🇮🇳India to stop water flowing across international borders, Modi says
India has announced that it will stop its water from flowing over international borders.
"Now, India's water will flow for India's benefit, it will be conserved for India's benefit, and it will be used for India's progress", Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.
While he did not mention Pakistan specifically, Modi's comments come about two weeks after India suspended a 65-year-old water sharing treaty with its neighbour.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
💶EU plans to end 🇷🇺Russian gas imports by end of 2027
The European Commission has published a "roadmap" outlining its plans to end Europe's reliance on Russian energy in the coming years.
Under the plans, imports of all Russian gas and liquefied natural gas to European Union member states will be banned by the end of 2027.
"No more will we permit Russia to weaponise energy against us... No more will we indirectly help fill up the [Kremlin's] war chests," European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen said in a news conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇩🇪Germany's Merz falls short of majority in vote for chancellor
Germany's conservative leader has unexpectedly fallen short of the numbers needed to form a majority in parliament to become chancellor.
Friedrich Merz needed 316 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag but only secured 310, in a significant blow to the Christian Democrat leader, two and a half months after winning Germany's federal elections.
His coalition with the centre-left has enough seats in parliament but it appears 18 MPs who had been expected to back him dissented. Merz's failure in the first vote is seen as unprecedented in modern German history.
The Bundestag will now have another 14 days to choose either Merz or another candidate as chancellor.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇷🇴Romanian PM resigns and pulls out of coalition after nationalist vote win
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu has resigned and his Social Democrat party is to leave the government after a right-wing nationalist candidate won the first round of the presidential election.
George Simion, a eurosceptic who has promised to put Romania first, won 40.9% of Sunday's vote and is expected to win a run-off vote on 18 May.
He will face liberal Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, who narrowly defeated the Social Democrat (PSD) candidate.
Sunday's result plunged Romania - an EU state on Nato's eastern flank - into further political turmoil. Ciolacu told colleagues that as their coalition had failed to meet its objective and "has no legitimacy", they should pull out of the government.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇨🇦Canada will deal with Trump 'on our terms', Carney tells BBC
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said his country deserves respect from the US and will only enter trade and security talks with President Donald Trump "on our terms".
Speaking exclusively to the BBC as the polls were closing, Carney said he would only visit Washington when there was a "serious discussion to be had" that respected Canada's sovereignty.
Carney and Trump have since spoken and agreed to meet in the near future, according to the Canadian prime minister's office.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇹🇹Opposition sails to victory in Trinidad and Tobago
The opposition in the Caribbean twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago has won a decisive victory in Monday's parliamentary election, preliminary results suggest.
The win by the centrist United National Congress (UNC) party means that Kamla Persad-Bissessar will be appointed as the next prime minister.
The 73-year-old already held the post once before, from 2010 to 2015, but her party was defeated in the last two elections by the centre-left People's National Movement (PNM).
Preliminary results suggest the UNC, which campaigned on a promise to raise wages and create employment, managed to win a number of parliamentary seats previously held by the PNM.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇺🇸Trump set to ease tariff impact on US car makers
President Donald Trump is set to take action to ease the impact of his tariffs on US car makers, a top White House official says.
"This deal is a major victory for the President's trade policy by rewarding companies who manufacture domestically," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement provided to the Reuters news agency.
The president will announce measures to reduce some import duties on parts from abroad that are used in vehicles manufactured in the US.
In addition, while cars made outside the country will still be subject to automotive tariffs, they will not be hit with further levies like those on steel and aluminium products, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇷🇺🇺🇦Putin announces three-day Russian ceasefire in Ukraine from 8 May
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a temporary ceasefire for the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said the ceasefire would run from the morning of 8 May until 11 May - which coincides with victory celebrations to mark the end of World War Two.
In response, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called for an immediate ceasefire lasting "at least 30 days".
While US President Donald Trump, who has been attempting to broker a truce between the two sides, said he wants to see a permanent ceasefire, the White House said.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇰🇵N Korea confirms it sent troops to fight for 🇷🇺Russia in 🇺🇦Ukraine war
North Korea has for the first time confirmed that it sent troops to fight for Russia against Ukraine.
In a report on state news agency KCNA, Pyongyang's military claimed its soldiers helped Russian forces "completely liberate" the Kursk border region, according to an order given by leader Kim Jong Un.
Pyongyang's announcement comes just days after Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov praised the "heroism" of North Korean troops, the first time Moscow has publicly acknowledged their involvement.
Western officials had earlier told the BBC they believed at least 1,000 of the 11,000 troops sent from North Korea had been killed over three months.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🥹Watch: How the Vatican said goodbye to Pope Francis
Politicians and royalty joined thousands of mourners as Pope Francis' funeral was held in St Peter's Square.
