Trump Speaks To Putin, Urges Him To Not Escalate War In Ukraine: Report

US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris, the report said.

The president-elect's representatives did not immediately respond when asked by AFP for comment.

The Post, citing several people familiar with the call who spoke on the basis of anonymity, reported that Trump had reminded Putin of America's sizable military presence in Europe.

They said he also expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss "the resolution of Ukraine's war soon."

Trump's election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington's multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, with the Republican's billionaire backer Elon Musk also notably joining them on the call.

Zelensky described the call as "excellent," saying that he and Trump had agreed to "maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation."

The outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump's inauguration on January 20.

On Sunday, Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House aims "to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table."

This would include using the remaining $6 billion of funding for Ukraine available, Sullivan said.

'Losing your allowance'

The Russian government has given a cautious but mostly positive response to Trump's return, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Sunday: "The signals are positive... At least he's talking about peace, and not about confrontation."

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to quickly end the Ukraine war -- even before he is sworn into office -- but without detailing his thinking.

Trump and his allies have railed against US funding for Ukraine, while insinuating that it helps fund a corrupt pro-war nexus of defense companies and foreign policy hawks.

Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., shared a clip Saturday on Instagram which showed Zelensky standing next to the president-elect with a caption reading: "POV (point of view): You're 38 days from losing your allowance."

Any quick deal in Ukraine is expected to require Kyiv to cede some of the territory it has lost to Russian invaders in Ukraine's south and east.

A former adviser to Trump, Bryanb Lanza, told the BBC on Saturday that Ukraine had to give up any ambition on regaining Crimea, for instance, which was occupied by Russia in 2014.

He said the US priority was for "peace and to stop the killing", although the Trump transition team clarified that he was not speaking on behalf of the president-elect.

Kyiv, though facing a manpower shortage and uncertainty over US support, has steadfastly opposed giving up territory and its European allies and weapons suppliers such as Britain and France are known to be nervous about unilateral moves by Trump.

Zelensky has said that giving up land or meeting other demands from the Kremlin would only embolden the Kremlin and provoke more aggression, a view shared by many European allies.

Trump "briefly raised the issue of land" in his call with Putin, the Post reported, without further details.

In recent months, both sides in the war have made moves seen as possible efforts to gain leverage ahead of eventual negotiations, with Ukraine seizing a chunk of Russian territory and Moscow's troops making advances in Ukraine.

This weekend brought the biggest drone attacks yet from both sides.

Russia fired 145 drones at Ukraine overnight, Zelensky said, while Russia said it had downed 34 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow on Sunday.

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Two Powerful Earthquakes Hit Cuba Within An Hour

Two powerful earthquakes rocked southern Cuba in quick succession on Sunday, US geologists said, as authorities said no tsunami alert was issued and no deaths immediately reported.

The US Geological Survey put the second, more powerful tremor at a magnitude of 6.8 and 14.6 miles (23.5 kilometers) deep, some 25 miles off the coast of Bartolome Maso, in southern Granma province.

It came just an hour after a first tremor, which the USGS put at a magnitude of 5.9, with the epicenter some nine miles beneath the ocean roughly 22 miles off Bartolome Maso. 

The state-run newspaper Granma said no deaths had been immediately reported, but that the quake had been felt throughout the Caribbean island nation.

"Here people quickly took to the streets because the ground moved very strongly," Andres Perez, a 65-year-old retiree who lives in downtown Santiago de Cuba, told AFP via telephone of the first quake. 

"It felt very strong really, my wife is a bundle of nerves," he added. 

The US tsunami warning system said no tsunami warning had been issued.

The tremor shook the island as it recovers from Hurricane Rafael, which hit the country's west as a Category 3 storm, leaving residents without power for two days. 

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded in October 2023 in Santiago de Cuba, without causing any damage. 

Another strong earthquake of magnitude 7.7 was recorded in January 2020 in the Caribbean Sea and was felt in several Cuban provinces, causing the evacuation of buildings in the capital Havana, with no damage reported.

