Author: Amrit Ashtekar

“I always carried three grenades, two for the enemy and one in case I had to commit suicide,” he told Euronews. “I refuse to become a prisoner of war”. A former Wagner mercenary has spoken exclusively to Euronews to reveal what it was like to serve on the frontline. Sasha, not his real name, fought in the gritty months-long battle for Bakhmut, likened to a “meat grinder” by Western analysts. Due to their sheer lack of discipline and will to fight, he said Wagner acted as a second line behind regular Russian troops on the front, which Sasha described as…

The leaders of 26 Indian opposition parties have formed an alliance to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in the general election due next year. The opposition’s coalition will be called INDIA, an acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. The group will hold its next meeting – the third one – in Mumbai city. Top opposition leaders including the Congress’s Sonia Gandhi participated in the meeting on Tuesday. The leaders discussed issues such as seat-sharing – how many seats each party would contest – and a common programme for the election in the two-day meeting which was held…

The possible creation of a NATO-Ukraine Council would mean a significant strengthening of the partnership between the Alliance and Ukraine, and it would be a body capable of making joint decisions. According to European Pravda , NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated this at a briefing. He explained that there is a fundamental difference between the already existing format – the Ukraine-NATO Commission – and the Council that can be created: the Commission is a format for consultations between allies and a partner country, where decisions are not made. “If the allies agree to create a NATO-Ukraine Council, it would mean that…

Iran and Afghanistan exchanged gunfire on May 27 amid rising tensions over water supplies in the region. The countries are engaged in a decades-long dispute over rights to the Helmand River, on which Iran depends to irrigate land in its arid south. The construction of dams on the Afghan side has intensified the situation in recent years. Iranian and Afghan Taliban forces clashed on the border two weeks ago, resulting in two deaths and several wounded as tensions surrounding water rights continue to rise between Tehran and Kabul.   Each accusing the other of firing first, Iran and Afghanistan are increasingly taking a belligerent stance on the sharing of water supplies as a…

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is heading to the US on Sunday to meet President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the three nations unveil the next phase of the AUKUS nuclear submarine program, a security partnership meant to counter China. The decision on how to move ahead will be announced Monday when the three leaders meet in San Diego. The plan will take years to produce its first vessel, probably necessitating stopgap measures, according to people familiar with the discussions. The US may base nuclear submarines in Australia or sell the country Virginia-class submarines in the interim. Australia’s…

The Australian government is looking to speed up the purchase of a new generation of sea mines to protect its ports amid growing concern over China’s military build-up and expanding influence in the Pacific. The Department of Defence said in a statement Monday the “smart” sea mines would be able to discriminate between military targets and other shipping vessels and be “a significant deterrent to potential aggressors.” The news was first reported by Australia’s Nine newspapers on Monday, which said the cost could be as much as A$1 billion ($700 million) although the final total was still considered confidential. The…

The Indian navy on Friday said it has located a Chinese fishing vessel that capsized in the Indian Ocean earlier this week with 39 crew members onboard. The distant-water fishing vessel “Lupeng Yuanyu 028”, owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co Ltd based in Shandong province, capsized early on Tuesday. “Indian Navy’s P8I aircraft undertook extensive search in the area and located the capsized fishing vessel on 18 May,” a statement said. It said the position of the capsized boat was relayed to the Chinese navy, adding that “subsequently, P8I also sighted the fishing vessel’s life-raft and guided fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 017 towards it”.…

An oil tanker seized by Iran last Thursday was carrying Kuwaiti crude and had a crew of 24 Indians, according to the operator. The US has demanded the immediate release of the the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet, which was travelling in international waters and near the Gulf of Oman when the incident happened, according to the US military. The ship was heading to the US, a spokesperson for Advantage Tankers, the vessel’s Turkey-based operator, said to Bloomberg on Friday. It was carrying oil and was chartered by Chevron Corp., the spokesperson confirmed. The seizure underscores continued tensions in a vital corridor for oil…

India and China have snapped up the vast majority of Russian oil so far in April at prices above the Western price cap of $60 per barrel, according to traders and Reuters calculations. That means the Kremlin is enjoying stronger revenues despite the West’s attempts to curb funds for Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. A G7 source told Reuters on Monday the Western price cap would remain unchanged for now, despite pressure from some European Union countries, such as Poland, to lower the cap to increase pressure on Moscow. The advocates of the cap say it reduces revenues for Russia while allowing…

Democratic traditions must be respected by everyone, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. NEW DELHI, January 9. /TASS/. India is concerned about the unrest in Brazil and fully supports the current authorities of that country, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. “Deeply concerned about the news of rioting and vandalism against the State institutions in Brasilia. Democratic traditions must be respected by everyone. We extend our full support to the Brazilian authorities,” he wrote on Twitter. On Sunday, the supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro clashed with police in the country’s capital and broke into the National Congress (Parliament)…