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These are the key events on day 1,143 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Saturday, April 12:

Fighting

• Russia’s defence ministry said air defence units destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones within a span of 30 minutes late on Friday. The ministry said that between 10-10:30pm local time (19:00-19:30 GMT), nine drones were destroyed over Russia’s Rostov region on Ukraine’s eastern border, and four in the Kursk region on Ukraine’s northern border.
• Ukrainian President…

Gaza (Quds News Network)- The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) described Gaza as “hell on earth” amid Israel’s relentless assault.

Mirjana Spoljaric’s come on the same day the UN human rights office warned that Israel’s tactics were threatening the viability of Palestinians continuing to live in Gaza at all.

Spoljaric said that what is happening in Gaza is an “extreme hollowing out” of international law.

Israeli bombardment, resumed on March…

The small African nation of Gabon is voting on Saturday in its first executive elections since a military coup in 2023 ended the 50-year dynastic rule of the Bongo political family.

Brice Clotaite Oligui Nguema, coup leader-turned-transition president, is the main candidate among four competitors and is widely expected to win the elections, despite controversial reforms he has put into place that experts say were tailored to make him eligible for the vote.

Located in West-central Africa, on…

Nanda Nagar, Uttarakhand — Every morning at 8am, Ahamad Hasan pulls up the brown shutter of his dry-cleaning shop on the banks of the Nandakini river, which runs through the remote Himalayan town of Nanda Nagar in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

He neatly hangs dry-cleaned clothes in plastic covers on the pink walls of his shop. Then the 49-year-old waits for customers.

Until September 2024, by lunchtime, he would have had between 20 and 25 customers come by, leaving their…

Still, even voters who reject Correa’s legacy might be inclined to vote for Gonzalez out of disillusionment with the status quo.

President Noboa has faced criticism for human rights abuses and executive overreach during his short term in office. Some even say he has flashed an authoritarian streak, just like Correa.

Voting is compulsory in Ecuador, and voters demonstrated their displeasure at the polls in the first round of this year’s presidential race. Null and blank votes made up nearly 9…

The administration of President Donald Trump has moved to end legal protections for thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians legally living in the United States.

On Friday, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the decision, which will affect approximately 14,600 Afghans and 7,900 Cameroonians.

Those individuals were able to live in the US under a designation called “temporary protected status” or TPS.

The US government typically offers TPS to individuals already…

A United States federal judge has called it “extremely troubling” that the administration of President Donald Trump failed to comply with her court order to provide details on the status of a Maryland resident illegally deported to El Salvador.

At a tense hearing on Friday, US District Judge Paula Xinis demanded that the administration identify the whereabouts of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvador on March 15.

She also required daily updates on the administration’s…