Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar set the cat among the pigeons while campaigning for local elections when he appeared to threaten voters, saying he would release funds he had promised only if all of his party's candidates were elected. Addressing a rally for the Nagar Panchayat elections at Malegaon in Baramati tehsil on Friday, the NCP chief, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said the party had fielded 18 candidates. "The Centre and the state have many schemes. The Prime Minister, chief minister and both deputy chief ministers have worked on these together. If all of us work together and implement these schemes properly, we can ensure development for Malegaon," Pawar said. "I will ensure there is no shortage of funds if you elect all 18 NCP candidates. If you elect all of them, I will fulfil whatever I have promised. But if you 'cut' my candidates, I will also "cut" (the funds). You have the power to vote, and I have the power...
A recent investigation by media organisations has shed light on the tragic death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who was captured by Russian forces in 2023 while reporting on the illegal detention and torture of Ukrainians in the occupied region of Zaporizhzhia. According to a forensic examination of her body, Roshchyna, 27, suffered extensive torture and ill-treatment, including "abrasions and hemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib, neck injuries, and possible electric shock marks on her feet," as described by Yuriy Belousov, head of the War Crimes Unit at the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office. Belousov also noted that Roshchyna's body showed signs of an autopsy having been performed before it was returned to Ukraine, and that some of her organs were missing. The missing organs could signal that Russia attempted to hide the cause of death, possibly to conceal that it had committed a war crime, Belousov said. Roshchyna's colle...