onthedarkside

Russia is reneging on its weapon delivery commitments to India as arms supplies have hit a roadblock due to the war in Ukraine, according to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The comments seem to be the first sign that India could recalibrate its dependency on Russia amid continuing border challenges it faces from its nuclear neighbours Pakistan and China. The IAF told a committee of India’s lower house in parliament in a statement published on Tuesday that Russia had scheduled a “major delivery” this year, without specifying what this delivery was. https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/india/india-russia-weapon-supply-s400-ukraine-b2307376.html

Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, marking the first time since the mid-1990s that Moscow will have based such arms outside the country. President Vladimir Putin made the announcement on Saturday at a time of growing tensions with the West over the Ukraine war and as some Russian commentators speculate about possible nuclear strikes. "Tactical" nuclear weapons refer to those used for specific gains in the battlefield rather than those with the capacity to wipe out cities. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-26/putin-says-russia-nuclear-weapons-for-belarus/102146644

At least 23 people have died after tornadoes tore through the US state of Mississippi on Friday night. More people are thought to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings. The twisters caused devastation in several rural towns, where trees and power lines were torn down and tens of thousands of power outages were reported. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65075276

Brazil's triple Formula One champion Nelson Piquet must pay £780,000 in damages for making racist and homophobic comments about Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. In an interview in November 2021, Piquet used a racial slur referring to the seven-time world champion, when commenting on Hamilton's British Grand Prix crash with Max Verstappen. Piquet's daughter Kelly is the partner of Hamilton's rival, Verstappen. The 69-year-old former racer was said to have used language that's equivalent or similar to the N-word. https://news.sky.com/story/f1s-nelson-piquet-must-pay-780-000-after-racist-and-homophobic-lewis-hamilton-comments-12842129

On Saturday, the first rally of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign will take place in Waco, Texas. The significance will not be lost on many of his supporters: The event coincides with the 30th anniversary of the FBI’s disastrous 51-day siege of David Koresh’s Branch Davidian complex. That siege ended on April 19, 1993, when FBI agents filled the compound with tear gas and used tanks to plow down walls as part of a failed effort to get Koresh, who was the leader of a cult, and his followers to surrender. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/03/trump-waco-branch-dividians-koresh/

Sheriff Chitwood, 59, went viral earlier this month after he called out a far-right group that has been harassing Jewish people in Orlando, Florida. He stood alongside faith and community leaders and said it was a "badge of honour" to be on the group's hitlist himself and dared its members to take a shot at him. Orlando has been hit by a rash of antisemitic incidents, with Florida becoming, according to one expert, "ground zero for the extreme right-wing". https://news.sky.com/story/this-is-neo-nazi-ideology-on-display-is-florida-in-danger-of-being-taken-over-by-the-far-right-12835558

Plans to house migrants on military bases or disused ferries to be announced within weeks Plans to start moving migrants out of hotels and into military bases or even potentially disused ferries are expected to be announced by the government within weeks. Ministers have already signalled that they want to end the use of hotels as asylum seeker accommodation. Previous suggestions of using holiday camps and student halls are less likely to be brought into action. https://news.sky.com/story/plans-to-house-migrants-on-military-bases-and-disused-ferries-to-be-announced-within-weeks-12842083

A government plan to place asylum seekers in temporary living facilities at a Royal Air Force base in Lincolnshire is facing opposition from locals, politicians and historians. About 1,500 asylum seekers could be housed at the now disused RAF Scampton. The airfield, which closed last year, is the former home of The Red Arrows aerobatics display team and the Dambusters - the squadron that carried out one of the Second World War's most famous air raids. https://news.sky.com/story/an-act-of-sacrilege-anger-at-government-plan-to-house-asylum-seekers-at-historic-raf-scampton-12842014

Air force commanders from Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark signed a letter of intent on Friday to create a unified Nordic air defence aimed at countering the rising threat from Russia. The intention is to be able to operate jointly based on already known ways of operating under NATO. The move to integrate the air forces was triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. https://bnn.network/breaking-news/nordic-countries-sign-letter-of-intent-to-create-unified-air-defence-against-russia/

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Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and a suite of other aides are being forced to testify before a grand jury hearing evidence in the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Jan. 6, 2021, rejecting former President Trump’s claims of executive privilege. The decision, first reported by ABC News, came in a sealed ruling last week from D.C. District Court Judge Beryl Howell — one of her last decisions before stepping down as chief judge. The order requires testimony from a number of Trump aides, including some that have already appeared before the grand jury but declined to answer questions about their conversations with the former president. https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3916684-meadows-numerous-trump-aides-ordered-to-testify-in-jan-6-probe/

An asteroid big enough to wipe out a city will hurtle between Earth and the moon's orbit this weekend in a close encounter visible through binoculars and small telescopes. The chunk of space rock measuring up to 300ft (90m), around the size of Westminster's Elizabeth Tower (316ft or 96m) which houses Big Ben, will fly by at about 17,500mph. Passing at around 100,000 miles (168,000km) - less than half the distance between Earth and the moon - will give astronomers the chance to study the "city killer" asteroid at close quarters. https://news.sky.com/story/asteroid-to-pass-between-earth-and-moon-in-17-500mph-close-encounter-12841302

