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Water samples are taken from the Potomac River in Maryland in January. A massive pipe that moves millions of gallons of sewage ruptured and sent wastewater flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, D.C. Nathan Ellgren/AP hide caption In January, part of a decades-old sewer line in Maryland collapsed by the Potomac River. Over the following days, the broken pipe dumped more than 200 million gallons of raw sewage into the Potomac near Washington, D.C.

A week after the Supreme Court nudged music composer AR Rahman to consider formally recognising the Dagarwani lineage behind the song Veera Raja Veera, Rahman on Friday agreed to acknowledge the rendition of the Junior Dagar Brothers in the credits of the track from the film Ponniyin Selvan II. Recording the concession, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi directed that the modified credit line be reflected across all social media and OTT platforms within five weeks. The additional credit will read: “Composition inspired by the Dagarwani tradition Dhrupad, first recorded as ‘Shiv Stuti’ by late Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and Ustad Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar, popularly known as Junior Dagar Brothers.” The statement was made by senior counsel Abhishek Singhvi, on behalf of Rahman, without prejudice to the copyright infringement suit pending before the Delhi high court, filed by Dhrupad vocalist Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, who is a successor of the Junior Dagar Brothers.

Drawing on more than 100 interviews with senior intelligence officials and other insiders in multiple countries, this exclusive account details how the US and Britain uncovered Vladimir Putin €™s plans to invade, and why most of Europe €“ including the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy €“ dismissed them. As the fourth anniversary of the invasion approaches and the world enters a new period of geopolitical uncertainty, Europe €™s politicians and spy services continue to draw lessons from the failures of 2022 William Burns had travelled halfway around the world to speak with Vladimir Putin, but in the end he had to make do with a phone call. It was November 2021, and US intelligence agencies had been picking up signals in the preceding weeks that Putin could be planning to invade Ukraine.

If anyone thought that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor would be leaving a police cell and going to court, they were seriously wrong. That's because he is now under investigation for misconduct in public office. The offence, essentially an allegation of corruption, is one of the most difficult crimes to investigate, charge, prosecute and convict.

US renews threat of military action as Iran, Russia announce naval drills The United States administration is intensifying its build-up of a vast array of military assets in the Middle East, as President Donald Trump says Iran has “10 to 15 days at most” to agree a deal over its nuclear programme and stock of ballistic missiles. As well as the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, which is reportedly joining the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in the Arabian Sea, key force multipliers such as E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft have been deployed. In a letter to the United Nations Security Council, Iran said that while the country does not seek “tension or war and will not initiate a war”, any US aggression will be responded to “decisively and proportionately”.

A large banner featuring the face of US President Donald Trump was hung outside the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, DC, on Thursday in a display of power over the law enforcement agency that once investigated him. The banner was hung between two columns on one corner of the building and read, “Make America Safe Again,” a slogan long used by the Trump administration to tout its efforts to clamp down on illegal immigration and violent crime. It was also seen as a symbol of a shift from the department's tradition of independence from White House control, Associated Press reported.

Israel is severely restricting Palestinians’ access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan, with many hundreds queueing at the Qalandiya checkpoint near Ramallah hoping and waiting to get in. But Israeli authorities say they will allow no more than 10,000 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank into one of Islam’s holiest sites for the day, and only with permits, a fraction of the worshipers who have visited to mark the occasion in previous years. Only children under the age of 12, men over 55, and women 50 years or older are eligible.

January increase of 1.8% beats forecasts and was also driven by shoppers snapping up jewellery online Retail sales in Great Britain rose 1.8% in January, the largest monthly increase in almost two years, according to official data, as heavy discounting and post-Christmas sales drew consumers back to bigger ticket purchases. The rise easily beat forecasts of a 0.2% rise and was partly driven by sales of artwork and antiques sales in January, alongside continued strong sales from online jewellers, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. It was the biggest monthly rise since May 2024.

Several members of opposition Congress's youth wing on Friday staged a shirtless protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India AI Impact Summit venue Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. A video of the protest by the Indian Youth Congress (IYCP) has gone viral on social media, showing several protestors walking into the venue while holding their t-shirts in their hands. The agitators also shouted anti-Modi slogans, echoing the party’s protests against the India-US trade deal in the parliament recently.

US ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Friday said that PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump would meet each other, but he did not commit to a timeline just yet. Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Gor was asked when the two leaders would meet. “Stay tuned, I'm sure it'll happen at the right moment,” news agency ANI quoted him as saying.

A judge has issued an order to temporarily block the deportation of four Chagossians who travelled to the Chagos Islands to protest against a deal to hand over the territory to Mauritius. The Chagossians arrived on a remote part of the archipelago on Monday after sailing from Sri Lanka, with the aim of establishing a permanent settlement on their "homeland". British authorities served the four men with eviction papers, which warned them they could face fines or jail if they did not leave.

Trump’s Board of Peace faces its first test on Gaza Members of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace have expressed optimism about peace and rebuilding in Gaza at its inaugural session. Despite multibillion dollar pledges, there are doubts about how it will manage the enclave’s unresolved issues.

Families of political prisoners await prison releases as Venezuela signs amnesty law Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodriquez signed an amnesty law that could free hundreds of people jailed over protests and political unrest dating back decades. The law marks a shift for the country, which has long denied holding any political prisoners.

As the trial related to the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar is expected to begin later this year, the Canadian government has sought to block some details from being revealed as that could prove “injurious to international relations and national security”. An application in this regard has been made by the Attorney General of Canada, according to a report in the outlet Global News. The plea to keep some information confidential is that it is “sensitive”, the report said citing court documents.

Exclusive: Josh Simons pressed intelligence officials to investigate reporters, in emails described as €˜McCarthyite smear €™ A Labour minister who claimed to be €œsurprised € and €œfurious € at a PR agency €™s work to investigate journalists on his behalf had been personally involved in naming them to British intelligence officials and falsely linking them to pro-Russian propaganda, the Guardian can reveal. Josh Simons, who was running the thinktank Labour Together at the time, was also involved in telling security officials that another journalist was €œliving with € the daughter of a former adviser to Jeremy Corbyn. Officials were told by Simons €™ team that the former adviser was €œsuspected of links to Russian intelligence €.

Thiruvananthapuram, The Kerala government on Friday announced that the Dearness Allowance for state government and local body employees, teachers, and staff of aided schools, colleges, and polytechnics will be raised from 25 to 35 per cent. Full-time contingent employees will also receive a similar increase, with the enhanced allowances to be disbursed along with the March salary, according to a government order. The revised DA will also apply to part-time teachers, part-time contingent employees, and re-employed pensioners, based on their pay, the order said.

Amid the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, new reports suggest US President Donald Trump is weighing his options for a military strike against Tehran. However, as Trump gears up for an attack, the UK has moved to block American access to British bases. As per a report by The Times UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer is said to be blocking Washington's request to use British bases in case it moves to attack Iran.

A day ahead of the inaugural meeting of President Trump’s Board of Peace, his initiative for ending the war in Gaza, diplomats at the United Nations Security Council raised concerns about continued Israeli attacks on Gaza, the amount of aid entering the territory and Israel’s increasing military raids and expansion plans in the occupied West Bank. Amid the criticism of the situation there, and recent pushback from some countries about the expanding mandate of the Board of Peace, Michael Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., defended the board and reminded the Council that it had voted in November to adopt Mr. Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, including the board. “We’re hearing the chattering class criticizing the structure of the board, that it’s unconventional, that it’s unprecedented.

A teacher who thought she was going to die when she was stabbed by a 13-year-old pupil in the schoolyard has said giving staff handheld scanners will not stop violence in schools. Liz Hopkin, who was attacked at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in 2024, said she "felt really worried" after the Welsh government announced it would offer school staff more guidance on what to do if they suspected a pupil had brought a weapon into school. It comes as a 15-year-old boy was charged with attempted murder after a teacher was stabbed at a school in the neighbouring county.

It is no longer possible to interpret the Yemeni landscape solely through the lens of politics. The developments witnessed in the southern Yemeni governorates under government control in recent months clearly indicate that security and military affairs have become the decisive factor in determining the course of power on the ground. Any governmental or political arrangements will be unsustainable unless the issue of security control and the unification of military command are resolved.