleet were destroyed, RBC Ukraine reported.

The strike came as Ukraine prepares for a long-promised counter offensive to push Russian forces back from territory they seized since invading in February 2022.

Ukraine says control of all its legal territory, including Crimea, is a key condition for any peace deal. Russian forces occupied the peninsula in 2014.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of sending waves of aerial and seaborne drones to attack Crimea.

Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said only one drone hit the oil tanks.

“The enemy … wanted to take Sevastopol by surprise, as usual, by staging a sneak attack in the morning,” Razvozhaev wrote on the Telegram app.

Russian firefighters had shown how to defeat a major blaze “and prevent a catastrophe”, he added.

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PM Narendra Modi, Biden to meet in Papua New Guinea next month

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his US counterpart Joe Biden will meet in Papua New Guinea next month where they will join Pacific Islands leaders to take part in the “historic” future-oriented meeting, the island’s Prime Minister James Marape said.

“This is a historic first and at the same time a ‘going forward’ futuristic meeting of global superpowers, in the biggest country in the Pacific,” Marape said in a statement.

Biden’s visit to Papua New Guinea’s capital Port Moresby will be the first such visit by a sitting US President to the resource-rich but largely undeveloped country of 9.4 million people just north of Australia.

Papua New Guinea has been on the radar of both China and the US and its allies. The last time Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the nation was in 2018.

Washington has stepped up efforts to counter Beijing’s growing influence in the region after China struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands last year. China failed to reach a wider security and trade deal with 10 Pacific island countries.

The island nation is working out security pacts with the US and Australia while Marape has been invited to visit Beijing this year.

“In the Indo-Pacific conversation, PNG and the Pacific cannot be ignored. With our combined forest and sea areas, we have the world’s greatest carbon sink, and the biggest sea and air space on earth,” Marape said.

The 18 countries and territories in the Pacific Islands Forum cover 30 million square km (10 million square miles) of ocean. The region’s leaders say climate change is their greatest security threat, amid worsening cyclones and rising sea levels.

Modi and Biden will stop in Papua New Guinea on the way to Australia for a May 24 summit of the Quad, which also includes Japan and Australia.

Marape said he had invited Biden when they met in Washington last year and was “very honoured that he has fulfilled his promise to me to visit our country”.

With inputs from agencies

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Ukraine asserts control over crucial supply route into Bakhmut

The Ukrainian government has asserted the Ukraine military retains control of a key supply route into Bakhmut despite several months of assault by Russia.

This statement was put out by a Ukrainian military spokesperson on Saturday even as the head of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group threatened to withdraw some of his troops from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if Moscow did not send more ammunition.

Russian forces have been trying for 10 months to punch their way into the shattered remains of what was once a city of 70,000. Kyiv has pledged to defend Bakhmut, which Russia sees as a stepping stone to attacking other cities.

“For several weeks, the Russians have been talking about seizing the ‘road of life,’ as well as about constant fire control over it,” Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukrainian troops in the east, said in an interview with local news website Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.

“Yes, it is really difficult there … (but) the defence forces have not allowed the Russians to ‘cut off’ our logistics.”

The “road of life” is a vital road between the ruined Bakhmut and the nearby town Chasiv Yar to the west – a distance of just over 17 km (10.56 miles).

If Bakhmut fell, Chasiv Yar would probably be next to come under Russian attack according to military analysts, though it is on higher ground and Ukrainian forces are believed to have built defensive fortifications nearby.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner Group, who has often claimed unverifiable successes, said that his forces have advanced some 100 to 150 metres (109 to 164 yards) in Bakhmut, leaving just under 3 square km of the city in Ukrainian hands.

But he said he lost 94 troops.

“It would have had been five times fewer if we had more ammunition,” Prigozhin said in an audio statement published on the Telegram messaging app of his press service on Saturday evening.

Separately, in a nearly 90-minute video interview with Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov published on Saturday,

Prigozhin threatened to withdraw troops from Bakhmut, saying they had enough ammunition left only for days.

“If the shortage of ammunition is not replenished, then … most likely, we will be forced to withdraw part of the units,” Prigozhin said, quoting a letter he said was sent to Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, giving an April 28 deadline.

It was not immediately known when the interview was recorded.

Prigozhin has often said the regular armed forces are not giving his men the ammunition they need and has sometimes accused top brass of betrayal.

“We need to stop deceiving the population and telling them that everything is fine,” Prigozhin said in the interview. “I must honestly say: Russia is on the brink of a disaster.”

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Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei calls US an 'unreliable friend', says even one American in Iraq is too many

Calling the US an “unreliable friend”, Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Latif Rashid not to allow any US troops in its territory.

Iran, which has strong ties with Iraq, opposes the US military presence on its borders in Iraq and the Gulf, saying Western military intervention is the root of insecurity in the region.

Khamenei said, “Americans are not friends of Iraq. Americans are not friends with anyone and are not even loyal to their European friends.”

