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The chief of the United Nations' food program has warned of a "full-blown famine" in northern Gaza and reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Israel's war against Hamas.

"There is famine, full-blown famine in the north and it's moving its way south," Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, said in an interview excerpt published Friday.

"What we are asking for and what we've continually asked for is a ceasefire and the ability to have unfettered access to get in safe... into Gaza -- various ports, various gate crossings," McCain continued.

The World Food Program is one of the many humanitarian groups trying to get aid into Gaza.

The World Health Organization said Friday that the availability of food in the Gaza Strip has very slightly improved, though the risk of famine continues in the besieged Palestinian territory, which is home to 2.4 million people.

Israel has repeatedly accused the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations of not distributing aid quickly enough.

The aid agencies blame the trickle of essential food into the Palestinian enclave on restrictions and inspections imposed by Israel.

The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The militants also took around 250 hostages, of whom Israel estimates 128 remain in Gaza, including 35 believed to be dead.

Israel's devastating retaliatory campaign has killed at least 34,622 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

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Britain's King Charles has significantly increased his charity patronages by nearly 300 this weekend to mark the first anniversary of his Coronation since May last year, taking over several that Buckingham Palace said were supported by his mother late Queen Elizabeth II.

The palace said a major review of more than 1,000 royal patronages and charity presidencies was undertaken following the 75-year-old monarch's accession to the throne in September 2022 after the death of his mother.

Other working members of the royal family, including wife Camilla and son and heir Prince William, will also take on the patronage of a number of organisations previously supported by the late Queen to add to their existing portfolios.

"The King and Queen [Camilla] will continue to serve as patron to many of the charities and institutions with which His Majesty was affiliated as Prince of Wales, and respectively Her Majesty as Duchess of Cornwall," a Buckingham Palace statement said on Saturday.

"In addition, Their Majesties are pleased to continue the patronage of a great variety of charities and organisations previously supported by Queen Elizabeth II...Royal patronage highlights the vital work of these organisations and allows their many achievements and valuable contributions to society to be more widely recognised and promoted," it said.

Among the charity patronages King Charles has inherited from his mother, there are a number of Commonwealth institutions including the Association of Commonwealth Universities, which champions the power of higher education to improve lives, and the Royal Commonwealth Society, which is committed to improving the lives and prospects of Commonwealth citizens globally.

"With his long record of support for the Commonwealth and as a champion of the environment, he embodies the values to which the Royal Commonwealth Society aspires, and which inspires our work to make a practical difference in the lives of the 2.6 billion people who make up the Commonwealth family," said Dr Linda Yueh, Executive Chair of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

The King retains patronages from his time as heir to the throne which highlight causes such as supporting communities, conservation and culture, including the Wildlife Trusts, a grassroots nature organisation; Youth United Foundation, which brings uniformed youth organisations together so they can learn from each other, share best practice and collectively support more young people; and the Heritage Crafts Association, a national charity preserving traditional heritage crafts.

Queen Elizabeth II was patron of 492 organisations at the time of her death, of which 376 are due to be retained by King Charles and other members of the royal family. Over 441 organisations were affiliated with Charles from his time as the Prince of Wales, of which 367 have been retained by members of the royal family.

The palace said that a further review will be carried out to consider the royal patronages held throughout 14 other Commonwealth Realms, where King Charles is Head of Stat

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Nepal on Friday announced the printing of a new Rs 100 currency note with a map that shows the controversial territories of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, already termed as "artificial enlargement" and "untenable" by India.

"The meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal 'Prachanda' took a decision to print the new map of Nepal, which includes the Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani in the Rs 100 denomination bank notes," government spokesperson Rekha Sharma told media persons while briefing about the cabinet decision.

"The cabinet approved to re-design the banknote of Rs 100 and replace the old map printed in the background of the bank note during the cabinet meetings held on April 25 and May 2," Mr Sharma, who is also the Minister for Information and Communication, added.

On June 18, 2020, Nepal completed the process to update the country's political map by incorporating three strategically important areas Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas by amending its Constitution, something that India reacted sharply, calling it a "unilateral act" and terming as "untenable" the "artificial enlargement" of the territorial claims by Nepal.

India maintains Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belongs to it.

Nepal shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states - Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

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Canadian police on Friday arrested members of an alleged hit squad linked to the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last year, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said on Friday.

Sources said investigators had identified the suspects in Canada some months ago and had been keeping them under tight surveillance, the CBC said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were not immediately available for comment.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in September that Canadian authorities were pursuing allegations linking Indian government agents to the fatal shooting of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen. New Delhi rejected Trudeau's claim as "absurd."

Canada had been pressing India to cooperate in its investigation. The US later revealed it had foiled an assassination attempt against a Sikh separatist on its soil.

The presence of Khalistani terrorists in Canada has long frustrated New Delhi. Nijjar was labelled a "terrorist" by India.