A bill that would let people carry concealed firearms without a permit and without training passed out of the House on Friday, putting the bill just a step away from the governor’s desk. The legislation lets people who are otherwise qualified to purchase and carry a firearm avoid the permitting process to conceal carry their weapon. Rep. Chuck Brannan, R-Macclenny, said the bill was about removing red tape, and that “Florida will not come between you and your freedom to protect yourself anymore.” The legislation passed 76-32. https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2023/03/24/guns-florida-permitless-carry-desantis/

Donald Trump on Friday threatened “death and destruction” if he’s criminally charged in New York — writing the shocking social media warning after posting an image of himself holding a baseball bat next to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s head. “They are HUMAN SCUM!” the 76-year-old former president raged in one post asking why Bragg “refuses to do the right thing and ‘call it a day?’” Trump is seeking a rematch against President Biden in 2024 and previously used heated language ahead of actual violence — most notoriously on Jan. 6, 2021, when he told thousands of supporters to march on the Capitol and “fight like hell” to prevent certification of Biden’s Electoral College win, which they proceeded to do by smashing into the building and battling with police. https://nypost.com/2023/03/24/trump-shares-pic-holding-baseball-bat-near-das-head/

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The FBI and NYPD are investigating a death threat and white powder sent to Manhattan's district attorney, whose office is investigating former US president Donald Trump. The letter mailed to Alvin Bragg said "ALVIN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!", law enforcement sources told NBC News, the letter also contained a small amount of white powder. Mr Bragg's office said the letter "was immediately contained and that the NYPD Emergency Service Unit and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection determined there was no dangerous substance." https://news.sky.com/story/death-threat-and-white-powder-sent-to-district-attorney-investigating-donald-trump-12841883

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A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ordered an attorney for former President Donald Trump to comply with a federal grand jury subpoena to testify and provide records relevant to the probe into the potential mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. After the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, lawyer Evan Corcoran is expected to appear before the jury on Friday, a source close to the matter told CNN. Earlier on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that another Trump attorney, Jennifer Little, is also expected to give testimony before the grand jury this week. https://news.yahoo.com/court-makes-extraordinary-night-demands-040839431.html

There’s no getting around it, Twitter’s survival in the coming months depends on how its new owner, Elon Musk, manages his relationship with a key group of people: advertisers. It’s been a rocky pairing since October, when Musk officially took over and many big-name advertisers paused spending on the platform. Almost five months later, the company’s standing with the advertisers that historically make up 90 percent of its revenue still hasn’t measurably improved. https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/3/23/23651151/twitter-advertisers-elon-musk-brands-revenue-fleeing

March 23 (UPI) -- A one-time supporter of former President Donald Trump who has found himself at the center of a conspiracy theory claiming he was a government informant who instigated the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has demanded a retraction from Fox commentator Tucker Carlson for defamation. Ray Epps sent a cease and desist letter to Carlson on Thursday, decrying the commentator's repeated "fanciful notions" and his "assault on truth" on his show. "Mr. Carlson and Fox News have repeatedly peddled claims about Mr. Epps that lack any foundation in fact. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/03/23/trump-supporter-demands-retraction-tucker-carlson-jan-6-conspiracy-theory/3021679627831/

A homophobic man has been found guilty of murdering a man in a cemetery after hitting him 12 times in the face and head with a claw hammer. Erik Feld, who had an obsession with extreme violence, hid behind a monument in east London in the early hours of 16 August 2021 before causing "catastrophic" injuries to Ranjith Kankanamalage, who was unarmed. The 50-year-old victim was found by a member of the public on a path in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park later that day. https://news.sky.com/story/erik-feld-homophobic-man-obsessed-with-extreme-violence-found-guilty-of-murdering-victim-with-hammer-in-cemetery-12840909

Now, a pair of scientists have presented a robust natural explanation that accounts for ‘Oumuamua’s strangest behaviors, including its puzzling speed boost as it hurtled through the solar system. The new research suggests that the object’s many years in interstellar space left it with an abundance of molecular hydrogen, which was transformed into gas in the presence of the Sun. “Given the information that we have, I think that this is our best hope of explaining ‘Oumuamua without having to resort to more sensational ideas, or, as we might say in the science community, ‘fine-tuned’ ideas,” said Jennfer Bergner, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Berkeley who led the study, in a call with Motherboard. https://www.vice.com/en/article/3akzjk/oumuamua-aliens-mystery-solved

The parents of a teenager who killed four students at a Michigan high school can face trial for involuntary manslaughter, the state appeals court said Thursday in a groundbreaking case of criminal responsibility for the acts of a child. The murders would not have happened if the parents hadn't purchased a gun for Ethan Crumbley or if they had taken him home from Oxford High School on the day of the shooting, when staff became alarmed about his extreme drawings, the appeals court said. The court noted that the legal threshold at this stage of the case is fairly low under Michigan law. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oxford-high-school-shooter-ethan-crumbley-parents-involuntary-manslaughter-michigan-court/

The principal of Florida’s Tallahassee Classical School is out of a job after parents complained that their sixth-grade children were shown Michelangelo’s 16th century “David” sculpture, with one parent calling it “pornographic,” the Tallahassee Democrat first reported. The now-former principal, Hope Carrasquilla, told HuffPost the situation was also “a little more complicated than that,” noting that the usual protocol is to send parents a letter before students are shown such classical artwork. Due to “a series of miscommunications,” the letter did not go out to the sixth-grade parents, and some complained, Carrasquilla said. https://news.yahoo.com/florida-principal-viewing-michelangelos-david-162441446.html