Rashid is in Iran’s capital Tehran with his delegation to boost ties with his neighbours. The Iranian leader further said, “Even the presence of one American in Iraq is too much.”

The United States has some 2,500 troops in Iraq to help advise and assist local troops in combating Islamic State, which in 2014 seized territory in the country.

“Iraq’s main effort is to deepen relations with Iran and resolve certain remaining issues between the two countries,” Rashid was quoted as saying, without referring to Iraq’s ties with the United States.

With inputs from agencies

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US warns China, calls for end to "provocative and unsafe" acts in South China Sea

After a near-collision between a Philippines coast guard boat and a Chinese military vessel in the disputed South China Sea, the United States (US) called on China to stop “provocative and unsafe conduct”.

Ramping up rhetoric two days ahead of a visit by Filipino president Ferdinand Marcos Jr to the White House, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Saturday that the incident was a reminder of China’s “harassment and intimidation” of Philippine vessels in the contested maritime region.

“We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct,” he said, adding that any attack on Philippine armed forces would trigger a US response.

Joe Biden has been working to bolster relations with Asian allies as the US-Chinese relationship remains in a historically deep chill, and the Philippines’ proximity to key sea lanes and Taiwan gives it particular strategic importance.

The near-miss Sunday off the Spratly Islands was the latest in a long string of maritime incidents between China and the Philippines.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, ignoring an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.

The Philippine vessels approached Second Thomas Shoal, known in China as Ren’ai Jiao, in the Spratly archipelago.

As one boat, the BRP Malapascua, which was carrying Filipino journalists, neared the shoal, a Chinese Coast Guard vessel more than twice its size sailed into its path.

AFP journalists watched the incident from the other Philippine Coast Guard boat, which was less than a kilometer (0.6 miles) away.

The Malapascua’s commanding officer said the Chinese ship came within 45 meters (50 yards) of his boat and only his quick actions avoided the steel-hulled vessels crashing into each other.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Friday that the Philippine boats had “intruded” without China’s permission and called it a “premeditated and provocative action.”

But Manila hit back, saying that “routine patrols in our own waters can be neither premeditated or provocative” and insisting they will continue to conduct the patrols.

The near-miss came just a day after Marcos hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang for talks in Manila aimed at defusing tensions in the waterway.

Marcos has insisted he will not let China trample on the Philippines’ rights in the sea, and has gravitated toward the United States as he seeks to strengthen defense ties.

Early this month, the Philippines identified four additional military bases — in addition to five existing sites — to which US forces will have access, including one near the Spratly Islands.

The two countries also carried out their biggest ever military maneuvers in recent weeks.

This shift has alarmed China, which has accused Washington of trying to drive a wedge between Beijing and Manila.

US-Philippine ties were badly frayed under Marcos’s predecessor, the authoritarian Rodrigo Duterte.

Marcos has sought to allay public fears that the reviving alliance with the US could bring the Philippines into the conflict if China were to invade Taiwan.

He has said that with Biden he will discuss the “need to tone down the rhetoric” over the South China Sea, Taiwan and North Korea.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier in the month that Biden intended, in the meeting with Marcos, to “reaffirm the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines.”

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Imminent corporate tax not a burden for Indian businesses in UAE

Even if a new corporate tax is being introduced in United Arab Emirates after June 1 this year, NRI businesses in the gulf nation remain optimistic about the growth of business transactions between India and the UAE.

NRI and Indian residents doing business in the UAE have also stated that taxation is a major relief to avail the double-taxation avoidance schemes and safeguard the uncertainties of income tax levied in India on their foreign income, according to the experts.

Dr Sahitya Chaturvedi, a Chartered Accountant and Convener of Retail Focus group of Indian Business and Professional Council, said: “Taxation is an initiative for globalisation of the business from Gulf countries and the UAE has introduced the lowest corporate income tax rate within the GCC region at a standard rate of 9 per cent.”

“The UAE CT regime has been designed to incorporate best practices globally and minimize the compliance burden on businesses,” he said.

CA Harikishan Rankawat, Chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Dubai Chapter, said that the decision to provide tax relief to companies with revenue base below or equal to AED 3 million is a welcome relief and reflects the visionary and pro-business leadership of the UAE.

“As per the new Ministerial Decision No 73, the AED 3 million revenue threshold will apply to tax periods starting on or after 1st June 2023 and will only continue to apply to subsequent tax periods that end before or on 31st December 2026,” he said.

According to Rankwat, even if a business generating more than AED 375,000 net profit but has revenue below AED 3 million, can seek Small Business Relief and thus get exemption from Corporate Tax. “Even though the tax relief is provided to small businesses, but they have to register for UAE Corporate tax and file their Tax Return within 9 months from the end of their accounting period,” he said.

Giving a textile industry perspective, Chandrashekhar Bhatia of the Global Business Federation said the impact will not be adverse as textile is a big industry and 9 per cent will not be a major burden.

“Every developing country looking to extend facilities to businesses and people requires taxation. So, this is for the larger good of the business ecosystem and economic development,” Bhatia told PTI.

