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Vladimir Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine, a bold land grab that set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbor in 2022. The quick and bloodless seizure of the diamond-shaped peninsula, home to Russia's Black Sea fleet and a popular vacation site, touched off a wave of patriotism and sent Putin's popularity soaring. «Crimea is ours!» became a popular slogan in Russia. Now that Putin has been anointed to another six-year term as president, he is determined to extend his gains in Ukraine amid Russia's battlefield successes and waning Western support for Kyiv.

Buy or sell stocks: On account of weak global cues, after the hotter-than-expected US PPI print, the Indian stock market ended lower on Friday. The Nifty 50 index lost 123 points but managed to close above 22,000 levels.

Russian Presidential Elections 2024: President Vladimir Putin won a record post-Soviet landslide with 87.8% of the vote in Russia's election on Sunday. He made it clear that the result should send a message to the West that its leaders will have to reckon with an emboldened Russia, whether in war or peace, for many more years to come.

Top Events of the Day: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set for a busy day with a public rally in Karnataka's Shivamogga and a roadshow in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court will hear the plea of six disqualified Congress MLAs from Himachal Pradesh, while the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) hears challenges against the Zee-Sony merger in Maharashtra.

AP, in recent days, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the country and a strong Israel supporter, called on Israel to hold a new election, saying Netanyahu had “lost his way." President Joe Biden expressed support for Schumer’s “good speech," and earlier accused Netanyahu of hurting Israel because of the huge civilian death toll in Gaza. Netanyahu told Fox News that Israel never would have called for a new U.S. election after the Sept.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ari Rabinovitch

(Reuters) — Following are reactions from foreign governments and officials to Russia's presidential election, which handed Vladimir Putin a landslide win and another six-year term in office, according to first official results on Sunday.

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Colombia will suspend its ceasefire with the Estado Mayor Central (ECM) armed group in three provinces on Wednesday, a government decree said on Sunday, citing incidents that broke the ceasefire.

Joe Biden said at a weekend Washington roast, was that two candidates had clinched their party's nomination for president. But one was too old, too mentally unfit for the job, he said. «The other's me,» Biden quipped.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Polls 2024: Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra isn't a patch on its first version | 5 Points "A senior leader from Maharashtra left Congress and cried in from of my mother and said 'Sonia ji, I am ashamed that I don't have the power to fight this Shakti. I do not want to go to jail.' Thousands of people have been threatened like this..." he added. 1) "We are not fighting against one particular political party or person.

Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that Gaza was facing famine and there had to be a rapid ceasefire agreement in the war between Israel and Hamas. «Gaza is facing famine and we cannot accept this,» von der Leyen told reporters, speaking in Cairo after signing a strategic partnership agreement with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said he was compelled to launch his Bharat Jodo yatras to highlight rising unemployment, inflation and hatred in society. Addressing the opposition INDIA bloc rally at Mumbai's Shivaji Park after the conclusion of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi won't be able to win the Lok Sabha elections without "EVMs, ED, CBI and Income Tax". «Modi is a 'mask' who works for a 'shakti' (power). He is a shallow man who doesn't have a 56-inch chest,» Gandhi said. The former Congress president alleged that PM Modi had a «monopoly over corruption».

Joe Biden's campaign has amassed USD 155 million in cash on hand for the 2024 election, far exceeding the in-hand total for his Republican opponent, Donald Trump. The president raised USD 53 million alone last month, which was the strongest grassroots fundraising month since the campaign launched, according to campaign officials. Among those efforts was a contest for supporters to attend a fundraiser on March 28 in New York with Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton that raised USD 4 million last month. «The enthusiasm we're picking up as we go around the country is real,» Biden said in a radio interview with WNOV 860 in Wisconsin last week. «We've raised a whole lot of money. We have 1.5 million donors, including 500,000 are brand new, they're small donors; 97 per cent of the donations under USD 200.»

