A year after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the debate about whether this is President Vladimir Putin’s war or not continues. Anti-war Russians, many of whom have sought refuge outside the country, blame the Russian president. For them, his delusions and paranoia have caused a turn to neo-totalitarianism at home and military aggression abroad. The Russian opposition in exile and in prison insists that if Putin is to fall from power, the situation would reverse. Leonid Volkov, the number two of imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny, has even suggested that following the end of the war, the West…
Author: National Tone
A stoppage-time goal from Ben Gladwin rescued Crawley a point in a 2-2 home draw against fellow League Two strugglers Crewe, who ended with 10 men.An own goal by Luke Offord gave the Reds a first-half lead but two goals from Daniel Agyei, one a penalty, looked to be enough to give Crewe only their second win under Lee Bell until Gladwin had the final say. Crawley striker Dom Telford fired into the side netting early on before the Reds went ahead on 19 minutes when Alex skipper Offord put through his own goal after good work down the wing…
A close-range Harrison Holgate header gave Fleetwood a much-needed 2-1 victory over lacklustre 10-man Charlton at The Valley.Holgate was left unmarked to nod in a Phoenix Patterson corner after 52 minutes to give Scott Brown’s side their first league victory since New Year’s Day. In spite of progressing to the fifth round of the FA Cup, Fleetwood had been sliding towards the League One relegation places since the turn of the year.The visitors made light of losing captain Danny Andrew through injury after 10 minutes to take the lead when his replacement Shaun Rooney struck a fine half-volley just before…
Iran’s president said criticism over human and women’s rights should be aimed at the West and not Iran.Tehran, Iran – Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has denounced “enemies” for sparking unrest in the country and the region during a ceremony to mark the 44th anniversary of the 1979 revolution that birthed the Islamic republic. In a televised speech to crowds at the Azadi (Freedom) Square in Tehran on Saturday, the president remained defiant in the face of criticism by the West, specifically the United States, on the establishment’s response to protests that began in September last year. “I say to the…
Blinken calls for dialogue in the rare high-level contact between the countries, a day after 222 prisoners released.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to his Nicaraguan counterpart, foreign minister Denis Moncada, in a rare high-level contact between the two countries. The call on Friday came a day after Managua released 222 political prisoners arrested in crackdowns in the wake of anti-government protests that began in the Latin American country in 2018. The majority of those prisoners were allowed to travel to the United States. The move has been seen as an attempt by President Daniel Ortega to begin…
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva and United States President Joe Biden have promised to kickstart relations between the two countries, focusing on supporting democracy and combatting climate change. The pledge on Friday came during a White House meeting between the two leaders, the first since the Brazilian president, commonly known as Lula, took office in January, replacing far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro. Lula and Biden highlighted shared goals during the visit, with Biden agreeing to visit Brazil in the future. The tone was a distinct departure from that during the administration of Bolsonaro, who maintained close ties with Biden’s…
India thrashed Australia by an innings and 132 runs within three days in the opening Test in Nagpur to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series on Saturday.Having conceded a significant lead of 223 in the spin-dominated contest on a treacherous track, Australia were all out for 91 in their second innings. Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the India bowlers as he tore through Australia, claiming 5-37.Australia had been on the back foot since posting a below-par 177 on a treacherous track, and India’s victory appeared just a matter of time after the home side amassed 400 to…
Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted Russian troops are engaged in a fierce fight to take the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, has said that Russian forces must capture the strategic Ukrainian city of Bakhmut to proceed with their war campaign but that they were facing fierce resistance from Ukraine. In a rare interview made public Friday with a Russian military correspondent, Prigozhin said Russia had to establish clear goals in its nearly year-old war on Ukraine, namely to firmly establish its presence in eastern Ukraine or push forward to capture more of the country.…
The blacklisting will make it difficult for the companies and one research institute to obtain US technology exports.The United States has blacklisted six Chinese entities it said were linked to Beijing’s aerospace programmes as part of its retaliation over an alleged Chinese spy balloon that traversed US airspace. The move is likely to further escalate the diplomatic row between the US and China that intensified due to the surveillance balloon, which the US eventually shot down last weekend. The US said the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals but Beijing has insisted it was a weather craft…
The United Nations human rights chief has urged the international community to consider deploying a specialised armed force to Haiti, warning that violent gangs are creating a “living nightmare” for thousands of people. The appeal from UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk on Friday came at the end of a two-day visit to Haiti at the request of its government, which has found itself unable to control the gangs killing, raping and pillaging in a growing number of neighbourhoods. Violence has spiked in the impoverished country since the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. “It is time for…