Janak Panjuani, the Director of the Puthran Chartered Accountants, said that on management remuneration payable to the board of directors, said a safe harbor provision from transfer pricing perspective could be 10 per cent of net profit as per article 171 of Commercial Company law.

On deductibility of interest on lease liability and Depreciation on Right of use assets, he said that interest on lease liability does not satisfy definition of Interest as per Corporate Tax law.

“Further Article 20(7) states that where there is conflict between Provisions of Corporate tax law and applicable accounting standards the provisions of the Corporate Tax law will prevail. Accordingly, as the things stands, subject to any cabinet decision in this regard it is advisable to disregard accounting as per IFRS 16 and in case of lessors’ depreciation on leased assets should be allowable as deductions while computing taxable income,” Panjuani said.

In case of Lessee, it will be leasing rent paid should be allowable as deduction while computing taxable income, he said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Afghan women protest against foreign recognition of Taliban ahead of UN summit

A group of Afghan women protested in Kabul on Saturday, defying a crackdown on dissent to urge foreign nations not to formally recognize the Taliban government ahead of a United Nations summit next week.

Since the Taliban surged back to power in 2021, protesters voicing opposition against creeping curbs on women’s rights have been beaten or detained, and security forces have fired in the air to disperse some rallies.

But small groups of women have continued to stage sporadic gatherings.

On Saturday, around 25 marched through a residential area in the Afghan capital ahead of a summit in Doha that the UN says will discuss a “durable way forward” for the country.

“Recognition of Taliban — violation of women’s rights,” the women chanted during the march, which lasted no longer than 10 minutes and passed off without confrontation with security forces.

Other chants included “Afghan people, hostages of Taliban” and “We will fight, we will die, we will take our rights”.

A previous Taliban government that ruled from 1996 to 2001 was only granted formal recognition by three nations — Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Diplomats, NGOs and aid agencies are currently deeply divided over the issue.

Some believe the international community might cajole the Taliban into reversing curbs on women’s rights by dangling the prospect of recognition.

Others say even discussing it grants the Taliban some legitimacy at a time when they are squeezing women out of public life. Last week UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the Doha meeting starting Monday could see envoys discuss “baby steps” on a path to recognition, albeit with conditions.

“There are some who believe this can never happen. There are others that say, well, it has to happen,” Mohammed said in a talk at Princeton University.

“The Taliban clearly want recognition… and that’s the leverage we have.”The UN has announced that the “de facto authorities” of Afghanistan have not been invited to the Doha conference.

“Recognition is not an issue,” a spokesman for the world body said Friday.

Protester Shamail Tawana Nasiri, 26, told AFP that any discussion of formal recognition “will give the Taliban motivation”.

“For those of us who are oppressed, and our rights taken away, it increases our concerns.”

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South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol says Seoul considering options on aid to Ukraine

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Friday it was necessary to ensure that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine does not succeed and that Seoul was considering its options of supplying lethal aid to Kyiv.

In a speech at Harvard University’s Kennedy School on the fifth day of a state visit to mark the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korean alliance, Yoon said the Russian invasion was a violation of international law and the rights of Ukrainians.

“We should prove that such attempts will never reach success, to block further attempts being made in the future,” he said, according to simultaneous translations of his remarks. Yoon was asked about the possibility of South Korea providing lethal aid to Ukraine, and replied:

“We are closely monitoring the situation that’s going on the battlefield in Ukraine and will take proper measures in order to uphold the international norms and international law. Right now we are closely monitoring the situation and we are considering various options,” he said.

On Wednesday, Yoon met US President Joe Biden at the White House and the United States pledged to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning over any conflict with North Korea, amid anxiety over Pyongyang’s growing arsenal of missiles and bombs. The two also discussed the situation in Ukraine.

Yoon told news agencies in an interview last week before leaving for the United States that Seoul might extend its support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if it comes under a large-scale civilian attack, signalling a shift in his stance against arming Ukraine for the first time.

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Top European diplomats visit Ukraine to show support for war-torn nation

European heads of state and seven foreign ministers from a group of Ukraine’s allies visited the war-torn country on Friday to express support for Kyiv in its defence against Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, hosting his counterparts from four Nordic and three Baltic countries in the southern port city of Odesa, repeated a plea for the delivery of US-made fighter jets to his country.

“(The jets) are needed to cover our brigades that are going to (counter-attack),” Kuleba said. Although no promises were made, he added, “I have a feeling that our colleagues are well-disposed in this matter.”

Ukraine has long pushed for Western fighter jets for its air force, without success. Its Western partners have, however, provided a number of former Soviet MiG-29 fighters.

Kuleba met with the foreign ministers of Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Because of government formation talks in Finland, the Nordic country was represented by a senior Foreign Ministry official.

“Through this visit, we manifest strong Nordic and Baltic support for Ukraine and its people,” said Tobias Billström of Sweden whose country currently holds the rotating six-month presidency of the European Union.

