Kane Brown is fresh off making history as the first male country singer to perform at the VMA's and just announced the U.S. leg of his "Drunk or Dreaming Tour."
Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett and LoCash will be joining Kane Brown's tour.
(Mat Hayward/Getty Images)
Kane Brown's 2023 Tour Dates:
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Thursday, March 16, Grand Rapids, MI, Van Andel Arena
Friday, March 17, Evansville, IN, Ford Center
Saturday, March 18, Greenville, SC, Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Thursday, March 23, Columbus, OH, Nationwide Arena
Friday, March 24, Lexington, KY, Rupp Arena
Saturday, March 25, Huntington, WV, Mountain Health Arena
Thursday, March 30, Knoxville, TN, Thompson-Boling Arena
Friday, March 31, Nashville, TN, Bridgestone Arena
Saturday, April 1, North Little Rock, AR, Simmons Bank Arena
Thursday, April 13, Wichita, KS, INTRUST Bank Arena
Friday, April 14, St. Louis, MO, Enterprise Center
Saturday, April 15, Omaha, NE, CHI Health Center
Thursday, April 20, Sioux Falls, SD, Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
Friday, April 21, Rapid City, SD, The Monument
Sunday, April 23, Nampa, ID, Ford Idaho Center Arena
Thursday, April 27, San Jose, CA, SAP Center at San Jose
Saturday, May 6, 2023, Bossier City, LA, Brookshire Grocery Arena
Friday, May 12, Tulsa, OK, BOK Center
Thursday, May 18, Spokane, WA, Spokane Arena
Saturday, May 19, Missoula, MT, Adams Center
Saturday, May 20, Billings, MT, First Interstate Arena at MetraPark
Friday, June 2, St. Augustine, FL, The St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Saturday, June 3, St. Augustine, FL, The St. Augustine Amphitheatre
Saturday, June 10, Greenwood Village, CO, Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
This year, Durga Puja has been listed as a heritage site by the UNESCO. (Image: PTI/File)
The West Bengal CM held a meeting with the puja organisers on August 22 and said there will be a discount on the electricity bill during this year's puja
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced Rs 60,000 each to 43,000 Durga Puja committees in the state. But soon after the announcement, three PILs were filed against her decision.
The chief minister held a meeting with the puja organisers at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on August 22 and said there will be a discount on the electricity bill during this year’s puja. The Kolkata and the state electricity boards have been requested to give a 60 per cent discount on bills to puja committees. This time, Durga Puja has been listed as a heritage site by the UNESCO.
Petitioner Subir Kumar Ghosh appealed to the court asking the government to withdraw the grant. In this same context, another PIL was registered on Wednesday and Thursday. A question as to why donations are being given to pujas instead of paying dearness allowance (DA) to government employees was raised following the court order. The litigant also questioned why the discount is given on the electricity bill. The possible hearing date of this case is on Friday. The PILs also stated that where many people were still not getting food, clean water, electricity, and medicine, donation was a luxury.
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The United States has announced nearly $3bn in new military aid to Ukraine, with President Joe Biden saying the assistance aims to help the country defend against Russia’s invasion.
According to international media, in a statement on Wednesday, as Ukraine marked its independence from the Soviet Union, Biden said the $2.98bn package would allow Kyiv to acquire air defence systems, “artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars”.
This is the single largest US aid package for Ukraine since Russian forces began their full-scale military invasion of the country in February.
“I know this independence day is bittersweet for many Ukrainians as thousands have been killed or wounded, millions have been displaced from their homes, and so many others have fallen victim to Russian atrocities and attacks,” Biden said in the statement.
For months, Russia has warned the US and European nations against providing heavy weaponry to Ukraine. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other government officials have urged their allies to send more assistance to help the country stave off Russian forces.
In total, the US has committed approximately $10.6bn in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration in January 2021, international media reported.
Ahead of another deadline on the restart of payments for America's $1.7 trillion in federal student loans, President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced a plan to cancel debt for a subset of Americans and continue to keep a pandemic-era pause on repayments -- a sweeping move he has openly weighed in some form or another since his time as a candidate.