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday congratulated former Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his «strong determination» on the occasion of the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, and described him as a «rare person». Rahul Gandhi concluded his 63-day-old Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai by paying tributes to Dr B R Ambedkar at his memorial Chaityabhoomi in central Mumbai and reading the Preamble of the Constitution. On Sunday, Akhilesh Yadav along with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was scheduled to take part in the event. However, the SP chief did not attend the event. In a letter dated March 17, written to Gandhi by Yadav, the SP chief said, «Today your Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is concluding in Mumbai. Rare are those people, who can take out such 'yatra'. Heartiest congratulations to you for your strong determination.

Left Front on Sunday announced its candidate for the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat (ST) and decided to support the Congress in the other seat– Tripura West parliamentary constituency. Front convener Narayan Kar said that former CPI-M MLA Rajendra Reang would be the Left parties’ nominee in the Tripura East Lok Sabha seat, reserved for the tribal. Kar said that former CPI-M MLA Ratan Das, who is also the Secretary of the CPI-M West District committee, would be fielded in the Ramnagar assembly seat (in West Tripura), where by-elections would be held on April 19.

polling stations across Russia on Sunday to take part in what the anti-Kremlin opposition said was a peaceful but symbolic political protest against the re-election of President Vladimir Putin. In an action called «Noon against Putin», Russians who oppose the veteran Kremlin leader went to their local polling station at midday to either spoil their ballot paper in protest or to vote for one of the three candidates standing against Putin, who is widely expected to win by a landslide.

Ukraine launched a new massive wave of drone attacks Sunday as Russians cast ballots on the final day of a presidential vote set to extend President Vladimir Putin's rule for another six years. The Russian Defence Ministry reported downing 35 Ukrainian drones overnight, including four in the Moscow region. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said there were no casualties or damage.

Congress Working Committee (CWC) will discuss the party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections at its meeting on March 19 and give the final shape to it. The Congress' central election committee (CEC) chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge is also likely to meet on March 19 to 20 to finalise the remaining candidates of the party for the seven-phase polls beginning April 19. AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the CWC, its top decision-making body, would meet on March 19 and give its nod to the draft manifesto which carries the five 'guarantees' for justice. He said the party will fight the elections on the issue of 'five nyay' (justice) — 'Bhagidari Nyay', 'Kisan Nyay', 'Nari Nyay', 'Shramik Nyay' and 'Yuva Nyay' — with 25 guarantees, five for each nyay, which have already been announced by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former president Rahul Gandhi.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was afraid of the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as he started his campaign from Kharge's home district Kalaburagi. He said the party is sure to win 20 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka including Kalaburagi. «He (Modi) is afraid of the Leader of Opposition (in Rajya Sabha) Mallikarjun Kharge. Hence, he started his election campaign from there (Kalaburagi). We will win 20 seats including Kalaburagi,» Shivakumar told reporters here. Modi started his election campaign in Karnataka from Kalaburagi on Saturday. His next campaign in the state will be in Shivamogga.

Narendra Modi will address his second campaign rally in Karnataka on Monday. The BJP leaders are trying their best to buy peace with the veteran leader from the region, KS Eshwarappa, as he has decided to stay off the Modi rally in a show of rebellion against parliamentary board member BS Yediyurappa. Eshwarappa, a senior Kuruba leader and a former state president, has not budged an inch from his decision to contest as an independent against BY Raghavendra (50), the son of BSY. BJP leader N Ravikumar, however, claimed they had invited Eshwarappa, and he would be there at the rally. The party said it would expect about 2.5 lakh people to attend the event, and JDS leaders would share the dais with the PM. The BJP is holding its campaign rally at the assembly constituency Eshwarappa previously represented.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday told ministers to draft a roadmap for the first 100 days and next five years for new government, sources said. Chairing a Cabinet meeting here this morning, the PM also asked them to meet secretaries and other officials of their respective ministries to discuss how the agenda for the first 100 days and the next five years can be better implemented. The meeting took place a day after the Election Commission announced schedule for the Lok Sabha polls 2024. The Cabinet also initiated the process of notifying the dates of the seven-phase parliamentary elections by sending the Election Commission's recommendation to President Droupadi Murmu.