“I honestly don’t remember if Odesa ever hosted this many ministers of foreign affairs at once. If this is the first such time, we are glad, together with our colleagues, to set a new standard,” Kuleba said.

Also Friday, in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the president of Slovakia, Zuzana Čaputová, and the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel.

Zelenskyy said they discussed military aid to help Ukraine address Russia’s invasion and “prepare for (the) counteroffensive,” as well as the forthcoming NATO summit in July in Vilnius, Lithuania.

“We are expecting ambitious decisions that will enforce Europe’s security,” he said. “The time has come to eliminate any uncertainty.”

There has long been talk of a Ukrainian spring counter-offensive against invading Russian forces, but it has still to materialize.

Czech President Pavel said what he saw in Ukraine reminded him of the devastation from wars in Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.

“Fortunately, it hasn’t broken the Ukrainians,” said Pavel, a retired army general and former senior NATO official. “Russia has shown such an inclination to barbarism in recent years that I’m not surprised.”

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Five EU states agree deal on Ukraine food exports: Commission

Brussels: The European Commission announced on Friday that Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia have reached an agreement to permit the transit of Ukrainian food exports, which had previously been temporarily banned due to farmer protests.

The five EU countries had imposed the measures citing concerns that grain from Ukraine meant to be exported to other countries had ended up in their local markets, which was pushing down prices for local farmers.

Russia’s invasion has severely limited the traditional export channel of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, necessitating export overland via Ukraine’s neighbours.

Member states agreed to allow the import of certain products from Ukraine without quantitative restrictions, and without customs and official inspections.

But farmers in Ukraine’s neighbours Hungary, Poland and Slovakia protested after a slump in prices, prompting a raft of restrictions and bans on Ukraine’s food exports in response.

“(The) EU Commission has reached an agreement in principle with Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia regarding Ukraine agri-food products,” EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis tweeted.

🤝WE HAVE A DEAL🤝@EU_Commission has reached an agreement in principle with Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania & Slovakia regarding #Ukraine agri-food products.

We have acted to address concerns of both farmers in neighbouring EU countries and Ukraine 🇪🇺🇺🇦 – with @jwojc
🧵1/3 pic.twitter.com/qNP93X1Fpd

— Valdis Dombrovskis (@VDombrovskis) April 28, 2023

The deal will see the lifting of “unilateral measures by Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. Exceptional safeguard measures for… wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seed (and) a 100 million euros ($110 million) support package for affected farmers in (the) five Member States”.

“We have acted to address concerns of both farmers in neighbouring EU countries and Ukraine.”

As soon as the Polish ban was announced, Ukrainian sunflower oil manufacturers stopped buying seeds for lack of a guarantee of being able to export their production to the EU.

The tensions between Kyiv and its European neighbours arose as uncertainty looms over the scheduled May 18 renewal of a deal ensuring the Black Sea grain corridor is operational.

With inputs from agencies

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British union to hold ballot of teachers ahead of further strikes

Britain’s National Education Union (NEU) on Friday said it would hold a ballot of its members in state-run schools in England ahead of further strike action in a long-pending pay dispute.

Earlier this month, teachers unanimously rejected a pay offer from the government aimed at ending a series of disruptive strikes. Teachers in England walked out again on Thursday and have planned another strike on May 2. The NEU, which represents more than 450,000 teachers, lecturers and support staff across Britain, said the ballot would open on May 15 and close on July 28.

In a letter to UK education minister Gillian Keegan which it made public, the NEU said the action was due to a failure to provide the union with “a fully funded above-inflation pay rise”.

The government’s offer comprised a one-off payment this year of 1,000 pounds and an average pay rise of 4.5% in the next financial year. Inflation is running at around 10%.

“The entire teaching profession has rejected the previous offer, one which would give teachers in England lower pay than either Wales or Scotland,” NEU Joint General Secretary Mary Bousted said.

Teachers in Wales and Scotland have both accepted pay offers and ended their strike action.

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Two US Army helicopters crash in Alaska, killing three soldiers

Joint base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska: Three US Army troops were killed and one was injured after two US Army helicopters crashed in Alaska on Thursday after returning from a training flight.

In a statement the army said, “Two of the soldiers died at the crash near Healy, Alaska, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks. A fourth soldier was being treated at a hospital for injuries.”

The army said the names of those killed were being withheld until relatives could be notified.

Each AH-64 Apache helicopter was carrying two people at the time of the crash, John Pennell, a spokesperson for the US Army Alaska, said earlier Thursday.

The helicopters were from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Fort Wainwright, based near Fairbanks.

“This is an incredible loss for these soldiers’ families, their fellow soldiers, and for the division,” Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in the statement.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to their families, friends and loved ones, and we are making the full resources of the Army available to support them.”

The Army said the cause of the crash was under investigation and more details would be released when they become available.

The crash is the second accident involving military helicopters in Alaska this year.

In February, two soldiers were injured when an Apache helicopter rolled after taking off from Talkeetna. The aircraft was one of four traveling to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage from Fort Wainwright.