Speaking from the White House's Roosevelt Room, Biden outlined his plan to forgive tens of thousands of dollars for individuals earning less than $125,000 a year.
"An entire generation is now saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for an attempt at least at a college degree," Biden said. "The burden is so heavy that even if you graduate, you may not have access to the middle class life that the college degree once provided."
"The pandemic only made things worse," he continued, noting that many people can't afford to buy homes or are putting off starting a family in part because of their student loan debt.
President Joe Biden holds a press conference regarding Student Loans at the White House in Washington, Aug. 24, 2022.ABC News
People who took out Pell Grants to pay for college, which are grants given to low-income borrowers, can qualify for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness as part of Wednesday's broader announcement on student loan forgiveness. Other student loan borrowers who don't have Pell Grants will still have loans forgiven up to $10,000,
Both forgiveness options are for people who earned less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 as a household, in either the 2020 or 2021 tax year.
"If all borrowers claim the relief that they're entitled to, 43 million federal student loan borrowers will benefit, and of those, 20 million will have their debt completely canceled," a senior administration official said on a call with reporters on Wednesday, detailing the plan.
According to the White House, 60% of borrowers have Pell Grants, meaning the majority of borrowers are eligible for the larger forgiveness. And because people are only eligible for Pell Grants if they can show that their family can only contribute a certain amount per year toward college, the Biden administration says narrowing in on relief for these recipients will help target people with the highest economic need.
Biden on Wednesday also announced an extension of the pause on student loan payments through Dec. 31, 2022 -- the final extension -- a move that's intended to give time for the transition back to repayment.
Biden unveiled the first details of the so-called "Student Debt Relief Plan" earlier Wednesday through a fact-sheet posted to Twitter.
"In keeping with my campaign promise, my Administration is announcing a plan to give working and middle class families breathing room as they prepare to resume federal student loan payments in January 2023," Biden wrote in the post.
Amid questions about how the plan will be paid for, Biden said Wednesday there's "plenty of deficit reduction" to pay for the proposals.
"I will never apologize for helping working people and middle-class Americans," he said.
Activists attend a rally outside of the White House to call on U.S. President Joe Biden to cancel student debt in Washington, July 27, 2022.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Such a major cancelation may seem like a big step for Biden to take without Congress, but legal and policy experts say it's clear: The move would be well within the president's authority -- it just hasn't been wielded before because of the political implications.
"The president has some pretty broad authority under the Higher Education Act," said John Brooks, a law professor at Fordham University who focuses on federal fiscal policy.
"A lot depends on the size of the cancellation. The smaller the amount of cancellation, the easier the question is," Brooks said. "Wiping out all student debt with a single stroke might be tougher, but the president through the secretary of education does have the power to adjust the amount of loan principle that any borrower has."
Still, Biden could get taken to court -- possibly by loan servicing agencies who would lose revenue or by members of Congress who may believe Biden is spending money in a way that hasn't been appropriated by legislators.
Outside experts also wonder how long the processes would take to cancel student loans once a policy is announced -- and how complicated it would be for borrowers to work their way through it, which are details that have yet to be released.
Some fear that people might fall through the cracks if applications to cancel debt become too labor-intensive because of the prospective income cap.
"The White House is about to ask the Education Department to do something that is extraordinarily difficult, and that is going to have the effect of denying debt relief to low-income folks, economically vulnerable folks, who have the hardest time navigating these complicated paperwork processes," Mike Pierce, executive director and co-founder of the Student Borrower Protection Center, a think-tank that advocates for universal debt cancellation, told ABC News in an interview.
Pierce and other supporters for more progressive debt cancellation, including the NAACP, said the smoothest path would include full and universal cancellation for everyone.
"If the rumors are true, we've got a problem. And tragically, we've experienced this so many times before," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement Tuesday, reacting to the details of the potential policy announcement before they were announced.
"President Biden's decision on student debt cannot become the latest example of a policy that has left Black people - especially Black women - behind. This is not how you treat Black voters who turned out in record numbers and provided 90% of their vote to once again save democracy in 2020," Johnson said.