Later, huge crowds lined the streets of Rome to watch as the Pope's coffin was carried in a procession to his final resting place, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇺🇸Trump administration reverses termination of visas for foreign students
The Trump administration is restoring visas for hundreds of foreign students who had their legal status abruptly terminated stoking panic among many who feared immediate deportation, government officials confirmed.
Justice department attorney Elizabeth Kurlan told a federal court that immigration officials are now working on a new system for reviewing and terminating visas for international students.
The announcement follows more than 100 lawsuits filed by students who were abruptly stripped of their legal right to study in US universities.
An estimated 1,800 students and 280 universities have been impacted , according to a tally from Inside Higher Ed.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇨🇳🇦🇺China has halted rare earth exports, can Australia step up?
Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to invest A$1.2bn (£580m) in a strategic reserve for critical minerals if he wins next month's election, as trade tensions escalate.
The announcement came after China imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements, essential to the production of advanced technologies - including electric vehicles, fighter jets, and robots.
China's controls apply to all countries but were widely seen as retaliation to US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Albanese said Australia would prioritise minerals that are key to its security, and that of its partners, including rare earths. But could his plan challenge China's dominance?
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇧🇷Health of Brazil's ex-president Bolsonaro has worsened, doctors say
The health of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro has worsened after intestinal surgery earlier this month, according to his medical team.
The 70-year-old remains in intensive care and will undergo new tests.
Bolsonaro was visited in hospital by a court official on Wednesday, who delivered a summons giving him five days to present his initial defence against coup charges, in preparation for his trial.
Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial after charges that he directed an alleged right-wing coup attempt after he lost the 2022 presidential election to the left-wing President Lula da Silva.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇬🇧🇺🇸UK could lower US car tariffs in push for trade deal
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has signalled the UK could lower tariffs on US car imports as she tries to broker a trade deal with the Trump administration.
Reeves said she wants "to see tariff and non-tariff barriers reduced between the UK and the US".
The UK is seeking to lower trade taxes imposed by President Donald Trump of 25% for cars, steel and aluminium and 10% on other British exports.
One of the sticking points for a trade deal in the past has been food standards, but Reeves said the UK would not be reducing these.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇰🇷Former S Korea president Moon Jae-in indicted for bribery
Prosecutors have indicted former South Korean President Moon Jae-in on charges of bribery related to his former son-in-law's job at an airline.
Prosecutors argue his former son-in-law, identified only by his surname Seo, had little experience in the aviation industry but was hired in exchange for the airline's CEO leading a state-funded agency.
Moon led the country from 2017 to 2022 and is best remembered for his attempts to broker a peace deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
He joins a long list of South Korean presidents whose political careers have been marred by scandal, from jail to assassination to suicide.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇨🇦🇺🇸Carney tells Trump that Canada 'won't be for sale, ever'
Mark Carney has told Donald Trump that Canada "is not for sale" as the president raised the prospect of the country becoming the 51st US state while welcoming the prime minister to the White House.
Carney won the election last month promising to "stand up" to Trump, who has imposed tariffs on some Canadian products and sometimes talks about annexing the country.
The former central banker responded with a firm but measured tone after the president proposed a "wonderful marriage" of incorporating Canada into the US.
Despite a strained relationship recently between the once-close neighbours, the two men also lavished praise on each other in what was a largely cordial Oval Office meeting.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇬🇧Visa applications for some nationalities could be restricted
Visa applications from nationalities thought most likely to overstay and claim asylum in the UK could be restricted under a new government crackdown.
Under Home Office plans, first reported in the Times, people from countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka may find it more difficult to come to the UK to work and study.
Ministers believe there is a particular problem with those who come to the UK legally on work or study visas and then lodge a claim for asylum - which if granted, would allow them to stay in the country permanently.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system."
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇸🇩Sudan paramilitaries escalate attacks on key city
Explosions have been heard in the Sudanese city of Port Sudan as a paramilitary force targeted the de-facto capital of the country's military-led government for the third consecutive day.
Thick black smoke could be seen at dawn on the skyline of the previously safe city where thousands of people fleeing the two-year civil war have sought refuge.
Flights have been cancelled after drones hit the international airport and a hotel near the current presidential palace, reports say.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇺🇸Harvard head apologises as scathing reports on campus prejudice released
Harvard University President Alan Garber has apologised following the release of internal reports into antisemitic and anti-Muslim prejudice at America's oldest university.
The reports included testimony from students who described feeling alienated and pressured to conceal their identity from their peers and educators.
In response to the findings, Harvard pledged to review its academic offerings and admissions policies - a key demand of the White House, which accuses the Ivy League institution of failure to stamp out campus antisemitism.
A pair of taskforces were established to look into bias at Harvard in the aftermath of last year's pro-Palestinian protests over the Israel-Gaza war.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇲🇹Malta's golden passport scheme breaks EU law, top court rules
Malta's so-called golden passport scheme that lets people become citizens through financial investment is contrary to European law, the EU's top court has ruled.