In March, nine soldiers were killed when two U.S. Army Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed during a routine nighttime training exercise about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Healy is located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Denali National Park and Preserve, or about 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of Anchorage.

Healy is a community of about 1,000 people located on the Parks Highway in Alaska’s interior region. It is a popular place for people to spend the night while visiting the nearby park, which is home to Denali, the continent’s tallest mountain.

Healy is also famous for being the town closest to the former bus that had been abandoned in the backcountry and was popularized by the book “Into the Wild” and the movie of the same name. The bus was removed and taken to Fairbanks in 2020.

With inputs from agencies

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24 Indian crew members on US-bound tanker seized by Iran, says operator

Dubai: As many as 24 Indian crew members were aboard a US-bound oil tanker that Iranian commandos had seized, the vessel’s operator said on Friday, adding that they were seeking to obtain their release.

Iranian state media broadcast footage of naval commandos landing on the deck of the Advantage Sweet, which Tehran claimed to have seized on Thursday following an alleged accident with one of its warships off the coast of Oman.

Past experience shows that crew caught up in similar incidents are in “no danger”, the ship’s operator, Advantage Tankers told AFP.

The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was being taken to port by Iran’s navy because of an “international dispute”, the operator said in a statement.

“Similar experiences show that crew members of vessels taken under such circumstances are in no danger,” it said, adding that the company was “in close touch with all the appropriate authorities to obtain the release of the crew and vessel”.

Iran said the tanker had crashed into one of its vessels, leaving two Iranian crew members missing and injuring several others.

It said it tried to make contact with the tanker to ask it to stop but it did not respond, prompting the seizure.

The US Navy demanded the ship’s immediate release, slamming Iran’s “continued harassment” in Gulf waters.

The vessel had picked up oil from Kuwait and was chartered by Chevron Corp, an Advantage Tankers spokesperson said. It was bound for Houston, Texas, according to the MarineTraffic tracking website.

Thursday’s seizure was the latest incident in the sensitive waters of the Gulf, which carry about a third of the world’s seaborne oil.

Such incidents have grown more frequent since 2018 when the US withdrew from a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and major powers and reimposed crippling sanctions. Marathon efforts to restore the deal have stalled.

The latest seizure came only days after Western governments toughened sanctions on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

With inputs from agencies

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In visa retaliation row, Russia denies consular visit to jailed American reporter

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday turned down a request by the United States for consular access to jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is in prison in Russia on espionage charges.

The ministry said it rejected the request for the May 11 visit in retaliation to the US refusing to grant visas to Russian journalists who planned to accompany Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on a trip to the United Nations.

The WSJ reporter has been in Russia’s custody since his March 29 arrest by the country’s security service on espionage charges that he, his employer and the US government have vehemently denied.

Gershkovich is the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying charges, and his arrest rattled journalists in the country and triggered outrage in the West.

The United States has declared Gershkovich to be “wrongfully detained” and demanded his immediate release.

The Russian denial of the US request for a consular visit to Gershkovich followed Lavrov warning that Moscow “will not forget and will not forgive” the denial of the visas to Russian journalists.

The Foreign Ministry said on Friday it was also considering other retaliatory measures.

“A protest note was presented in connection with the provocative conduct of the U.S. diplomatic mission, which thwarted the issuing of visas to mass media representatives from the press pool of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who were supposed to accompany him on his trip to New York as part of Russia’s presidency of the U.N. Security Council,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The US Embassy was informed in this connection that its request for consular access to U.S. citizen Gershkovich, detained on suspicion of espionage, on May 11 was declined,” the ministry statement said. “Other possible retaliatory measures, about which the US side will be duly notified, are being considered.”

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India truly established itself as 'pharmacy' of the world during Covid, says EAM Jaishankar in Colombia

Bogota, Colombia: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that India truly established itself as the pharmacy of the world during Covid by supplying vaccines to almost 100 countries and relevant medicines to at least 150 countries, including some from the developed world.

Addressing the India-Colombia Business Forum, the EAM said,”The fact is that Covid has made us all much more health conscious, but also aware of supply chain vulnerabilities. Cost is also a relevant factor if we are looking at more sources, regionalised production and competitive pricing. I would suggest to our Colombian friends that the Indian industry is your natural partner.”

India also has a traditional medicine and wellness practice that could have strong business implications.

“Certainly. Therefore, these are areas worth exploring,” he added.

Speaking on Trade between India and Colombia, Jaishankar said the nations naturally seek to expand their volumes, the decision before us is when, where and how much to invest, and that the pharmaceutical sector is particularly seized of this challenge.

“Our endeavour is naturally to assess the comparative ease of doing business, among the countries of this region. We focus on market access issues, regulatory complexities and non-tariff barriers. The predictability of the business environment is also an important factor. To be honest, even the ease of getting business visas is a consideration. And not least, we assess how much the partner governments in question are invested in growing their relationship with India,” the EAM said during his address.

