Author: Disha Mishra

(Reuters) – Dozens of people were killed in a pre-dawn stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in northern India on Wednesday as tens of millions of Hindus gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters on the most auspicious day of a six-week festival. Reuters counted 39 bodies in the morgue of the local hospital, where bodies were still being brought in 12 hours after crowds surged towards the confluence of rivers where immersion is considered especially sacred. Two police sources said all 39 had been killed in the crush at the world’s biggest gathering of humanity. Three police…

(Forelines) – An Istanbul prosecutor launched another judicial disquisition into the megacity’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Monday for trying to impact the bar following he criticised legal examinations into opposition- run cosmopolises, according to Turkish media. News of the disquisition came twinkles after Imamoglu, who’s seen as a likely unborn presidential rival to Tayyip Erdogan, indicted Erdogan’s government of using the bar as a political tool to press the opposition. At a press conference, Imamoglu said the same expert substantiation had been appointed for several judicial examinations into him and other quarter cosmopolises in Istanbul run by the CHP main…

Russian air defences repelled a massive Ukrainian drone attack overnight, intercepting and destroying 121 drones targeting 13 regions, including Moscow, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday, making no mention of casualties or damage. The ministry said six drones had been destroyed over the Moscow region and one over the capital itself, while other drones had targeted other regions, including those that border Ukraine and Kursk, where Ukrainian troops hold a chunk of land despite Russian efforts to eject them. Twenty drones had also targeted the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, the ministry said, and channels on the Telegram messaging app…

Palestinians in northern Gaza prepared tent encampments for displaced families on Thursday, two days before they were expected to return to their home areas in accordance with the timeline of a ceasefire deal agreed between Israel and Hamas. On open ground surrounded by blown-out buildings, a group of men began putting up rows of white tents to receive families who are planning to return north on Saturday when the Palestinian militant group Hamas is due to release a second batch of hostages in return for dozens of Palestinians jailed by Israel. Many of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians expected…

German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp and its Indian partner have cleared field trials for building six advanced conventional submarines for the Indian Navy, according to an exchange filing, emerging as the sole contender for the $5 billion project. Their potential rival, Spanish state-held shipbuilder Navantia, which partnered with India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) (LART.NS), could not meet the navy’s requirements in trials held in 2024 for testing key technologies, an Indian defence source said. The project is crucial to India’s effort to modernise its military and boost its naval capabilities in the face of China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean region.…

As the Los Angeles area begins the formidable task of rebuilding after the most destructive wildfires in its history, the city’s artists and art collectors are mourning what could amount to billions of dollars in irreplaceable art that went up in flames. The wildfires have altogether destroyed more than 13,000 structures, with many among those located in the affluent Palisades neighborhood — home to many priceless art collections — and the town of Altadena, which was home to a flourishing artist community. Some of those art collectors likely lost many of their acquisitions as the fires burned out of control…

Powerful winds and bone-dry conditions were expected to pose a challenge to firefighters battling new wildfires in southern California on Thursday, including a new blaze that swelled over the past day, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate north of Los Angeles. The Hughes fire, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles, grew to 10,176 acres (4,118 hectares) since igniting on Wednesday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said on its website. The 4,000 firefighters battling the blaze have achieved 14% containment, a measure of the percentage of a fire’s perimeter…

Syria’s new authorities are using Islamic teachings to train a fledgling police force, a move officers say aims to instil a sense of morality as they race to fill a security vacuum after dismantling ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s notoriously corrupt and brutal security forces. Police they brought into Damascus from their former rebel enclave in the northwestern region of Idlib are asking applicants about their beliefs and focusing on Islamic sharia law in the brief training they offer recruits, according to five senior officers and application forms seen by Reuters. Ensuring stability and winning the trust of people across Syria…

Micheál Martin was elected Irish prime minister for the second time by a coalition of the country’s two large centre-right parties and independent lawmakers on Thursday, a day later than scheduled after opposition protest derailed an initial vote. The coalition is the second in a row between historic rivals Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, who between them have led every government since the foundation of the state, with independents replacing junior coalition partner the Green Party, which lost most of its seats. The initially scheduled vote to elect Martin on Wednesday descended into chaos when the parliament was suspended four…

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday urged the United States to keep supplying Ukraine with weapons to fight Russia’s invasion and said he was sure Europe was ready to pay the bill. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the NATO chief said Europe must invest more in defence, ramp up arms production and take a bigger share of spending on Ukraine aid. His comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the European Union should be doing more to support Ukraine. “On Ukraine, we need the U.S. also to stay involved,” Rutte said.…