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Chelsea vs Arsenal: Pedro Neto Scores Stunner, Both Teams Re-Enter Top 4

Chelsea vs Arsenal Highlights Premier League: Chelsea and Arsenal played out a fascinating 1-1 draw in an enthralling London derby Premier League game. The result saw both sides re-enter the Top 4 of the Premier League. Gabriel Martinelli scored from a tight angle to give Arsenal the lead in the second half. However, hosts Chelsea fought back, with Pedro Neto scoring his first goal for the club. He equalised with a sensational long-range goal. Star players Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer did not have a big impact on the game. The two sides sit on 19 points each, nine behind league leaders Liverpool and four behind Manchester City. (MATCH CENTER)

Here are the LIVE Updates of Chelsea vs Arsenal LIVE Score, Premier League 2024-25 Football, straight from Stamford Bridge, West London:

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"Unknown To Any Civilised System": Supreme Court On 'Bulldozer Justice'

The full text of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud's recent judgment on illegal demolitions in Uttar Pradesh mentions "justice through bulldozers is unknown to any civilised system of jurisprudence."

The Supreme Court on Wednesday had pulled up the UP government for an "illegal" demolition in 2019 while issuing directions to all states and Union Territories (UT) on the procedure to be followed during road-widening and removal of encroachments.

A bench of Chief Justice Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had also directed the UP government to pay Rs 25 lakh compensation to the man whose house was razed in 2019 for a road-widening project.

"... There is a grave danger that if high-handed and unlawful behaviour is permitted by any wing or officer of the state, demolition of citizens' properties will take place as a selective reprisal for extraneous reasons," Chief Justice Chandracud said in the order.

"Citizens' voices cannot be throttled by a threat of destroying their properties and homesteads. The ultimate security which a human being possesses is to the homestead. The law does not undoubtedly condone unlawful occupation of public property and encroachments," he said.

"Bulldozer justice is simply unacceptable under the rule of law. If it were to be permitted, the constitutional recognition of the right to property under Article 300A would be reduced to a dead letter," the Supreme Court said.

The Supreme Court had then directed the UP chief secretary to conduct an inquiry into the matter pertaining to a house in Maharajganj district and take suitable action. The bench elaborated on the steps that a state or its instrumentality must undertake before taking action in pursuance to a road-widening project.

In case an encroachment was found, the state must issue notice to the encroacher to remove it and if the correctness and validity of the notice was objected to, the state would issue a "speaking order" keeping in mind the principles of natural justice, the Supreme Court said.

In a scenario of the objection being rejected, a reasonable notice would be given to the person against whom the adverse action was proposed, to remove the encroachment, it added.

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US Charges Iranian Man In Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump

The United States has charged an Iranian man in connection with an alleged plot ordered by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump, the Justice Department said on Friday.

In a statement, the department said that Farhad Shakeri had informed law enforcement "that he was tasked on October 7, 2024, with providing a plan to kill" Trump, the department said. Shakeri allegedly told law enforcement he had no plans to formulate a plan to kill Trump within the IRGC's timeline.

The department described Shakeri, 51, as an IRGC asset residing in Tehran. It said he immigrated to the US as a child and was deported in or about 2008 following a robbery conviction. Shakeri is at large and believed to be in Iran, the prosecutors said.

Two New York residents whom Shakeri had met in prison, Carlisle Rivera and Jonathan Loadholt, have also been charged for helping Shakeri plot to kill a US citizen of Iranian origin in New York, described as an outspoken critic of Iran's government who had previously been targeted for murder.

Prosecutors did not identify the target, but it matched the description of Masih Alinejad, a journalist and activist who has criticized Iran's head-covering laws for women. Four Iranians were charged in 2021 in connection with a plot to kidnap her, and in 2022 a man was arrested with a rifle outside her home.

Rivera and Loadholt have both been ordered detained pending trial. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Yoga Teacher Buried Alive, Escapes Death Using Breathing Techniques

A 34-year-old Yoga teacher faked her death using breathing techniques and saved herself after allegedly being assaulted, strangled and then buried by a group of people who assumed she was dead, police said on Friday.