He added that from the Colombian perspective, it is necessary that one is conversant with domains where India has made particular advances in recent years.

“I would like our Colombian friends to also note that India’s trade with Brazil currently, is around USD 17 billion and with Mexico around USD 8.5 billion. If nothing else, I hope it is a motivating factor. As Indian business approaches the region with a stronger desire to trade, invest, collaborate and execute projects, business events such as this one and visits like mine along with a business delegation, are helpful in taking decisions,” he said.

The External Affairs Minister, at present, is on a 4-nation trip to Latin American countries. Before his visit to Colombia, he went to Guyana and Panama.

The EAM’s visit to these four countries; his bilateral engagements and interactions with counterparts of important regional groups: CARICOM and SICA, adds to the momentum of the India-Latin American countries’ engagements.

Jaishankar’s Colombia visit marks the first Foreign Ministerial level visit from India to the Latin American country.

Earlier today, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Leyva Duran. Both leaders discussed several bilateral issues and signed the Cultural Exchange Program for 2023-26.

The two leaders also discussed the issue of Reformed Multilateralism and exchanged views on expanding bilateral cooperation in health, agriculture and digital domains. Global issues, including the Indo-Pacific, also figured in the discussions.

“Met Foreign Minister @AlvaroLeyva of Colombia this morning. Exchanged views on expanding our bilateral cooperation, especially in health, agriculture and digital domains. Proposed greater exchanges and stronger collaboration, especially in capacity building. Also spoke about global issues, including the Indo-Pacific. Addressed the issue of Reformed Multilateralism. Signed the Cultural Exchange Program for 2023-26,” Jaishankar tweeted.

Met Foreign Minister @AlvaroLeyva of Colombia this morning.

Exchanged views on expanding our bilateral cooperation, especially in health, agriculture and digital domains.

Proposed greater exchanges and stronger collaboration, especially in capacity building.

Also spoke about… pic.twitter.com/dXXh42X7SV

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 26, 2023

Jaishankar also met the second Vice President of the Senate of Colombia, Honorio Henriquez, and had conversations focused on health collaboration, energy and technology.

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Ukraine seeks Pope Francis’ help in getting abducted kids back from Russia

Ukraine’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal on Thursday said he had sought the help of Pope Francis during a private Vatican audience to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children who were forcibly taken to Russia during the ongoing war.

Shmyhal, briefing the media on his half-hour audience with the pontiff, said he also invited Pope Francis to come to Ukraine. “I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested, and criminally deported to Russia,” he said.

But, the Vatican’s brief statement on the audience did not mention anything about the request of the Ukrainian prime minister. It just pointed out that Shmyhal met with the Holy See’s secretary of state and foreign minister after his meeting with the Pope.

During the “cordial discussions, which took place in the Secretariat of State, various matters connected to the war in Ukraine were highlighted, with particular attention to the humanitarian aspects and efforts to restore peace,” the Vatican said.

Francis has repeatedly decried the war in Ukraine, which began 14 months ago with Russia’s invasion of its neighbour. He has expressed a desire to visit both Ukraine and Russia in the context of his hopes of improving the prospects for peace.

The International Criminal Court last month issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s commissioner, accusing them of war crimes for abducting children from Ukraine. Russia has denied any wrongdoing, contending the children were moved for their safety.

Speaking to reporters at the Foreign Press Association in Rome, Shmyhal said that in his talks at the Vatican he also discussed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s multi-point proposal for peace “and the steps the Vatican could take” in helping that plan become reality. He gave no specifics.

The prime minister also declined to venture what might next develop in Ukrainian-Chinese relations. Zelenskyy said Wednesday that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a “long and meaningful” phone call.

During their conversation, which was the first known contact between the two presidents since the war began in February 2022, Xi said Beijing would send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible “political settlement” to the conflict. The envoy is a former a former Chinese ambassador to Russia.

The hour-long call came two months after Beijing, which has long been aligned with Russia, said it wanted to act as a mediator and a month after Xi visited Moscow.

Shmyhal described the phone call as “extremely productive” and said it marked “a new stage in Ukrainian-Chinese relations.”

“I’m also convinced it is an extraordinary beginning for developing our future relations,” the prime minister said.

Asked about the May 18 expiration date of a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to keep Ukrainian grain exports flowing during the war, Shmyhal said the shipments were another topic he broached with both Vatican and Italian officials.

Russia has threatened to reject another extension of the deal, complaining that Western sanctions have held up exports of its products.

“I asked both the leadership of Italy and the Holy See to help Ukraine continue the grain corridors work without restrictions,” Shmyhal said.

The prime minister participated Wednesday in a Rome conference hosted by the Italian government to bring together businesses eager to participate in eventual reconstruction projects in Ukraine.

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Belgium examining Iran’s request to free jailed diplomat in swap with detained aid worker

The Belgian government is currently mulling Iran’s request to transfer jailed Iranian diplomat Asadollah Assadi in exchange for jailed Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told Parliament on Thursday.