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 Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday slammed the BJP for trying to create a 'monolithic idea of India', rather than protecting (the idea of) India as written in the Constitution.

Speaking during a public meeting at Verna in South Goa in support of Congress' Lok Sabha candidate Captain Viriato Fernandes (Retd), Mr Tharoor said, "All the precious values that we built in 65 years are under threat now."

"I spent my early childhood in Bombay, where my classmates were from every religion. But our parents never mentioned religion to us. We are all Indians living in a multi-religious and multi-lingual country," he said.

"Today, we are seeing a party that is devoted not to the idea of equality, but to the slogan of 'Hindi, Hindutva, Hindusthan'. The BJP is creating a monolithic idea of India," Mr Tharoor said.

"They want 'one nation, one election', 'one party, one leader', 'one religion, one god'... They want everything to be 'one' and one ruler to control it all. But that is not the idea of India as written in the Constitution by Babasaheb Ambedkar," the Congress MP said.

Expressing his happiness over campaigning in support Viriato Fernandes, an ex-naval officer, Mr Tharoor said, "People from every religion are there in the defence service to protect us."

"Now we need to protect our democracy, which is under threat," he added.

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A UK law firm said on Thursday that it has filed a multi-million-pound group action in the city's High Court on behalf of 10,887 licensed London black cab drivers in their claim against Uber for alleged losses sustained as a result of "unlawful activities" in the city's taxi market.

Mishcon De Reya said its claim filed in the Commercial Court relates to actions taken by the US-headquartered ride-hailing company dating back to 2012 under the private hire vehicle licence granted by Transport for London (TfL).

It is claimed their operating system did not comply with the requirements of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1988. Uber has denied the allegations and described the claim as "unfounded".

"Uber has consistently failed to comply with the law that applies to private hire vehicles in London and so we are pleased to be issuing today's claim on behalf of almost 11,000 London cab drivers," said Richard Leedham, Partner and Head of Commercial Disputes at Mishcon de Reya.

According to the claim, drivers of London's iconic black cabs will allege that Uber's operating system did not comply with the requirements of the Act, that Uber knew this at all material times, and that in order to obtain its licence Uber "deliberately misled" TfL as to how that operating system worked.

The claimants further alleged that Uber's intention was to "gain market share unlawfully" and, by necessity, take business from existing black cab drivers.

"These old claims are completely unfounded. Uber operates lawfully in London, is fully licensed by TfL, and is proud to serve millions of passengers and drivers across the capital," an Uber statement said.

The value of the claim is estimated at around 250 million pounds, with each of the black cabbies potentially eligible for compensation, according to RGL Management - the litigation claims management company representing the black cab drivers.

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TikTok and Universal announced a new licensing agreement Thursday, ending a months-long dispute that saw popular music expunged from the social media platform.

The companies released a joint statement that said the new deal included "improved remuneration" for artists and songwriters under the Universal Music Group (UMG) umbrella, and will also assuage concerns over the growth of AI-generated content on TikTok.

Universal chairman Sir Lucian Grainge said "this new chapter in our relationship" would "drive innovation in fan engagement while advancing social music monetization."

The deal "focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community," he said.

TikTok's CEO Shou Chew similarly said "we are committed to working together to drive value, discovery and promotion for all of UMG's amazing artists and songwriters, and deepen their ability to grow, connect and engage with the TikTok community."

The deal wraps up closely watched negotiations that saw a breakdown earlier this year, with the companies -- two of the most powerful players in the music and tech industries -- publicly criticizing each other as they jockeyed for leverage.

Universal -- whose roster of artists includes Taylor Swift, Drake and Billie Eilish -- ordered music from all artists connected to its vast publishing catalog to come down off the app, leaving many concerned over losing the marketing potential TikTok can offer.

Millions of videos involving Universal artists became muted on the platform.

But while the stripped music will now return to TikTok, it comes at a moment of uncertainty for the wildly popular video-sharing app, one week after a new US law demands the company divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be shut out of the American market.

The app has 170 million users in the United States alone.

Neither Universal nor TikTok disclosed any financial terms of the deal.

Several weeks ago, the powerful and popular Swift returned some of her music to the app ahead of the release of her most recent album.

It was unclear exactly how she did it, but Swift does own her own master recordings as well as her songwriting rights, though those two are administered by Universal's publishing arm.

In their joint statement the companies said they were "working expeditiously to return music by artists represented by Universal Music Group and songwriters represented by Universal Music Publishing Group to TikTok in due course."

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Donald Trump was facing a backlash Thursday after declining to pledge he will accept the results of the 2024 presidential election if he loses, as he repeated his false claims that he was cheated in the 2020 vote.

"If everything's honest, I'd gladly accept the results," the Republican former president told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday. "If it's not, you have to fight for the right of the country."