The EU commission took Malta to court in 2022 over the scheme, which grants foreigners a Maltese passport and thereby the right to live and work in any EU country in return for paying at least €600,000 (£509,619), buying or renting property of a certain value, and donating €10,000 to charity.
The EU's Court of Justice said the scheme "amounts to rendering the acquisition of nationality a mere commercial transaction".
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇨🇦Watch: How Canada's election night unfolded
Mark Carney's Liberal Party has won the Canadian election. In his victory speech, Carney told supporters that "President Trump is trying to break" Canada so that "America can own" the country.
In his concession speech, defeated Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said "hard lessons" had been learned from the election.
This is how the unprecedented election night unfolded.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇦🇺Australian PM dismisses warning over AAA credit rating
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has dismissed concerns that election spending promises could jeopardise the country's prized AAA sovereign credit rating.
Analysts at S&P Global this week wrote that Australia's public spending was at "post-war highs", and warned both major parties that the country's rating was at risk if savings were not found.
Party leaders have made big spending promises in Australia's tightly-fought election, scheduled for 3 May - with the cost of living a critical issue for voters.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇳🇦Namibian minister sacked after being accused of rape
Namibia's agriculture minister has been sacked after being accused of raping a 16-year-old girl five years ago.
Mac-Albert Hengari was arrested on Saturday after allegedly attempting to bribe the victim, now 21, to withdraw the case against him, local media quote the police as saying.
Hengari, who has denied any wrongdoing, is expected to appear in court in the coming hours.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇬🇱Greenland not a piece of property, says PM after Trump threats
Greenland's new prime minister has said the island is not a "piece of property that can be bought", in response to Donald Trump's repeated calls for the US to take control of the autonomous Danish territory.
On a visit to Copenhagen on Sunday, Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Greenland and Denmark must stand together in the face of "disrespectful" US rhetoric.
He was speaking alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in what has been viewed as another show of unity between the two leaders.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇨🇩DR Congo and 🇷🇼Rwanda vow to agree peace plan within days
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed an agreement to respect each other's sovereignty and come up with a draft peace deal by 2 May.
The deal was signed by the two countries' foreign ministers in Washington, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also present at Friday's ceremony.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced in recent months as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized swathes of mineral-rich territory in eastern DR Congo.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇳🇦'Fees have fallen' in Namibia as president announces free higher education
Namibia's new president has announced that university fees will be scrapped from 2026.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the country's first female president, made the announcement during her maiden state of the nation address on Thursday evening.
Addressing lawmakers, Nandi-Ndaitwah said that students would pay "no registration [or] tuition fees" at all public universities and technical colleges.
However, she said there would not be "significant" extra funding, raising questions about the scheme's feasibility.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇮🇱🇺🇳Israeli military admits its troops killed UN worker in Gaza Strip
Israel's military has admitted killing a United Nations (UN) worker with tank fire, having previously denied responsibility, in an incident in the Gaza Strip last month.
After a UN staff member was killed when a UN compound in Deir al-Balah was damaged on 19 March, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had not struck the site.
But the IDF said on Thursday that the initial findings of its investigation into the incident indicated its troops had in fact killed the UN worker after wrongly identifying the building as containing an "enemy presence".
It said in a statement: "The building was struck due to assessed enemy presence and was not identified by the forces as a UN facility."
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇨🇳🇺🇸China tells Trump: If you want trade talks, cancel tariffs
China has called on the US to cancel its sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods entering the country as a sign that the President Donald Trump is serious about resolving the trade war between the two countries.
A Chinese official said there had been no trade talks with the US, despite suggestions otherwise from the Trump administration.
The trade war between the world's two largest economies has been escalating, with China sending back Boeing planes it ordered from the US in its latest retaliation over tariffs.
But Trump has appeared to soften his stance on China, saying that the taxes he has so far imposed on Chinese imports would "come down substantially, but it won't be zero".
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🥹Pope mourners queue for 'chance to say goodbye'
Crowds are continuing to gather to pay their respects to Pope Francis.
The late pontiff, who died on Monday, is currently lying in state in an open coffin in St Peter's Basilica.
He will remain there until his funeral on Saturday.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
🇫🇷French PM stunned as daughter reveals she was abused at scandal-hit school
French Prime Minister François Bayrou says his eldest daughter's revelation that she was among children who were abused at a Roman Catholic school "stabs him to the heart as a father".
Hélène Perlant, who is now 53, alleges that a priest at Notre-Dame de Bétharram beat her at a summer camp when she was 14.
In recent weeks, details of physical and sex abuse perpetrated over decades at Bétharram in the Pyrenees have drawn increasing attention to Bayrou, who was local MP and education minister at the time.
Bayrou, 73, has denied suggestions that he knew about the abuse pupils allegedly suffered from the 1950s to 2010. He is due to appear next month before a parliamentary inquiry.
✅@virals ⭐️Boosts