Earlier in March, Belgium’s Constitutional Court upheld a prisoner exchange treaty with Iran that could result in Assadi being swapped for Vandecasteele.

The Belgian Prime Minister further said that Vandecasteele was being held hostage in Iran and repeated a call for his immediate release. A court in Iran has sentenced the Belgian aid worker to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes.

Vandecasteele was charged with espionage against Iran, and collaborating with the US government as well as smuggling foreign currency and money laundering. He, however, denied all the charges and Belgium too condemned the charges as “fabricated”.

Now, Iran wants to swap the 41-year-old Vandecasteele for diplomat Assadollah Assadi, who Belgium arrested and imprisoned last year for plotting to bomb an exiled opposition group’s rally.

The Belgian aid worker’s family has informed that the prime minister had told them last month that a prisoner swap was the only way to secure his release and free him from the inhumane conditions in Iran, where he is currently jailed.

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Jerry Springer, influential US talk show host, dies at 79

Cincinnati: Jerry Springer, a former Cincinnati mayor and influential talk show host whose work had a significant impact on daytime TV all across the world, has passed away. He was 79.

Springer’s family said he died “peacefully” on Thursday at home in Chicago.

“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” said Jene Galvin, a family spokesperson and friend of Springer’s since 1970, in a statement.

“He’s irreplaceable and his loss hurts immensely, but memories of his intellect, heart and humor will live on,” the statement added.

At its peak, The Jerry Springer Show was a ratings powerhouse and a US cultural pariah, synonymous with lurid drama. Known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments, the daytime talk show was a favorite American guilty pleasure over its 27-year run, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show.

Springer called it “escapist entertainment,” while others saw the show as contributing to a dumbing-down decline in American social values.

On his Twitter profile, Springer jokingly declared himself as “Talk show host, ringmaster of civilization’s end.” He also often had told people, tongue in cheek, that his wish for them was “may you never be on my show.”

After more than 4,000 episodes, the show ended in 2018, never straying from its core salaciousness: Some of its last episodes had such titles as “Stripper Sex Turned Me Straight,” “Stop Pimpin’ My Twin Sister,” and “Hooking Up With My Therapist.”

In a “Too Hot For TV” video released as his daily show neared 7 million viewers in the late 1990s, Springer offered a defense against disgust.

“Look, television does not and must not create values, it’s merely a picture of all that’s out there — the good, the bad, the ugly,” Springer said, adding: “Believe this: The politicians and companies that seek to control what each of us may watch are a far greater danger to America and our treasured freedom than any of our guests ever were or could be.”

He also contended that the people on his show volunteered to be subjected to whatever ridicule or humiliation awaited them.

Gerald Norman Springer was born 13 February, 1944, in a London underground railway station being used as a bomb shelter. His parents, Richard and Margot, were German Jews who fled to England during the Holocaust, in which other relatives were killed in Nazi gas chambers. They arrived in the United States when their son was 5 and settled in the Queens borough of New York City, where Springer got his first Yankees baseball gear on his way to becoming a lifelong fan.

He studied political science at Tulane University and got a law degree from Northwestern University. He was active in politics much of his adult life, mulling a run for governor of Ohio as recently as 2017.

He entered the arena as an aide in Robert F. Kennedy’s ill-fated 1968 presidential campaign. Springer, working for a Cincinnati law firm, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1970 before being elected to city council in 1971.

In 1974 — in what The Cincinnati Enquirer reported as “an abrupt move that shook Cincinnati’s political community” — Springer resigned. He cited “very personal family considerations,” but what he didn’t mention was a vice probe involving prostitution. In a subsequent admission that could have been the basis for one of his future shows, Springer said he had paid prostitutes with personal checks.

Then 30, he had married Micki Velton the previous year. The couple had a daughter, Katie, and divorced in 1994.

Springer quickly bounced back politically, winning a council seat in 1975 and serving as mayor in 1977. He later became a local television politics reporter with popular evening commentaries. He and co-anchor Norma Rashid eventually helped build NBC affiliate WLWT-TV’s broadcast into the Cincinnati market’s top-rated news show.

Springer began his talk show in 1991 with more of a traditional format, but after he left WLWT in 1993, it got a sleazy makeover.

TV Guide ranked it No. 1 on a list of “Worst Shows in the History of Television,” but it was ratings gold. It made Springer a celebrity who would go on to host a liberal radio talk show and “America’s Got Talent,” star in a movie called “Ringmaster,” and compete on “Dancing With the Stars.”

“With all the joking I do with the show, I’m fully aware and thank God every day that my life has taken this incredible turn because of this silly show,” Springer told Cincinnati Enquirer media reporter John Kiesewetter in 2011.

Well in advance of Donald Trump’s political rise from reality TV stardom, Springer mulled a Senate run in 2003 that he surmised could draw on “nontraditional voters,” people “who believe most politics are bull.”

“I connect with a whole bunch of people who probably connect more to me right now than to a traditional politician,” Springer told the AP at the time. He opposed the war on Iraq and favored expanding public healthcare, but ultimately did not run.

