Burkina Faso has accused the officials of carrying out subversive activities Burkina Faso’s military government has declared three French diplomats persona non grata, giving them 48 hours to leave the West African nation. The incident adds to major diplomatic setbacks Paris has suffered in the country in recent years. In a letter dated Tuesday and addressed to the French Embassy in Ouagadougou, the Burkinabe Foreign Ministry accused the officials of committing “subversive” acts, without providing any details. The ministry named Gwenaielle Habouzit and two political advisers, Guillaume Reisache ..read more

A video of a Jewish woman arguing with Indians over anti-Israeli ‘propaganda’ has gone viral A Jewish woman from Australia was taken into police custody in the state of Kerala in southern India for tearing down posters supporting Palestine, Indian media have reported. A video of a heated exchange between a woman and the locals, who questioned her move, has gone viral on social media. In the footage, the woman can be heard claiming that the posters promoted “racism and propaganda.” The scene took place in the city of Kochi, known, among other things, as home to the oldest group of Jews in ..read more

The revelation debunks Kiev’s “myths,” a Russian official accused of mass abductions has said Allegations by Kiev that Moscow has mass kidnapped Ukrainian children have been exposed as a lie after some of the purported victims were found in the EU, according to Russian children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova. She is among the officials to have been accused of abducting youngsters from Ukraine amid the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. The head of Ukrainian national police, Ivan Vygovsky, on Wednesday hailed the discovery of 161 “children kidnapped by Russia” after they were discovere ..read more

Digital banking will create sovereignty, VTB chief Andrey Kostin says A move away from conducting financial transactions through Western payment systems, including SWIFT, is vital for Russia and its trading partners, the head of the country’s second-largest lender has said. Speaking on Thursday at the Data Fusion 2024 conference, VTB CEO Andrey Kostin called for the promotion of digital financial settlements in Russia and allied nations. Such a step would end the dominance of the dollar and gain full sovereignty in the financial sector, he claimed. “SWIFT has announced plans to carry out ..read more

In his latest gaffe, the US leader described how he told the Jewish state not to attack the city of Haifa US President Joe Biden told an interviewer that he’d warned the Israeli government against attacking itself, in what appears to be the aging leader’s latest gaffe, and one that has again raised concerns over his mental state. Speaking with Nexstar Media’s Reshad Hudson in an interview published on Wednesday, the 81-year-old president detailed his plans to win back pro-Palestinian voters amid his ongoing support for Israel in its conflict with Hamas. Biden claimed that, aside from meeting w ..read more

Ukrainian authorities have accused a major online casino co-owned by entrepreneur Arnulf Damerau of tax evasion One of the largest private Western investors in Ukraine, an Anglo-German businessman, has told the Financial Times that senior Kiev officials, including some from the presidential office, are trying to extort money from him. Arnulf Damerau, who has invested in Ukraine’s gambling industry, shared his allegations with the paper on Thursday, months after he claimed he was approached with a criminal proposal. He co-owns Cosmolot, one of the largest online casino operators in the country ..read more

The African nation plans to increase oil production to at least 2 million barrels per day, its finance minister has said Nigeria is aiming to increase revenues by 60% this year to help keep debt at sustainable levels and alleviate economic hardship, Finance Minister Wale Edun said on Wednesday, according to the Semafor Africa news outlet. While the target is ambitious, it is necessary for the West African country to reduce its fiscal deficit from 6.1% of GDP to 3.8%, Edun said in a speech at Semafor’s World Economy Summit in Washington. According to the Nigerian Debt Management Office, Abuja’s ..read more

A direct war between Israel and Iran could “substantially” drive prices up, the bank has said in a note cited by CNBC An all-out war between Israel and Iran could drive oil prices up by $30-$40 per barrel, Bank of America experts have told clients in a research note seen by CNBC. Tehran and West Jerusalem have traded threats since Iran conducted its first direct military attack on the Jewish state last weekend, in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria earlier this month. If hostilities escalate into a protracted conflict that impacts energy in ..read more

Lawyer and politician Mahesh Jethmalani suggests some world powers fear his country’s emergence as a major rival A “growing and strong India” is a challenge to the supremacy of the West, the renowned criminal lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, who is also a member of parliament for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has told RT.  “The sitting most powerful nations fear a rising, emerging power that is going to overthrow them and become more powerful than them,” Jethmalani said, commenting on the Western media’s often unflattering coverage of India, in an interview on the latest episode of RT ..read more

Kiev’s commanding officers have been indicted in absentia by a Moscow court Russia’s Investigative Committee has brought charges in absentia against four Colonels of the Ukrainian military, Khamovnichesky Court in Moscow has told TASS. The commanders of Kiev’s units are being accused of mass murder, it added. Khamovnichesky Court has received petitions for the arrest in absentia of Colonels Pavel Fedosenko, Fedor Yaroshevich and Andrey Matviishin, the court’s representative told the agency on Thursday. Another Ukrainian colonel, Dmitry Khrapach, had earlier been indicted in absentia, according ..read more