But for many borrowers and advocates for canceling student debt -- particularly the nearly half of people with federal student loans who would see their debt extinguished or cut significantly -- Biden's policy would still be cause for major celebration and be seen as a start to reforming the college and university system, where rising costs have become a major area of focus.
For Michigan teacher Nick Fuller, speaking before Biden's announcement, his move comes just before the financial crunch of winter, when his heating bills skyrocket.
Though Fuller worked hard his first few years out of school to pay down his school debt, and then had his loan frozen for much of the pandemic, he's concerned that restarting payments on top of monthly living costs could put him over the edge.
"I think things will get really tight in the winter because my utility bills are higher," Fuller told ABC News. "I mean for January and February -- the highs are zero and the lows are -20 [degrees] for almost two months."
The frozen temperatures might sting a little bit less if Biden forgives $10,000 of Fuller's remaining student loan bills, he said.
"It's about two-thirds of the debt that I have left," he said.
That would make payments "a lot more affordable and a lot more manageable in my situation," he said.
Easing the student debt crisis -- which is also how Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos described the issue in 2018 -- could also aid a crippling teacher shortage that has caused thousands of staff vacancies at the start of the latest school year, something Fuller has seen himself.
President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House, in Washington, Aug. 9, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters, FILE
Pinched salaries and rising inflation have had many teachers on edge with the loan forgiveness deadline approaching.
And because Black students are among the fastest growing group of people taking on debt, advocates have argued that canceling some student loans would begin to address racial inequities.
Shareefah Mason, the dean of Educator Certification at Dallas College, feels this impact firsthand as a Black woman with student debt. She leads the apprenticeship component of a program that pairs students with residency partners to ensure they earn while they learn, effectively reducing education debt for aspiring teachers.
"I bear the weight of $70,000 in student loans," Mason told ABC News. "The data shows that student loan debt exponentially impacts and disproportionately impacts Black women."
The average amount of student debt accrued by Black women is more than any other group at $38,800, according to Education Trust, a nonprofit focused on education reform.
But Mason's program, the very first full-time paid teacher apprenticeship in the state of Texas, allows students to earn one of the cheapest bachelor's degrees in the state, Mason said.
The goal, she said, is to aid future educators in breaking the generational barriers that she has faced as a Black woman.
Mason said "they will not have to worry about student loan debt," which could open more doors for minority communities that have historically lacked the means to access higher education. "My students will be able to earn, as a first year teacher in the city of Dallas, upwards of $60,000," Mason said.
For the nation's borrowers most affected, Mason said, "there needs to be a space created for them to make enough money to pay their student loans without having to sacrifice their ability to create generational wealth for their families."
ABC News' Mariam Khan and Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
Motorcyclists passing through rainwater accumulated at Kazi Qaiyoum Road after heavy rain in Hyderabad. — APP/File
More than 1.9 million people have been affected in Sindh due to heavy rainfall.
PDMA says 263 deaths have been reported in Sindh, including 120 children and 35 women.
Met Office says well-marked low pressure located over east Rajasthan likely to approach Sindh tonight.
Above-normal rain in Sindh, which has flooded hundreds of villages and low-lying areas in cities and towns across the province, has disrupted routine life and led to the deaths of hundreds.
In view of the misery caused by the rains and the latest Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) advisory, the Government of Sindh on Tuesday announced the closure of schools and colleges across the province for two days.
The move followed the Board of Intermediate Education (BIEK), Karachi, announcing the postponement of exams scheduled for August 24 and 25.
Meanwhile, due to the "rain emergency" — as put by the Sindh government — the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) wrote a letter to National Disaster Management Authority seeking the army’s assistance to the civil administration.
Rain affects 1.9 million people in Sindh
A report released by the PDMA has noted that more than 1.9 million people in Sindh have been adversely affected due to heavy rainfall.
It said that 263 deaths were reported in Sindh, including 120 children and 35 women and 30,150 cattle died in rain-related accidents.
Meanwhile, a total of 701 injuries were reported across Sindh, including 144 children.
The PDMA also said that approximately 104,000 houses were completely destroyed while the infrastructure of 225,677 houses was damaged.