Five people, including a woman identified as Bindu and her friend named Satish Reddy who runs a detective agency in Bengaluru, have been arrested in connection with the incident, they said.

"Bindu suspected her husband of having an affair with the Yoga teacher and asked Reddy to keep a tab on the woman and her proximity to him. As part of the plan, Reddy allegedly befriended the victim some three months ago on the pretext of taking Yoga classes from her and during this period, he managed to gain her confidence," a police official said.

In her complaint, the victim alleged that on the pretext of showing some places around the city on October 23, he came to her house near Dibburahalli and took her in a car in which three other men were also present.

She alleged that they took her to a secluded spot on the outskirts of the city and allegedly stripped and assaulted her.

According to her, she was thrashed, threatened and strangled using a cable. She claimed that she played along, pretended to be unconscious and faked her death using breathing techniques.

"Assuming the woman died, the accused allegedly dug a pit and covered her body with thin layers of soil because they were in a hurry and feared to be caught. But before leaving, they took away all her gold jewellery," a senior police officer said.

She claimed that she later managed to wriggle out of the pit and with the help of some villagers, got clothes and managed to reach the police station to file a complaint, he said.

The woman was sent for a medical examination as per procedure and admitted to a hospital.

"Based on the complaint, we registered a case under sections of kidnapping, attempt to murder and other appropriate sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Based on the investigation, we arrested five people, including Reddy and Bindu, on November 6," the officer said.

The vehicle in which the victim was kidnapped was allegedly stolen from Bengaluru, police said, adding, the victim's jewellery has also been recovered with the arrests.

"We are trying to verify all the claims made by the victim. There were also some online money transactions between Bindu and the associates and we are investigating the money trail also," he added.

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23-Year-Old Batter Stars For Ind A vs Aus A; KL Rahul, Ruturaj Fail

Dhruv Jurel showcased his sound technique and cool temperament while wickets fell like ninepins at the other end in another shoddy batting display by India A on the opening day of the second unofficial Test against Australia A at the iconic MCG on Thursday. Jurel (80 off 186 balls), who came to bat in the third over scored nearly half of India A's paltry first innings total of 161 in 57.1 overs with only other batter to cross 20-run mark was Devdutt Padikkal (26).

Veteran KL Rahul (4), opening the batting, done in by a peach of a delivery from Scott Boland (1/51 in 15 overs).

Michael Neser (4/27 in 12.2 overs), one of the finest and unluckiest among contemporary Australian pacers, dealt a telling blow in the opening over from which India A couldn't recover.

At stumps, Australia A were 53 for 2 in reply with Mukesh Kumar again looking best among Indian bowlers.

What stood out during the day was Jurel's composure and ability to play late, using soft hands.

When there was extra bounce, he would quickly loosen his bottom hand grip to ensure that the ball didn't go to slip or gully region.

He judged the length perfectly and the flicked six off Boland was a treat to watch.

While Rishabh Pant is the first-choice wicketkeeper batter, Jurel's ability to leave deliveries on length should put him in a better position than Sarfaraz Khan in the middle-order batter role.

It was also the day when one got an indication that India senior team might bank on Rahul's experience of opening the innings if Rohit Sharma skips a match.

However, Boland got him with a perfectly pitched up delivery that straightened to take his outside edge.

But Rahul would be any day better than Abhimanyu Easwaran (0) who is increasingly looking out of sorts at this level.

This was after Neser bowled a hostile opening over with Easwaran left in a complete tangle to a well-disguised short ball that ballooned to gully.

In-form Sai Sudharsan (0) then got a Neser delivery that was aimed at his midriff and he tried to fend it, resulting in a regulation catch in the slips.

Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad's suspect technique got exposed when he jabbed with hard hands at a delivery that bounced a tad extra from length to be caught at slips.

Nitish Reddy (16) played the most indiscreet shot as he tried to dance down the track to counter the steep bounce, getting ousted by Beau Webster. 

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