Germans head to the polls on Sunday in two eastern states, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) poised to achieve a historic victory. Polls indicate that the AfD is leading in Thuringia with 30% and is neck-and-neck with the conservatives in Saxony, where they are polling at 30-32%. A win would mark the first time a far-right party has topped a German state parliament since World War II. Despite the AfD’s strong showing, the party is unlikely to form a state government as it is projected to fall short of a majority and other parties have refused to collaborate…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
Guru Srivastava, CEO of the Indian company Veecon Group, has been revealed as the mastermind behind an extensive international fraud operation. The Lucknow native and green card holder is accused of deceiving influential figures worldwide with fake projects and false claims. The fraud was uncovered by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bradley Hope. After a series of failed business ventures in India, Srivastava reportedly targeted high-profile international personalities, often posing as a CIA agent to gain their trust. The scheme unraveled when Dutch oil trader Niels Troost discovered Srivastava’s fraudulent activities in the U.S. and India, including failed business deals related to…
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a leading Kashmiri separatist, is being remembered on his third death anniversary, September 1, 2024. A shutdown has been observed in the occupied Kashmir valley in his honor. Born in 1929 in Zoori Munj, Bandipore district, Geelani was educated at Wazir Khan Mosque’s madrasa and Oriental College in Lahore. His career included work as a reporter for Khidmat newspaper and teaching at Pather Masjid Srinagar and Sopore Intermediate College. Geelani’s political journey included multiple affiliations and achievements. He was elected to the occupied Kashmir legislative assembly in 1972, 1977, and 1987, and was involved with National…
MOSCOW: A Mi-8T helicopter carrying 22 people, including 19 tourists and three crew members, has gone missing in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, regional authorities reported on Saturday. The helicopter took off from a base near the Vachkazhets volcano but failed to report in at the scheduled time of 4 GMT, according to the federal air transport agency. Kamchatka Governor Vladimir Solodov confirmed in a video posted on Telegram that communication was lost with the helicopter around 16:15 local time. Rescue teams are conducting a search operation focusing on a river valley where the aircraft was expected to fly. The Mi-8, a…
WASHINGTON: The FBI is investigating Gaurav Srivastava, an Indian businessman accused of an elaborate scheme involving wire fraud, money laundering, and falsely presenting himself as a CIA agent and American citizen, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Srivastava, known for his “fake CIA agent” scam, is under scrutiny for compromising U.S. national security with years of fraudulent activities. The report details how Srivastava, a college dropout, deceived Washington’s political elite with fabricated claims and stolen funds. He reportedly met President Joe Biden and allegedly donated over $1 million to the Democratic Party while posing as a covert CIA operative.…
In Nuku’alofa, a revised joint declaration from Pacific leaders was released on Saturday morning with references to Taiwan removed, following objections from China to an earlier version. The updated communique, released after five days of discussions in Tonga, initially reaffirmed a 30-year-old agreement allowing Taiwan’s participation in the Pacific Islands Forum. However, the inclusion of this statement provoked a strong reaction from Chinese diplomats, who demanded a correction. China’s special envoy to the Pacific islands, Qian Bo, described the mention of Taiwan as a “mistake” that needed rectifying. He expressed surprise at the oversight and indicated that he had contacted…
In Washington, a legal dispute has emerged between Special Counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump’s lawyers over the timeline for addressing pretrial issues in the election interference case. In a late Friday filing, Trump’s legal team proposed delaying pretrial arguments until after the November 2024 election and the inauguration of the next president in January 2025. They expressed confidence in their ability to have the charges dismissed before trial. On the other hand, Special Counsel Jack Smith did not suggest a specific schedule but requested priority for addressing the question of presidential immunity. Smith indicated readiness to provide…
In Montreal, a group of Indigenous women are working to halt construction at a former hospital site they believe may contain unmarked graves of children subjected to a disturbing CIA experiment from the 1950s and 1960s. For the past two years, these activists have sought to delay a major construction project by McGill University and the Quebec government. “They took our children and subjected them to experiments,” said Kahentinetha, an 85-year-old activist from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake. The activists are drawing on archives and testimonies suggesting that the Royal Victoria Hospital and the adjacent Allan Memorial Institute, where the…
Israeli airstrikes on Saturday resulted in at least 48 fatalities in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian health officials. This escalation in violence comes just before the commencement of a planned polio vaccination campaign. The United Nations aims to vaccinate around 640,000 children in Gaza against polio, contingent on securing daily eight-hour ceasefires between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in specific areas of the besieged territory. Yousef Abu Al-Reesh, Gaza’s deputy health minister, highlighted that only a comprehensive ceasefire could ensure the campaign’s success, urging the international community to advocate for peace. Medics have begun administering vaccines to children at…
Russia announced on Saturday that its forces have captured the settlement of Kirove in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The Defense Ministry reported that its Tsentr (Center) forces seized Kirove, with other Russian army groups making advances along the frontline. The ministry also noted continued fighting in Russia’s western Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops reportedly launched at least six offensives in various directions over the past day. Reconnaissance and search operations are underway to target sabotage groups, with artillery and aviation strikes reported in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region. Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on Russia’s claims, and independent verification is…