A view of damaged houses at New Nazar Colony after heavy rain in the Larkana. —
Army comes to rescue
Amid country-wide flooding, Pakistan Army troops are busy in rescue and relief operations in flood-hit areas of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), rescue and relief efforts are underway in Hyderabad, Sanghar, Badin, Thatta, Jamshoro, Noshero Feroz and various other districts of Sindh.
Special army helicopters were flown from Karachi to affected areas of interior Sindh to speed up rescue and relief efforts.
Food supplies are being distributed in affected areas and medical aid is also being provided to the affected people.
In Punjab, Pakistan Army helicopters have assisted civil administration in the distribution of relief goods for flood-hit people in far-flung and inaccessible areas of DG Khan district.
FC KP troops are also assisting civil administration in flood relief operations in Chitral and other flood-hit areas.
PMD forecasts more rains
The PMD released an advisory earlier in the day forecasting more rains in the country during the week.
The Met Office said that a well-marked low pressure located over east Rajasthan, India, is likely to move in the northwest direction and approach Sindh tonight.
“Due to this strong weather system monsoon currents are penetrating in southern and upper parts of the country,” the PMD warned.
Under the influence of this weather system:
More rain-wind/thundershowers (with scattered heavy to very heavy falls) are expected in Sindh, south Punjab, south and northeastern Balochistan from August 23-26 with occasional gaps
Rain-wind/thundershowers (with isolated heavy falls) are expected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan from August 23 (night) to 26 with occasional gaps
Moreover, heavy rains may generate urban flooding in Karachi, Hyderabad, Tando Jam, Thatta, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Naushahro Feroz, Larkana, Jaccobabad and Sukkur on August 24 and 25
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Nairobi — Visa has announced a grant from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in collaboration with Standard Bank providing funding to the Africa Women Impact Fund, which will fund the working capital requirements of female fund managers in the South, East, and West Africa.
In a statement, Visa says the award is an expansion of the She's next program for women-owned businesses and is intended for 55 women who participated in AWIF's program after responding to their call to action.
"Through this programme we aim to ensure that women are not only recipients but become decision-makers where institutional funding for businesses is concerned" said Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President & Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at Visa.
Women fund managers in Africa continue to face numerous challenges in building sustainable businesses. Research shows slow-moving progress in the visibility and inclusion of women fund managers due to systematic barriers and investor bias.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been included in the global advocacy initiative, which aims to further support and celebrate African women entrepreneurs as they establish, grow, and progress their companies.
The financing from Visa will go toward initiatives that help business owners develop their technical expertise, make themselves more appealing to larger institutional investors, and manage profitable enterprises that will go on to invest in other companies, including small and medium-sized ones.
"The funding will ensure that these business owners are able to focus on growing their enterprises without the burden of managing short-term debt and other operational costs related to building a successful business" added Diarra.
In conclusion, Lindeka Dzedze Head of Strategic Partnerships at Standard Bank Group, says their partnership with visa in their contribution to AWIF sees gender equity not only as a fundamental human right but also as a business imperative.
"The group believes that the economic empowerment of women is essential to raising Africa's economic output and creating sustainable jobs, especially within the small enterprises that drive growth on the continent," said Dzedze.
PTI supporters attend a rally in Charsadda. — AFP/File
ISLAMABAD: PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday announced that the party will organise a public gathering in the federal capital on the eve of Pakistan’s 75th independence day.
The decision was taken during a party meeting presided by PTI chief Imran Khan.
Taking to Twitter, Fawad Chaudhry shared that the party will hold a gathering at the Parade Ground Islamabad where Khan will announce the party’s future strategy.
“Imported government is running from elections, but the nation will not let them get away. On August 13, Pakistan will gather in parade Ground alongside Imran Khan,” he tweeted, urging party workers to prepare for the last leg.
“Election or revolution,” tweeted the former minister.
Sources mentioned that former premier presided a meeting of PTI’s political committee in which the country’s current situation was also under discussion, in addition to reviewing legal issues regarding Khan contesting the by-elections in nine constituencies across Pakistan.
Briefing on the party’s legal strategy regrading resignations of PTI members in the assembly was also conducted. PTI’s legal team informed party members about the progress of applications in the courts.