Trump -- who is running for a return to the White House, in what will almost certainly be a re-run of his 2020 face-off with Joe Biden -- made similar remarks ahead of the last two presidential elections.

He told the Sentinel he would "let it be known" if he thought there were problems.

"I'd be doing a disservice to the country if I said otherwise," he said. "But no, I expect an honest election and we expect to win maybe very big."

Trump equivocated when asked recently by Time Magazine if his defeat in November would spark political violence, and his latest remarks prompted a withering response from the Biden camp.

"Bottom line: Trump is a danger to the constitution and a threat to our democracy," campaign spokesman James Singer said in a statement.

"The American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge."

Trump is facing dozens of felony charges over an alleged criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election -- culminating in the storming of the US Capitol by his supporters -- that was based on his false claims of voter fraud.

The former president continues to make baseless claims that the White House was stolen from him in 2020, repeatedly and falsely alleging at two rallies as recently as Wednesday that Democrats had committed widespread voter fraud.

"The radical left Democrats rigged the presidential election in 2020 and we're not going to allow them to rig the presidential election in 2024. We won't have a country left," Trump thundered in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Amazon Great Summer Sale 2024 is now live for Prime members. We've handpicked the best deals and offers you can grab on top mobile phones, laptops, TVs, and other electronics on the first day of the sale. The sale will open for everyone else from 12PM on May 2, 2024.

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US officials on Wednesday announced fresh sanctions aimed at crippling Russia's military and industrial capabilities, punishing companies in China and elsewhere that help Moscow acquire weapons for its war in Ukraine.

In a sweeping package announced by the US Treasury Department, Washington targeted nearly 300 entities in Russia, China and other countries accused of supporting President Vladimir Putin's invasion.

"Treasury has consistently warned that companies will face significant consequences for providing material support for Russia's war," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

"Today's actions will further disrupt and degrade Russia's war efforts by going after its military industrial base and the evasion networks that help supply it."

The latest wave of sanctions came a week after US President Joe Biden signed a much-delayed bill to provide new funding for Ukraine as Kyiv's military struggles to hold back Russian advances.

"Even as we're throwing sand in the gears of Russia's war machine, President (Joe) Biden's recently-passed National Security Supplemental is providing badly-needed military, economic, and humanitarian support to bolster Ukraine's courageous resistance," Yellen said.

"Combined, our support for Ukraine and our relentless targeting of Russia's military capacity is giving Ukraine a critical leg-up on the battlefield."

As part of the measures, the State Department blacklisted additional individuals and companies involved in Moscow's energy, mining and metals sectors.

The sanctions also targeted individuals connected to the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny who died in a Siberian prison in February, the statement said.

The almost 300 targets hit included dozens of actors accused of enabling Russia to acquire desperately needed technology and equipment from abroad, the Treasury said.

Some of those targeted were based in countries such as China that have faced increasing pressure from Washington over support for Russia during its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.

"The United States, along with many international partners, is particularly concerned about entities based in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and other third countries that provide critical inputs to Russia's military-industrial base," the Treasury statement said.

"This support enables Russia to continue its war against Ukraine and poses a significant threat to international security."

Other than China, targeted non-Russian entities were located in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Slovakia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

These companies "enable Russia to acquire desperately-needed technology and equipment from abroad," the statement said.

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The EU on Tuesday launched an investigation into Meta's Facebook and Instagram over concerns the platforms are failing to counter disinformation ahead of EU elections in June.

The probe is under the EU's new Digital Services Act, a landmark law that cracks down on illegal content online and forces the world's biggest tech companies to do more to protect users online.

The European Commission said it suspected Meta's moderation of adverts was "insufficient" and that an increase in paid spots in those conditions could harm "electoral processes and fundamental rights, including consumer protection rights".

EU leaders are especially worried about Russian attempts to manipulate public opinion and undermine European democracy.

The probe seeks "to make sure that effective actions are taken in particular to prevent that Instagram's and Facebook's vulnerabilities are exploited by foreign interference," EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said.

"We suspect that Meta's moderation is insufficient, that it lacks transparency of advertisements and content moderation procedures," commission executive vice president Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Facebook and Instagram are among 23 "very large" online platforms that must comply with the DSA or risk fines up running up to six percent of a platform's global turnover, or even a ban for egregious cases.

Other platforms include Amazon, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.

Meta did not comment on the investigation's focus, instead stating more generally that the US company had "a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms".

A Meta spokesperson added: "We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the European Commission and providing them with further details of this work."

Meta's wide reach

Brussels is especially concerned that Meta does not have an "effective" tool in place to monitor elections ahead of EU-wide polls June 6 to 9.

It pointed to Meta's decision to shut down CrowdTangle, a digital tool considered vital in tracking viral falsehoods.

