MOSCOW, 18 June. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked servicemen - volunteers participating in the special military operation, he said in a closed part of the discussion with military correspondents. A fragment of the conversation was published as part of the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" TV program, published by journalist Pavel Zarubin on his Telegram channel.

"We should thank them for this motivation and for their readiness to defend our great homeland," Putin said.

London, Jun 18 (PTI) A 20-year-old Indian-origin student has been sentenced to more than six years imprisonment for raping an "intoxicated" woman while she was on a night out with friends last year in Wales.

CCTV Footage showed Preet Vikal carrying the "intoxicated" woman in his arms and across his shoulders through Cardiff city centre.

Vikal admitted rape and was sentenced to six years and nine months in a young offenders' institution, a release by South Wales police said on Friday.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 18 (Xinhua) -- An African delegation visited Russia on Saturday, pushing for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis so as to stop its negative impact on African countries.

During a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, also member of the delegation, said that the Ukraine crisis has caused a price hike in energy and fuel, fertilizers and food in African nations and the rest of the world.

RIYADH, Jun 18 (NNN-SPA) – Saudi Arabia and the United States announced yesterday, in a joint statement that, Sudan’s two warring factions have agreed on a new 72-hour cease-fire.

The cease-fire takes effect from 6:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) today.

The two rival parties agreed to refrain from seeking military advantage and initiating mutual attacks during the cease-fire, said the statement.

They also agreed to allow the unimpeded movement and delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout the country, it added.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his government intends to move ahead on contentious plans to change the country’s judicial system after talks aimed at finding a compromise solution appeared to be crumbling.

The government’s plans to overhaul the judiciary plunged Israel into one of its worst domestic crises ever earlier this year. Negotiations between the government and opposition parties somewhat alleviated the crisis with attempts to find a middle ground over proposed changes to the country’s justice system.

JERUSALEM, June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) will spend $25 billion on a new factory in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday, calling it the largest-ever international investment in the country.

The factory in Kiryat Gat is due to open in 2027, to operate through 2035 at least and to employ thousands of people, Israel's Finance Ministry said. Under the deal Intel will pay a 7.5% tax rate, up from the current 5%, the ministry added.

MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/: The decisions of the German authorities are not based on the logic and interests of the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday, commenting on Germany's new national security strategy, which states that Russia has become the number one threat.

JERUSALEM, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that his government will resume the advancement of the contested plan to overhaul the judiciary system as early as this week.

Speaking at the opening of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said his government will take "practical steps" to reform the justice system in a "responsible and measured manner."

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), June 18 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian Foreign Minister Dr Zambry Abd Kadir will not be able to attend an informal discussion on Myanmar scheduled to be held in Thailand, on Monday.

The Malaysian Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra) in a statement cited prior commitment the reason being Zambry’s inability to attend the discussion proposed by Thailand. 

London, Jun 18 (PTI) A 38-year-old Indian-origin man has been stabbed to death in London, just two days after shocking incidents of knife attacks in the UK which saw the deaths of a British Indian teen and a student from Hyderabad.

Aravind Sasikumar was found with knife injuries on June 16 after officers were called to a residential property on Southampton Way, Camberwell, the Metropolitan Police said.

He died at the scene at 1.31 am on Friday, the police said in a statement.

17 June 2023; MEMO: Terrorists on Friday night attacked a secondary school in western Uganda's district of Kasese, killing 25 students and injuring eight others seriously, according to police.

In a statement, police spokesman Fred Enanga said that after killing the students, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels looted the property before setting the schools' dormitories on fire.

June 16 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that his deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, something he confirmed for the first time had already happened, was a reminder to the West that it could not inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.

Speaking at Russia's flagship economic forum in St Petersburg, Putin said Russian tactical nuclear warheads had already been delivered to close ally Belarus, but stressed he saw no need for Russia to resort to nuclear weapons for now.