PTI trying to hide wrongdoings: Interior Minister
Speaking in Geo News show Naya Pakistan, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah commented on PTI’s plans to gather workers and supporters in Islamabad.
“They are allowed to gather at Parade Ground and were granted permission earlier as well,” the minister said, adding that the party is using the jalsa to hide its wrongdoings.
Talking about the party’s plan to attract crowds in the federal capital, the interior minister maintained that the government will not be threatened by the party.
He added that the foreign funding verdict has exposed Khan in front of the nation and that PTI is not sincere about the elections.
“Their lies have now been caught,” he said, criticizing Khan and his party for misleading the youth.
"We have another one on the way," she wrote in a post on her Instagram account showing off her baby bump, later adding, "so far, everything is perfect and beautiful and I'm feeling hopeful and amazing."
Teigen and Legend have been married for almost 9 years and have two children, Luna and Miles.
"The last few years have been a blur of emotions to say the least, but joy has filled our home and hearts again," Teigen, 36, wrote, appearing to refer to her miscarriage in 2020.
The couple has previously said that their first 2 children were conceived through in vitro fertilization and in her announcement Wednesday, Teigen said the new baby is on the way "1 billion shots later."
Teigan had been hesitant to announce the pregnancy, she said.
"Every appointment I've said to myself, 'ok if it's healthy today I'll announce' but then I breathe a sigh of relief to hear a heartbeat and decide I'm just too nervous still," she wrote.
"OK phew," she wrote, "it's been very hard keeping this in for so long!"
CNN's Alisha Ebrahimji contributed to this report.
HAVANA: The Cuban capital of Havana will begin electricity blackouts in August, has canceled carnival and is taking other measures as the country’s energy crisis worsens, state media reported on Saturday.
The capital, home to a fifth of the population of 11.2 million and center of economic activity in Cuba, had been spared the daily power outages of four or more hours that the rest of the island has endured for months.
Blackouts have sparked a few small local protests this summer and a year ago in July fueled a day of unprecedented unrest across the country as discontent boiled over.
For now, a schedule of power outages will mean each of Havana’s six municipalities will have its electricity cut every three days during peak mid-day hours, according to the local Communist Party daily, Tribuna de la Habana, which reported on a meeting of local authorities.
The blackouts reflect a deepening economic crisis that began with harsh new U.S. sanctions on the island in 2019 and worsened with the pandemic that gutted tourism, and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Soaring prices for food, fuel and shipping have exposed import dependence and vulnerabilities such as a decaying infrastructure. The country’s economy declined 10.9% in 2020, recovering just 1.3% last year.
Cubans have withstood more than two years of food and medicine shortages, long lines to purchase scarce goods, high prices and transportation woes. The blackouts have only added to the frustration, leading to an exodus of more than 150,000 Cubans since October to the United States, and more elsewhere.
“This is the moment to show solidarity and contribute so that the rest of Cuba suffers less from the undesirable blackouts,” Havana Communist Party leader Luis Antonio Torres was quoted by Tribuna as stating.
Torres, and others at the meeting insisted they were acting in solidarity with fellow Cubans, not from necessity, and announced other measures such as mass vacations to shutter state-run companies, working from home and a 20% cut in energy allocations for private businesses with high consumption. The cancelled carnival had been due to take place next month.
Jorge Pinon, director of the University of Texas at Austin’s Latin America and Caribbean Energy and Environment Program, said offered a different assessment from Torres. He said the entire power grid was near collapse after recent fires in two of 20 already obsolete plants, with others constantly breaking down.
“When you keep running the equipment past its capital maintenance schedule it falls into a downward spiral with no short term solution,” he told Reuters.
“The announced scheduled blackouts are not in solidarity but rather a necessity to avoid a possible total collapse of the system,” Pinon said.
China has given no details on what sorts of units will take part in exercises planned for opposite Taiwan. In this file photo, a missile launches from a Chinese submarine.
China Photos | Getty Images News | Getty Images
China said it was conducting military exercises Saturday off its coast opposite Taiwan after warning Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the U.S. House of Representatives to scrap possible plans to visit the island democracy, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.