Meta has said it will replace CrowdTangle with a new Content Library, a technology still under development.

The commission said the company had five working days to explain what actions it has taken to mitigate the risks from decommissioning CrowdTangle.

The EU's concern arises from the Meta platforms' reach in the 450-million strong bloc. Both platforms have more than 260 million monthly active users respectively.

The focus of the EU investigation is wide, and also includes Meta's move to reduce political content in Facebook and Instagram's recommender systems.

Brussels fears this could be in violation with the DSA's rules on transparency.

The EU also suspects that Meta's mechanism to flag illegal content is not sufficiently easy to access or user-friendly, the commission said.

There is no deadline by which the probe must end.

AFP currently works in 26 languages with Facebook's fact-checking programme, in which Facebook pays to use fact checks from around 80 organisations globally on its platform, on WhatsApp and on Instagram.

Multiple probes

The DSA is one law in a bolstered EU legal armoury to bring big tech to heel.

Brussels has shown it is is willing to flex its legal muscle under the DSA, opening investigations into Elon Musk's X, TikTok and Chinese retailer AliExpress.

TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, bowed to pressure from the commission last week and suspended a rewards programme on its spinoff Lite app in France and Spain after Brussels threatened a suspension.

Another regulation is the political advertising law that will complement the DSA when most of its provisions will enter into force in late 2025.

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Singapore Airlines has been ordered to pay more than 2,040 pounds (INR 213,585) to an Indian couple who said their business-class seats malfunctioned, New York Post reported. Ravi Gupta, a police chief from Telangana, was flying with his wife on a flight from Hyderabad to Australia, which transited through Singapore. They paid 66,750 rupees (about $800) for each business-class seat. Notably, the incident happened last year in May. 

The couple complained that their seats' automatic recline feature didn't work. Instead, the seats could only be manually reclined, leaving them frustrated during their five-hour trip. When they complained, they were offered 10,000 frequent flyer miles or loyalty points each. However, they declined the offer and sued Singapore Airlines.

In court documents, the Guptas accused Singapore Airlines of making them feel like lowly ''economy-class passengers'' despite them paying for spacious business-class accommodation. They also said they were forced to stay awake throughout the journey as a result. 

Last week, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Telangana, ruled in the couple's favour and ordered Singapore Airlines to pay them $2,400 ''for causing mental agony and physical suffering.''

In a statement to The Independent, Singapore Airlines did confirm the ''faulty'' automatic recline ability in their seats. 

“SIA can confirm that while the automatic recline function on Mr and Mrs Gupta's seats was faulty, the manual recline function was working on their flight from Hyderabad to Singapore. There were no issues on their connecting flight from Singapore to Perth,'' a spokesperson told The Independent. 

''The flight duration from Hyderabad to Singapore is typically around four hours. As it was a full flight, SIA staff, unfortunately, could not reseat the customers elsewhere in the Business Class cabin. Our crew proactively checked in on these customers regularly and offered to manually recline the seat when needed. We apologise to Mr and Mrs Gupta for the inconvenience caused by this mechanical issue,'' the statement added. 

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The U.S. State Department found five units of the Israeli military responsible for gross violations of human rights in incidents that took place outside of Gaza before conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas in October, the State Department said on Monday.

Four of the units have effectively remediated the violations, while Israel has submitted additional information regarding the fifth unit and the U.S. is continuing conversations with the government, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters.

U.S. weapons sales to the units will not be affected, Patel said. He declined to offer specifics on what violations of human rights were committed, which units were involved or what remediation steps were taken.

"After a careful process, we found five Israeli units responsible for individual incidents of gross violations of human rights. All of these were incidents much before October 7th and none took place in Gaza," Patel said.

"Four of these units have effectively remediated these violations, which is what we expect partners to do... For a remaining unit, we continue to be in consultations and engagements with the government of Israel."

Israel's military conduct has come under increasing scrutiny as its forces have killed some 34,500 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the enclave's health authorities, many of them women and children. The Gaza Strip has been reduced to a wasteland, and extreme food shortages have prompted fears of famine.

The Israeli assault was launched in response to the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and scores of hostages taken.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this month said he has made "determinations" regarding accusations that Israel violated a set of U.S. laws that prohibit providing military assistance to individuals or security force units that commit gross violations of human rights.

The Leahy Laws, authored by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy in the late 1990s, prohibit providing military assistance to individuals or security force units that commit gross violations of human rights and have not been brought to justice.

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday that the United States has received new information from the Israeli authorities about a specific Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) unit that Washington was reportedly going to designate for human rights allegations in the West Bank.

In light of the new information, Washington is looking into whether the unit is on a path to remediation, the source said.

The specific unit involved, the Netzah Yehuda battalion, was set up in 1999 to accommodate the religious beliefs of ultra-Orthodox Jews and other religious nationalist recruits in the army.

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