In Latvia’s capital Riga, dozens of elderly Russians wait to take a basic Latvian language test, as a proof of loyalty to a country where they have lived for decades - and should they fail, they may face expulsion.

Riga

The Russian economy has been impacted by a raft of global sanctions as world leaders try to pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian Sanctions

Latvia forces locals into anti-Russia tests

Speaking Russian in Latvia has not been a problem until now. About a fourth of the country's population is ethnically Russian, and it was generally accepted to have Russian as a person's only language. But the war in Ukraine has entirely changed the picture. When Moscow began its Ukraine invasion, Latvia switched off Russian TV channels and crushed a Soviet World War II monument. It has also started working towards eliminating education in Russian. And now in the capital, Riga, dozens of elderly Russians wait to take a basic Latvian language test as a proof of loyalty to a country where they have lived for decades. They fear they may be deported if they fail. 70-year-old Valentina Sevastianova is taking a three-month crash course in Latvian. Despite concerns, I have faith that Latvia is a democratic state and will not resort to mass deportations. Furthermore, I have no other place to go as I've resided here for 40 years. Although I was born in Belarus, I obtained Russian citizenship only to visit my ailing parents who needed my care at the time. Last year saw a growing rift between the country's Latvian majority and its Russian-speaking minority over their place in society. There was widespread anger over former Soviet master Moscow's invasion in Ukraine. And after the country's 2022 election campaign, which was dominated by questions of national identity, State Secretary Dmitry Trofimov said the government has demanded 20,000 people sit through language exams. If we make the difference between motions and legal regulation, we understand. If you are a citizen of another state, you are under protection. Also under social protection and other kinds of protection of another state. If you want to be and want to reside in another state, you have to be in compliance with immigration law. He said Russian citizens under 75 who do not pass the test by the end of the year will be given reasonable time to leave. If not, they could face forced expulsion.

Authorities in Russia are warning people to evacuate affected areas as Russia’s Kurgan and Tyumen regions and swaths of northern Kazakhstan are flooded. Tens of thousands have already abandoned their homes. Kurgan Governor Vadim Shumkov said there was almost a “sea” of water approaching the area and fresh rainfall was making the situation worse.

Kurgan

Mass evacuations as floods in Russia’s Kurgan region set to peak

Australian police said a knife attack on an Assyrian church bishop and some followers in Sydney was a terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism, as the country reeled from a second stabbing incident in three days.

Council of the City of Sydney

Australia says church stabbing was terrorist act

Tributes are continuing to pour in for the victims of the stabbing attack by Joel Cauchi, at Westfield in Bondi, Sydney over the weekend. People have been visiting a makeshift shrine outside the shopping mall to pay their respects to the six victims.

Bondi

Floral tributes grow outside Westfield Bondi Junction

Sydney is reeling this morning after an orthodox bishop was attacked with a knife during a church service last night in what police have declared, a terrorist act. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and is in police custody.

Wakeley

Sydney church stabbing declared a terrorist act

Dozens of prospective jurors were dismissed promptly on the first day of Donald Trump's hush money trial. Lawyers have begun the difficult process of selecting 12 jurors and six alternates who can be fair and impartial in this historic case.

New York

Trump hush money trial picks zero jurors on first day

A former volunteer firefighter who deliberately lit several bushfires in the Adelaide Hills has been sentenced to more than a decade in jail. 64-year-old Gregory John McGannon lit fires on a day of "extreme heat" three years ago destroying multiple homes.

Volunteer firefighter sentenced to prison for lighting fires

Israel faced pressure from allies on Monday to show restraint and avoid an escalation of conflict in the Middle East as it considered how to respond to Iran's weekend missile and drone attack.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel-Gaza War

Allies urge Israel to show restraint after Iranian attack

More than 2 million of the 8.6 million displaced people in Sudan have crossed to neighboring countries since fighting started a year ago. Following the influx of Sudanese, the U.N. Refugee Agency has sounded the alarm, calling for more humanitarian assistance to address the needs of people fleeing the war.

Khartoum

U.N. sounds alarm over exodus of Sudan refugees

Two of Tesla Inc.'s top executives have left the carmaker in the midst of its latest round of job cuts, according to people familiar with the matter. Tesla will cut over 10% of its workforce, translating to about 14,000 staff globally.

Austin

Musk's Tesla to cut workforce as two key executives leave

After multiple delays, former U.S. President Donald Trump's first criminal trial is underway with jury selection as he faces 34 felony counts in a New York court for falsifying business records. The hush money case will be the first of four potential criminal trials for Trump.