The ruling Communist Party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army, was conducting "live-fire exercises" near the Pingtan islands off Fujian province from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., the official Xinhua News Agency said. The Maritime Safety Administration warned ships to avoid the area.
Such exercises usually involve artillery. The one-sentence announcement gave no indication whether Saturday's exercise also might include missiles, fighter planes or other weapons.
Pelosi, who would be the highest-ranking American elected official to visit Taiwan since 1997, has yet to confirm whether she will go. President Xi Jinping warned his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, in a phone call Thursday against "external interference" in Beijing's dealings with the island.
China says Taiwan has no right to conduct foreign relations. It sees visits by American officials as encouragement for the island to make its decades-old de facto independence official.
The Ministry of Defense warned Washington this week not to allow Pelosi, who is Biden's equal in rank as leader of one of three branches of government, to visit Taiwan. A spokesman said the PLA would take unspecified "strong measures" to stop pro-independence activity.
The PLA has flown growing numbers of fighter planes and bombers near Taiwan and has in the past fired missiles into shipping lanes to the island.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war that ended with a communist victory on the mainland.
The two governments say they are one country but disagree over which is entitled to national leadership. They have no official relations but are linked by billions of dollars in trade and investment.
Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of bombing a jail holding Ukrainian prisoners in Russian-held territory amid fierce fighting on day 157 of the military conflict.
Russian army trucks drive across a wheat field in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict near the settlement of Olenivka in the Donetsk region.
(Reuters)
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Zelenskyy calls for evacuation of Ukraine's frontline Donetsk
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the evacuation of the eastern Donetsk region which has seen fierce clashes between his country's forces and the Russian military.
"There's already a governmental decision about obligatory evacuation from Donetsk region," he said in his daily address.
"Please, follow evacuation. At this phase of the war, terror is a main weapon of Russia."
Russia suspends gas supplies
Russian energy giant Gazprom suspended gas supplies to Latvia, a day after a jail holding Ukrainian prisoners of war was bombed leaving scores dead.
"Today, Gazprom suspended its gas supplies to Latvia... due to violations of the conditions" of purchase, the company said on Telegram.
Gazprom drastically cut gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline on Wednesday to about 20 percent of its capacity. It had reduced gas flows to Europe twice in June.
Red Cross requests access to Ukraine prison after POWS die
Russia launched nighttime attacks on several Ukrainian cities, Ukrainian officials said as they and Moscow blamed each other for the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war in a pro-Russian separatist-controlled area of the country's east.
The International Red Cross asked to visit the prison to make sure the wounded had proper treatment.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have a duty to react.
“It was a deliberate Russian war crime, a deliberate mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war,” Zelenskyy said in a video address.
Ukraine condemns Russian call to 'hang' Azov fighters
Ukrainian officials denounced a call by Russia's embassy in Britain for fighters from the Azov regiment to face a "humiliating" execution.
The Russian tweet came as Moscow and Kiev traded blame over a strike on a jail holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian-controlled territory that killed around 50 people, reportedly including members of the Azov regiment.
"Azov militants deserve execution, but death not by firing squad but by hanging, because they're not real soldiers. They deserve a humiliating death," Moscow's diplomatic mission wrote in an overnight Tweet.
Latvia says Russian energy giant Gazprom's decision to halt gas exports would have little impact on its supplies pic.twitter.com/JIltzyHdze
US envoy: Russia intends to dissolve Ukraine from world map
The US ambassador to the United Nations has said there should no longer be any doubt that Russia intends to dismantle Ukraine “and dissolve it from the world map entirely”.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council that the United States is seeing growing signs that Russia is laying the groundwork to attempt to annex all of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and the southern Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
She said Russia's plans could include installing “illegitimate proxy officials in Russian-held areas, with the goal of holding sham referenda or decree to join Russia”.
UK: Russia to hold referendums in newly occupied areas of south Ukraine
Russian-installed authorities in newly occupied territories in southern Ukraine are under pressure and possibly preparing to hold referendums on joining Russia later this year, Britain military has said.
"Local authorities are likely coercing the population into disclosing personal details in order to compose voting registers," the Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update on Twitter. Russia classifies these occupied areas as being under interim "civil-military administration".
Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told the Security Council on Friday that “The de-Nazification and demilitarisation of Ukraine will be carried out in full.”
Russia running out of steam in Ukraine, UK spy chief says
Russia is "running out of steam" in its assault on Ukraine, the chief of Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence agency, Richard Moore, has said in a brief comment on social media.
Moore made the remark "Running out of steam..." above an earlier post on Twitter by Britain's defence ministry, which described the Russian government as "growing desperate" and as having lost thousands of soldiers in its offensive in Ukraine.
Ukrainian military says around 100 Russian forces have been killed while trying to recapture the city of Kherson. TRT World's Aksel Zaimovic has the latest from capital Kiev pic.twitter.com/fqfYUjX5vz
Russian gas producer Gazprom says it has stopped supplying neighbouring Latvia with gas, accusing it of violating conditions for gas withdrawal.
Russia has already cut off gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Netherlands and Denmark, which refused to pay for gas in line with an order by President Vladimir Putin requiring rouble accounts to be set up in a Russian bank as part of new settlement scheme. Russia has also halted gas sales to Shell Energy Europe in Germany.
In a statement on Saturday, Gazprom did not specify which gas withdrawal conditions Latvia had allegedly violated.
Ukraine calls for Russia to be recognised as 'state sponsor of terrorism'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the deaths of dozens of prisoners in a Russian-held jail showed there should be clear legal recognition that Russia was a "state sponsor of terrorism."
"Today, I received information about the attack by the occupiers on Olenivka (the prison's location), in the Donetsk region. It is a deliberate Russian war crime, a deliberate mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war. More than 50 dead," he said in his daily address.
"I am appealing especially to the United States of America. A decision is needed and it is needed now."
For live updates from Friday (July 29), click here
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with flood victims in Balochistan. — Twitter/@GovtofPakistan
QUETTA: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday visited Balochistan to monitor the on-going relief work in the province, as it grapples with torrential rains claiming lives of over 120 people.
Heavy downpour in Balochistan have wreaked havoc, damaging property and claiming lives. Over 6,000 homes have been torn down completely, while more than 10,000 are said to be partially damaged.
In the wake of the destructive rains, PM Shehbaz on Thursday formed a committee comprised of federal ministers. The committee was directed to visit the areas affected by flooding and was also asked submit a report in the four days.
Speaking with journalists during the visit, PM Shehbaz announced a relief package. He said that RS1 million will be given to families who have lost their members to the flood’s devastations; Rs50,000 were announced for people whose homes were destroyed, while owners of houses that suffered partial damaged will be given Rs200,000.
The PM, however, did not share a timeline for disbursement of these funds.
“We have formed a committee to assess the losses of livestock and damage to the crops,” he said, adding that the committee will conduct surveys in liaison with the provinces and will stay in touch with the administration of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The premier also stated that the committee's meeting has been called in Islamabad on August 3. PM Shehbaz lamented that the rains have killed 124 in Balochistan, while Geo News has reported the loss of at least 125 lives.
The PM added that over 300 people have been lost their lives in rain-related incidents across the country.
PM's activities during visit
During the visit, the prime minister took an aerial view of flood-affected areas of Balochistan, while Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Aqaili briefed him about damages caused by heavy rains and floods.
PM Shehbaz was also briefed on ongoing relief activities in the affected areas. Later, the prime minister also visited Jhal Magsi and met flood-affected people in Shambani.
He directed the provision of medicines and the establishment of a relief camp beside the deployment of a veterinary doctor for the treatment of cattle in affected areas.
The prime minister also directed officials to expedite relief operations in all areas and provision of rations to people.
Earlier, the prime minister had also visited Jacobabad where he was briefed about relief activities in flood-affected areas.
Rescue operation by Navy underway
The Pakistan Navy is providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support to the people stranded in flash floods affected areas of Urki, Uthal, Lakhra, and other small isolated hutments of Lasbela District.
In a statement, the navy said that Commander Coast Rear Admiral Javed Iqbal, along with officials of the district administration, undertook an aerial visit of the flood-hit areas to review relief activities.
Pakistan Navy helicopters undertook multiple hops from Uthal to the affected areas to airdrop rations near people trapped in their homes.
