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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson suffered an embarrassing defeat in an election on the outskirts of London on Friday when his governing Conservative Party lost a previously safe parliamentary seat to the Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives had comfortably held the leafy, affluent Chesham and Amersham constituency in southern England since …

Polls have opened nationwide in Iran’s 2021 presidential election, with nearly 60 million Iranians eligible to vote for one of four candidates running. Polls opened across the country at 07:00 am local time on Friday, June 18, and will run until 05:00 pm. Voting can be extended until 12:00 am …

Some people in the French capital joyfully ditched their masks on Thursday after the government announced the precaution against the coronavirus pandemic would no longer be mandatory outdoors. But the jubilation was tempered by the knowledge that the virus was still circulating, and some safety measures would still be in …

Dominic Cummings, former Downing Street Chief of Staff, has revealed Boris Johnson’s private WhatsApp messages in his weblog, sensationally escalating his feud with the British prime minister to new heights. The messages, exchanged at the beginning of the COVID pandemic in March 2020, show the British premier slamming his health …

The Supreme Court justices have dismissed a challenge to the Obama-era healthcare law by a 7-2 vote, preserving insurance coverage for millions of Americans. The US Supreme Court has dismissed a challenge to the Obama era health care law, preserving insurance coverage for millions of Americans. The justices, by a …

The Yemeni army has launched a fresh retaliatory attack against Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern region of Asir, using two domestically manufactured Qasef-2K (Striker-2K) combat drones. The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a brief statement posted on his Twitter page that the …

The 76-year-old arrives in Abidjan after ICC judges earlier this year upheld his 2019 acquittal on charges related to 2011 post-election violence. The plane carrying Ivory Coast’s former President Laurent Gbagbo has landed in the country’s economic hub, Abidjan. The 76-year-old’s arrival on Thursday on a commercial flight from Brussels …

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has delivered an address to the Iranians two days before polls open in Iran’s 13th presidential election, calling the forthcoming vote “decisive.” Ayatollah Khamenei began his remarks on Wednesday (June 16), broadcast live on state television and social media, by stressing …

Afghanistan’s local media report that at least 100 members of the Taliban militant group and about 80 Afghan soldiers have been killed during clashes in a time span of 24 hours across the country. The TOLO News reported on Tuesday that fighting erupted in 70 districts across several provinces, including …

Principlist presidential candidate Sa’eed Jalili has dropped out of the June 18 presidential election, urging his supporters and those who have faith in the ideals of the 1979 Islamic Revolution to vote for fellow contender Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi. In a statement released on Wednesday evening, hours before the end of …

The European Union’s envoy for Afghanistan said on Wednesday time was running out for Afghan peace negotiations and more needed to be done to boost the discussions as international forces withdraw from the war-torn nation. The Afghan government and Taliban negotiators have met in Qatar’s capital Doha over the past …

At least 200,000 refugees are among the worst affected by India’s COVID-19 outbreak as they have no access to welfare schemes or free healthcare, a report by an international consortium of rights groups said on Wednesday. “The stateless in India have not received economic relief packages provided by the government…they …

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed at a “pragmatic” first summit on Wednesday to resume arms control talks and to return ambassadors to each other’s capitals after they were withdrawn earlier this year. The discussions at the lakeside Villa La Grange in Geneva lasted less than …

Principlist candidate Alireza Zakani has resigned from the 2021 presidential election in support of fellow contender Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi, who enjoys the highest support among voters, according to opinion polls. Zakani, a veteran lawmaker, became the second presidential candidate to drop out of the race on Wednesday, hours after Reformist …

Workers scaled a giant statue of a Buddhist goddess in Japan on Tuesday to place a custom-made mask on her face, an act meant to be a prayer for the end of the coronavirus pandemic. It took four workers three hours to carry the massive mask on ropes up the …

Ukrainian police said on Wednesday they had uncovered a group of hackers who had carried out ransomware attacks on foreign companies and universities between 2019 and 2021. Six hackers had targeted the servers of U.S. and South Korean companies, threatening to disclose confidential data if the victims did not pay …

Israeli airstrikes are the first on Gaza since a shaky ceasefire with Hamas ended 11-days of fighting last month. Israel launched air raids on the Gaza Strip after Palestinian groups in the besieged enclave sent incendiary balloons into southern Israel. The overnight airstrikes gave way to calm by morning, and …

The Russian Center for Reconciliation of Warring Parties in Syria says the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorist group plans a chemical attack in collaboration with the “pseudo-humanitarian” White Helmets organization in the militant-held Idlib Province. Rear Admiral Vadim Kulit, deputy chief of the Russian center, told reporters on Tuesday that …

Congo’s Senate on Tuesday rejected a request by prosecutors to lift former Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon’s immunity so they could indict him for his role in a failed agriculture project in which investigators say $200 million disappeared. Prosecutors hoped to charge Matata, who served as Democratic Republic of Congo’s …

Indonesia’s geophysics agency warned on Wednesday of possible aftershocks and tsunami potential after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit near the Moluccas islands, also known as the Maluku islands. The quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles). There were no immediate reports of casualties. “Please move away from …