First Charge Filed in Russia Inquiry

A federal grand jury in D.C. approved the first round of charges in special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe into Russia's meddling over the 2016 election. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
A federal grand jury in D.C. approved the first round of charges in special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe into Russia's meddling over the 2016 election. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
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First Charge Filed in Russia Inquiry

A federal grand jury in D.C. approved the first round of charges in special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe into Russia's meddling over the 2016 election. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
A federal grand jury in D.C. approved the first round of charges in special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe into Russia's meddling over the 2016 election. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

A federal grand jury in Washington approved on Friday the first charges in the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the US Presidential elections in 2016, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The source reported that the indictment was sealed under orders from a federal judge so it was not clear what the charges were or who the target was, adding that it could be unsealed as early as Monday.

Special counsel Robert Mueller indicted at least one person, however, the details of the indictment are still unclear.

CNN and other sources including the Wall Street Journal reported that a federal grand jury has approved charges filed by investigators led by special counsel Robert Mueller against at least one person, and the indictment has been sealed by a federal judge, pending arrest.

Reports suggest that one or more arrests could take place, however, there are still no information about the nature of the charges, or their target.

Mueller's team is refusing to comment on the matter ever since the counsel had been assigned last May.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein assigned Mueller after US President Trump dismissed former FBI.

In January, US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia interfered in the election to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton through a campaign of hacking and releasing embarrassing emails, and disseminating propaganda via social media.

Mueller, a former FBI director, is investigating whether Trump campaign officials colluded with those Russian efforts, and whether they sought to obstruct justice by covering up such collusion.

Trump denied the allegations of collusion between him and the Russians. Kremlin also has rejected the allegations.

Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is a target of Mueller's investigations, precisely his lobbying activities for foreign clients and financial relations with Russia.

Fox News host Sean Hannity, who is a strong supporter of Trump, responded late Friday to reports that the first charges have been filed in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference.

“When will @HillaryClinton be indicted?” Hannity tweeted.

Sources told the network that those charged could be taken into custody as soon as Monday.

Hannity accused Mueller in other tweets of working “hand in hand” with the media and also mentioned Uranium One, a mining company at the center of two new House investigations.

Republicans reopened also a joint investigation into the 2010 sale of the company to the Russian nuclear giant Rosatom in 2010, when Clinton was Secretary of State.

AFP reported that Republicans accused the former Secretary of paving the way for the purchasing in return of donations to her foundation.

Democrats believe that reopening these cases are a blatant attempt to divert attention from Mueller's investigation especially the Uranium case.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that Democrats are accused of everything they had charged the President with.

Sanders described the whole Trump-Russia collusion matter as a “witch hunt".

“I think this further proves if there was anyone that was colluding with the Russians to influence the elections look no further than the Clinton and DNC,” Sanders said.

“Hypocrisy at the highest level and a new low in politics. Everything the Clinton campaign and DNC were falsely accusing the president of doing the past year they were doing it themselves," she told Fox News Bill Hemmer on Thursday.



US Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia University Palestinian Activist

Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
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US Judge Blocks Deportation of Columbia University Palestinian Activist

Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP
Mohsen Mahdawi at a press conference in Vermont last year - Photo by Alex Driehaus/AP

A US immigration judge has blocked the deportation of a Palestinian graduate student who helped organize protests at Columbia University against Israel's war in Gaza, according to US media reports.

Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested by immigration agents last year as he was attending an interview to become a US citizen.

Mahdawi had been involved in a wave of demonstrations that gripped several major US university campuses since Israel began a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian born in the occupied West Bank, Mahdawi has been a legal US permanent resident since 2015 and graduated from the prestigious New York university in May. He has been free from federal custody since April.

In an order made public on Tuesday, Judge Nina Froes said that President Donald Trump's administration did not provide sufficient evidence that Mahdawi could be legally removed from the United States, multiple media outlets reported.

Froes reportedly questioned the authenticity of a copy of a document purportedly signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that said Mahdawi's activism "could undermine the Middle East peace process by reinforcing antisemitic sentiment," according to the New York Times.

Rubio has argued that federal law grants him the authority to summarily revoke visas and deport migrants who pose threats to US foreign policy.

The Trump administration can still appeal the decision, which marked a setback in the Republican president's efforts to crack down on pro-Palestinian campus activists.

The administration has also attempted to deport Mahmoud Khalil, another student activist who co-founded a Palestinian student group at Columbia, alongside Mahdawi.

"I am grateful to the court for honoring the rule of law and holding the line against the government's attempts to trample on due process," Mahdawi said in a statement released by his attorneys and published Tuesday by several media outlets.

"This decision is an important step towards upholding what fear tried to destroy: the right to speak for peace and justice."


Fire Breaks out Near Iran's Capital Tehran, State Media Says

Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
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Fire Breaks out Near Iran's Capital Tehran, State Media Says

Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises from a fire caused by an explosion in Tehran (File photo - Reuters)

A fire broke out in Iran's Parand near the capital city Tehran, state media reported on Wednesday, publishing videos of smoke rising over the area which is close to several military and strategic sites in the country's Tehran province, Reuters reported.

"The black smoke seen near the city of Parand is the result of a fire in the reeds around the Parand river bank... fire fighters are on site and the fire extinguishing operation is underway", state media cited the Parand fire department as saying.


Pakistan PM Sharif to Seek Clarity on Troops for Gaza in US Visit

US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
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Pakistan PM Sharif to Seek Clarity on Troops for Gaza in US Visit

US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
US President Donald Trump looks at Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif speaking following the official signing of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

Before Pakistan commits to sending troops to Gaza as part of the International Stabilization Force it wants assurances from the United States that it will be a peacekeeping mission rather than tasked with disarming Hamas, three sources told Reuters.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to attend the first formal meeting of President Donald Trump's Board of Peace in Washington on Thursday, alongside delegations from at least 20 countries.

Trump, who will chair the meeting, is expected to announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a UN-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave.

Three government sources said during the Washington visit Sharif wanted to better understand the goal of the ISF, what authority they were operating under and what the chain of command was before making a decision on deploying troops.

"We are ready to send troops. Let me make it clear that our troops could only be part of a peace mission in Gaza," said one of the sources, a close aide of Sharif.

"We will not be part of any other role, such as disarming Hamas. It is out of the question," he said.

Analysts say Pakistan would be an asset to the multinational force, with its experienced military that has gone to war with arch-rival India and tackled insurgencies.

"We can send initially a couple of thousand troops anytime, but we need to know what role they are going to play," the source added.

Two of the sources said it was likely Sharif, who has met Trump earlier this year in Davos and late last year at the White House, would either have an audience with him on the sidelines of the meeting or the following day at the White House.

Initially designed to cement Gaza's ceasefire, Trump sees the Board of Peace, launched in late January, taking a wider role in resolving global conflicts. Some countries have reacted cautiously, fearing it could become a rival to the United Nations.

While Pakistan has supported the establishment of the board, it has voiced concerns against the mission to demilitarize Gaza's militant group Hamas.