"Airdrop of relief goods by helicopters has emerged as the most effective way of providing relief to people who could not be reached as road infrastructure has been wiped away by floods," the statement said.
During the operation by Pakistan Navy helicopters, a critically ill woman and five other people trapped in floods were rescued and evacuated to Uthal for medical treatment.
Apart from the navy, the provincial government, district administration, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Pakistan Army, and Frontier Corps are also engaged in rescue and relief operations.
Sindh, KP announce support for victims of flooding
Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah a day earlier telephoned Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Qudus Bizenjo and expressed solidarity with him in these distressing times, offering complete support.
During the call, CM Sindh offered every kind of support to his counterpart for the rehabilitation of the rain-affected people.
“We had sent 500 tents to Lasbela on Wednesday and dispatched 100 more tents to Uthal on Friday,” he said, adding that the Relief Department Sindh would coordinate with the concerned divisional commissioners in Balochistan for the dispatch of other relief items.
Seperately, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan Saturday announced a relief package for the flood affectees of Balochistan and directed the relevant authorities to ensure the provision of the announced package to flood-hit people within the next 24 hours.
As per special directives of the chief minister, 32 trucks of relief packages from the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be dispatched to the flood-hit people of Balochistan.
The relief package includes, 1,000 tents, 1,000 mattresses, 1,000 hygiene kits, 1,000 blankets, 1,000 quilts, 1,000 tarpaulin sheets, 1,000 mosquito nets, and 20 number of dewatering pumps.
Similarly, essential medicines and 1,000 food packages are also part of the relief package.
More rainfall predicted
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast more rains across the country, including Balochistan — which means that the people's misery will prolong and rescue works will be hampered.
The meteorological department forecast more rains in Khuzdar, Zhob, Barkhan, Kohlu, Musa Khel, Sherani, Sibbi and Bolan for the next 24 hours.
Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom says it will have to further reduce gas flow through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline on Wednesday as it halts another turbine for repairs.
This comes days after Gazprom resumed gas shipments through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a vital artery linking Russia's vast gas reserves to Europe via Germany. The pipeline had been shut 10 days for scheduled maintenance, and many had feared Russia would not resume deliveries once the work was done.
“Due to the expiration of prescribed time before overhaul (in line with the Rostekhnadzor notification and taking into account the technical condition of the relevant machine), Gazprom is shutting down one more gas turbine produced by Siemens at the Portovaya [compressor station],” the company said in a statement on Monday.
“The daily throughput of the Portovaya CS from 7:00 am (Moscow time) July 27 will be up to 33 million cubic meters,” the statement added.
The head of Germany’s gas regulator, Klaus Muller, confirmed the move in a tweet on Monday.
“According to our information, there is no technical reason for a reduction in gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1,“ the German Ministry of Economy insisted in a tweet on Monday.
“If Russian gas deliveries via Nord Stream 1 continue at this low level, a storage level of 95% by November is hardly achievable without additional measures,“ Germany's regulatory office for gas and electricity said in a statement Monday.
The country’s Economics Minister Robert Habeck had previously called on Germans to reduce gas consumption in order to get the gas storage facilities as full as possible for the winter.
Germany’s current total gas inventories are at 65.9%, according to the daily figures provided by the government.
The reduction in the gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will also affect the transfer of gas to other European countries such as France, Austria and the Czech Republic.
Wholesale prices have risen noticeably as a result of the reduction in gas supplies and have recently settled at a higher level, Germany’s regulatory office said, warning that “businesses and private consumers must prepare for significantly high gas prices.”
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline delivers 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, or nearly 40% of the bloc's total pipeline imports from Russia.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Pesko said on Monday that a repaired gas turbine for Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline will be installed after all the technical procedures are fulfilled, after which the gas flow to Europe will resume “to the extent that is technologically possible.”
Peskov insisted that the issues with gas supply have nothing to do with politics.
“There is no politics here. These are the consequences of the restrictions that the Europeans themselves have introduced, and the Europeans themselves suffer from these restrictions,” he said, adding that Russia does not want Europe to give up Russian gas.
Moscow will continue to be a “reliable gas supplier," he said.