Springer also spoke often of the country he came to age 5 as “a beacon of light for the rest of world.”

“I have no other motivation but to say I love this country,” Springer said to a Democratic gathering in 2003.

Springer hosted a nationally syndicated “Judge Jerry” show in 2019 and continued to speak out on whatever was on his mind in a podcast, but his power to shock had dimmed in the new era of reality television and combative cable TV talk shows.

“He was lapped not only by other programs but by real life,” David Bianculli, a television historian and professor at Monmouth University, said in 2018.

Despite the limits Springer’s show put on his political aspirations, he embraced its legacy. In a 2003 fund-raising infomercial ahead of a possible U.S. Senate run the following year, Springer referenced a quote by then National Review commentator Jonah Goldberg, who warned of new people brought to the polls by Springer, including “slack-jawed yokels, hicks, weirdos, pervs and whatnots.”

In the informercial, Springer referred to the quote and talked about wanting to reach out to “regular folks … who weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

With inputs from agencies

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Brazil court fines, suspends Telegram app in neo-Nazi probe

Rio de Janeiro: Following its parent company’s failure to deliver information requested by authorities on neo-Nazis using the network, a Brazilian court on Wednesday ordered the nationwide ban of the messaging service Telegram, according to officials.

According to Justice Minister Flavio Dino, as part of an investigation into neo-Nazi activity on social media, the court fined Telegram a million reais (about $198,000) per day for “not complying” and ordered the “temporary suspension of (its) activities.”

“There are groups called ‘Anti-Semitic Front’ and ‘Anti-Semitic Movement’ acting in those networks, and we know that this is at the core of violence against our children,” he added, in reference to a recent spate of attacks in schools.

Earlier this month, a man carrying a hatchet killed four children between the ages of four and seven at their school in the same week as two other, non-fatal school attacks.

Last month, a 13-year-old boy killed a teacher in a knife attack at a school in Sao Paulo.

And last November, a 16-year-old shooter killed four people and injured more than 10 others in twin attacks on two schools in Aracruz in the southeastern state of Espirito Santo.

The G1 news portal, citing police sources, reported the teenager had allegedly interacted with anti-Semitic groups on Telegram.

According to a document from the federal justice authority in Espirito Santo, investigators had asked Telegram for the personal data of members of two stated anti-Semitic groups on the platform.

The company handed over only data on the administrator of one of the groups, said the document, adding there was “intent by Telegram not to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.”

With inputs from agencies

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Russian-Chinese visions for peace 'broadly in tune', Moscow reacts to Xi-Zelensky call

New Delhi: In its first response to phone call between Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Moscow on Wednesday said that Russian and Chinese visions for a path to peace were “broadly in tune” and that Ukraine’s “unrealistic” demands were standing in the way of peace negotiations.

Praising Beijing for its efforts to help restart meaningful negotiations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Russian and Chinese visions for a path to peace were “broadly in tune” with one another and that “the problem lies not with the lack of good plans.”

Xi spoke with Zelensky over phone on Wednesday, which was the first call between the two leaders since the start of Russia’s invasion in Kyiv.

“I had a long and meaningful phone call with President Xi Jinping,” Zelensky said on Twitter.

“I believe that this call, as well as the appointment of Ukraine’s ambassador to China, will give a powerful impetus to the development of our bilateral relations,” he added.

Xi Jinping and Volodymyr Zelensky had “an almost one hour-long telephone conversation,” said Zelensky’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov on Facebook.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that during the call Xi told Zelensky “talks and negotiation” were the “only way out” of the war.

“On the issue of the Ukraine crisis, China has always stood on the side of peace and its core position is to promote peace talks,” CCTV reported Xi as saying.

According to a readout of the call, reported by CCTV, Xi said China “will neither watch the fire from the other side, nor add fuel to the fire, let alone take advantage of the crisis to profit”.

Russia blames Kyiv for standoff

Meanwhile, Russian spokesperson Zakharova blamed Kyiv for the eventual breakdown of negotiations last spring when Russian and Ukrainian teams held several rounds of meetings.

Kiev has repeatedly said that negotiations can resume only after Russia surrenders its recently incorporated territories. Moscow has called such demands unacceptable.

Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia in the wake of the 2014 coup in Kiev. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, did the same after holding referendums on the matter in September.

In October, Zelensky signed a decree that declared the “impossibility” of conducting negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Beijing, which unveiled a 12-point roadmap for peace in Ukraine in February, has maintained that the conflict can only end through dialogue. China, unlike many Western countries, has also refused to condemn Russia for its actions.

China named diplomat Li Hui its special envoy to Ukraine and “other countries” on Wednesday. Xi said that the envoy would be tasked with conducting “in-depth communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.”

Li was China’s ambassador to Moscow from 2009 to 2019.

Zelensky, meanwhile, has appointed former strategic industries minister Pavel Ryabkin as the country’s new ambassador to China.

With inputs from agencies

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