NEWS OF THE DAY
Nuclear treaty: President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill suspending Russia’s participation in a pivotal nuclear arms treaty. Putin’s decree released on Wednesday formalizes Russia’s departure from the 1987 IntermediateRange Nuclear Forces treaty with the U.S. following Washington’s withdrawal from the pact. Putin has warned the U.S. against deploying new missiles in Europe, saying that Russia will retaliate by fielding new fast weapons.
Gandhi resigns: Rahul Gandhi resigned Wednesday as president of India’s opposition Congress party, long led by his politically powerful family, to take responsibility for its crushing defeat in recent elections. Gandhi said he was stepping down because accountability is “critical for the future growth of our party.” Gandhi’s family, starting with his greatgrandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, has produced three prime ministers. Two of them — his grandmother Indira Gandhi and father, Rajiv Gandhi — were assassinated in office. Rahul Gandhi lost his own seat, long a Congress party bastion, in the recent elections, marking the end of an era for modern India’s most powerful political dynasty. However, he won a seat from another constituency.
Heavy rains: Japanese authorities on Wednesday directed more than 1 million residents in parts of the southern main island of Kyushu to evacuate to designated shelters as heavy rains batter the region, prompting fears of landslides and widespread flooding. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said the directive was issued in three southern prefectures. Heavy rain has continued in southern Japan since Friday, killing an elderly woman in a mudslide in Kagoshima. The rain also has flooded dozens of homes. The Meteorological Agency says up to 13 inches more rain is expected through Thursday.
Life sentence: A Kenyan court sentenced one man to life in jail and two others to 41 years each for being accomplices to the 2015 Garissa University attack in which 148 people were killed. Phone records and handwriting linked the three to the attack in eastern Kenya that killed mostly university students. The three were also found to be members of the alShabab Islamic extremist group based in neighboring Somalia which claimed responsibility for the attack. AlShabab has carried out numerous attacks inside Kenya since 2011, as retribution for Kenya sending troops into Somalia to counter the al Qaedalinked fighters. Rashid Charles Mberesero was sentenced to life in jail while Mohamed Abdi Abikar and Hassan Aden Hassan were sentenced to 41 years each after being convicted last month of assisting the attack. Kashmir conflict: Pakistan’s military says an explosion has killed five soldiers and wounded one, near the border with India in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Wednesday’s statement said the cause of the explosion isn’t known but is being investigated. It said, however, that the “incident” pointed to a violation by India of the ceasefire agreement along the socalled Line of Control. India and Pakistan have fought several wars over the control of Kashmir, which both countries lay claim to. The latest incident comes months after tensions flared following a Feb. 14 suicide attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers in Indiancontrolled Kashmir. India responded with an air strike inside Pakistan, which retaliated by shooting down two Indian planes.