عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Party Comfortably Leads in Early Results from India's Election

FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses supporters during an election campaign rally, in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses supporters during an election campaign rally, in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
TT
TT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Party Comfortably Leads in Early Results from India's Election

FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses supporters during an election campaign rally, in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses supporters during an election campaign rally, in New Delhi, India, May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo

Early leads reported Tuesday by India’s Election Commission show incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party comfortably ahead over its closest rival.
Three hours into counting, Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP was ahead in 239 constituencies out of 542 parliamentary seats, and has already won one in an uncontested race, The Associated Press said.
The main opposition Congress party was leading in 96 constituencies.
The Election Commission does not release data on the percentage of votes tallied, but counting is expected to go on through the day. A total of some 642 million votes are being counted in the world’s largest democratic exercise.
Modi’s party is part of the National Democratic Alliance, whose parties were leading in 286 constituencies according to the early count. The Congress party is part of the INDIA alliance, which was leading in 197 constituencies.
A total of 272 seats are needed for a majority in parliament.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Heavy Flooding in Southern China Forces Evacuations and Leaves Vehicles Submerged

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, stranded residents are evacuated on a boat after flooding from heavy rainfall in Qinzhou in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Ao Shuaichang/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, stranded residents are evacuated on a boat after flooding from heavy rainfall in Qinzhou in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Ao Shuaichang/Xinhua via AP)
TT
TT

Heavy Flooding in Southern China Forces Evacuations and Leaves Vehicles Submerged

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, stranded residents are evacuated on a boat after flooding from heavy rainfall in Qinzhou in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Ao Shuaichang/Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, stranded residents are evacuated on a boat after flooding from heavy rainfall in Qinzhou in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, April 27, 2026. (Ao Shuaichang/Xinhua via AP)

Heavy flooding from torrential rain left cars submerged and forced the evacuation of more than 200 residents in a southern Chinese city, state media reported Tuesday.

Rescue crews deployed inflatable boats to help relocate some residents trapped in their homes in Qinzhou city in Guangxi region, official news agency Xinhua reported. Video footage from Xinhua showed rescuers wading through chest-high water and firefighters carrying elderly residents in their arms.

Qinzhou authorities said the city's meteorological station recorded rainfall of over 270 millimeters (about 10 inches) during a 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. on Monday. That was the highest amount recorded there on a single day in April.

The authorities quoted meteorological analyst Lin Nan in a WeChat post saying that such intense rainfall in South China’s coastal regions typically occurs only after the arrival of the summer monsoon in mid to late May. It is rare to see such a heavy downpour in late April, Lin said.

On Tuesday morning, schools across the city resumed classes and traffic ran normally in most places, according to a news outlet operated by the Chinese emergency management authorities.

World

US Treasury Chief Says Businesses Working with Iranian Airlines Risk Sanctions

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on “A Review of the President's FY2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 22 April 2026. (EPA)
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on “A Review of the President's FY2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 22 April 2026. (EPA)
TT
TT

US Treasury Chief Says Businesses Working with Iranian Airlines Risk Sanctions

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on “A Review of the President's FY2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 22 April 2026. (EPA)
US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent testifies during the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on “A Review of the President's FY2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Treasury” on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, 22 April 2026. (EPA)

Businesses working with Iranian airlines risk US sanctions, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, calling the warning a part of a campaign to put economic pressure on Tehran amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Iranian state media reported over the weekend that Iran has resumed commercial flights from Tehran's international airport for the ‌first time ‌since the start of the war.

‌Iran's ⁠state media reported ⁠that flights were scheduled to depart for Istanbul, Oman's capital of Muscat, and for Iraq and Qatar.

The US Treasury Department has said Washington is imposing a "financial stranglehold" on the Iranian government.

"Doing business with sanctioned Iranian ⁠airlines risks exposure to US sanctions," Bessent ‌said in a post ‌on X.

"Foreign governments should take all actions necessary ‌to ensure that companies in their jurisdictions do not ‌provide services to those aircraft, including the provision of jet fuel, catering, landing fees or maintenance," he said.

Bessent said the Treasury Department "will not hesitate to act against ‌any third parties that facilitate or conduct business with Iranian entities."

A Trump ⁠administration official ⁠said the Treasury Department will impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions "that continue to facilitate Iran's activities."

A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war began nearly three weeks ago.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.

World

White House to Review Trump’s Security After Gunfire Near Press Dinner

25 April 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House, following the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner amid reports of a possible shooting. (dpa)
25 April 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House, following the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner amid reports of a possible shooting. (dpa)
TT
TT

White House to Review Trump’s Security After Gunfire Near Press Dinner

25 April 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House, following the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner amid reports of a possible shooting. (dpa)
25 April 2026, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump delivered remarks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House, following the cancellation of the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner amid reports of a possible shooting. (dpa)

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles will meet with law enforcement and homeland security early this week to review security protocols after Saturday's shooting in a Washington hotel where President Donald Trump and top officials were attending a dinner, a senior White House official told Reuters.

The third major security incident targeting Trump in less than two years comes as he prepares for a summer packed with high-profile public events, testing the Secret Service at a moment of high political ‌and global ‌tensions.

Wiles will meet with leaders of the US Secret ‌Service ⁠and the Homeland Security ⁠department to discuss "protocol and practices" for major events involving Trump, the official said.

They said Trump is standing by the Secret Service leadership following the shooting outside the Washington Hilton ballroom where the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was being held.

TRUMP'S SECURITY ALREADY TIGHTENED AFTER INCIDENTS

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in interviews that Trump and other administration officials were the likely intended targets of the suspect, ⁠a California man who was expected in court on Monday ‌to face felony charges.

The 31-year-old is suspected ‌of firing a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a checkpoint one floor ‌up from the ballroom entrance before being tackled and arrested. Trump and first ‌lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner.

In July 2024, a sniper's bullet skimmed Trump's ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Two months later, Secret Service agents spotted an armed man hiding in bushes a few hundred yards from where Trump ‌was golfing in Florida. Since then, security around Trump has tightened, and bulletproof glass is used when he speaks ⁠at outdoor events.

Wiles' ⁠meeting will examine Saturday's security response and measures to keep future events safe, the official said.

Trump is expected to attend events this summer for the nation's 250th anniversary and the football World Cup.

Trump told reporters that the first lady had found Saturday's incident traumatic. Nevertheless, the couple was continuing with plans to welcome Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla on Monday for several days of events.

After the shooting, Trump praised the security response, argued that security concerns were more justification to continue building his East Wing ballroom, and mused to reporters about the risks of being president.

Asked if he was satisfied with his protection, he said: "I'd be up here right now saying they didn't do their job," adding: "Believe me, because, you know, it's my life."