Manhattan

U.S. Presidential Election

Trump's N.Y. criminal trial begins in historic first for ex-president

The director of Beijing's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, said Hong Kong should "tightly hold" onto the bottom line of national security to safeguard development, in a speech coming weeks after the enactment of sweeping new security laws.

Hong Kong Island

China says Hong Kong must hold national security line

The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting following Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel. Iran accuses Israel of violating international law by striking its diplomatic mission in Damascus two weeks ago. The UN Secretary-General has called for de-escalation ans said the World cannot afford another war in the Middle East.

U.N. chief urges restraint after Iran attacks Israel

Israel was quick to pledge retaliation against Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack over the weekend, but it didn’t say when or what the response would be. The threat had many Western nations saying it would not support Israel in a wider war.

Jerusalem

Israel vows retaliation after Iran attack

Six people were killed and 12 others injured in a mass stabbing at a mall in Sydney, Australia, before a police officer fatally shot the attacker. The officer, a security guard and other shoppers are being hailed as heroes for stopping the rampage.

Police identify man who fatally stabbed six in Sydney mall

All six people who died in Saturday's attack in Bondi, NSW were much-loved members of the community. Among them were a young mother, a security guard working his first shift, and a local surf lifesaver.

Victims of Bondi stabbing attack remembered

Joe Biden has reaffirmed what he calls America's 'ironclad' commitment to Israel's security. Iran is warning that any American threat that harms its interests will be met with a reciprocal response.

Washington

Ukraine Invasion

'We do not seek war with Iran' says U.S

Israel’s war cabinet met to discuss possible responses to a massive overnight Iranian drone and missile attack, with US President Joe Biden urging restraint as the Middle East edged closer to full-blown regional war.

Israel weighs response to attack by Iran

Iranian officials have claimed 'successful hits' on Israeli military targets in an operation dubbed by Tehran as 'True Promise'. Iranians celebrated in the streets as images of the attack ran across state TV. It remains unclear whether Israel will return fire.

Tehran

Iranians celebrate in the streets after Israel attack

The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting on April 14, after Israel requested that the council condemn Iran’s attack on Israel and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a “terrorist” organisation.

United Nations holds emergency meeting after Iran attacks

Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in its first direct attack on Israeli territory, in a retaliatory strike that wounded a seven-year-old girl and caused minor damage at an Israeli military facility.

Iran launches direct attack on Israel in major escalation

Police have confirmed 40-year-old Joel Cauchi as the man behind a deadly stabbing spree at a Sydney shopping centre that claimed six lives and injured a dozen more. Authorities confirming the incident was mental health related.

Attacker identified in Bondi stabbing spree

NSW detectives are investigating the life, background and associates of a man who killed six people during a stabbing attack at a busy Sydney shopping centre. The 40-year-old was shot dead by a senior police officer inside Westfield Bondi Junction.

Police say Bondi stabbing spree 'not terrorism'

One person was killed and 10 others were injured in the southern Turkish province of Antalya after a cable car cabin collided with a broken pole, the interior ministry has confirmed.

Antalya

One dead, dozens stranded in Turkey cable car collision

Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, after Tehran said it could close the crucial shipping route and warned it would retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on its Syria consulate.

Iran threatens to close Strait of Hormuz, seizes vessel

Japanese baseball great Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter was released on bond after appearing in court on a bank fraud charge accusing him of stealing $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star.

Los Angeles

Ohtani's ex-interpreter released on $25,000 bond

Stunning artworks have been uncovered in a new excavation at Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried in an eruption in AD79. Experts say the frescos are among the finest to be found in the ruins of the ancient site.

Breathtaking new paintings uncovered in Pompeii

Six people have been killed and several are in a critical condition, including a baby, after stabbings at a shopping centre near Bondi Beach in Sydney. Police said the attacker, believed to be a 40-year-old man, acted alone and was shot dead by an officer who confronted him on her own.

At least six killed after Sydney stabbing spree

A new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there is no evidence to suggest COVID vaccines cause sudden cardiac death or other fatal heart problems in young people.

Study finds no link between COVID vaccines and heart issues

The U.S. believes major missile or drone strikes by Iran or its proxies against military and government targets in Israel are 'imminent' in what would mark a significant widening of the six-month-old conflict in Gaza.

U.S. warns of 'imminent' attack by Iran

As Russia has intensified its air campaign against Ukraine in the last month, hammering its energy infrastructure and urban areas, no major city has been harder hit than Kharkiv. But the drying up of Western military support in recent months has left the city dangerously unprotected.

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Russian Sanctions