Single nasal spray vaccine could protect against all colds and flus, researchers say

A Stanford University team have tested their nasal spray vaccine in animals but still need to do human clinical trials.

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Former Ukraine Army Chief Opens Up About Rift With Zelensky

Ever since he was ousted as the head of Ukraine's army in 2024 and appointed as the country's ambassador to Britain, Valerii Zaluzhnyi has widely been seen as the top political rival to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zaluzhnyi, 52, refuses to discuss his political ambitions, saying he doesn't want to risk harming national unity during a war with Russia that is approaching its fourth anniversary. Yet in a sign of his possible desire to run for the presidency - after the war is over - Zaluzhnyi spoke publicly for the first time about a deep rift between himself and Zelensky in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Tensions emerged soon after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, and tempers often flared between the two men over how best to defend the country, Zaluzhnyi said. The strained relationship reached a boiling point later that year, when dozens of agents from Ukraine's domestic intelligence service raided Zaluzhnyi's office, he told the AP.

Zaluzhnyi alleges that the previously unreported incident was an act of intimidation.

Ukraine's security service, known as the SBU, said that no search was ever carried out at Zaluzhnyi's office, though it acknowledged that the address was part of an investigation unrelated to him. Zelensky's office declined to comment for this story. The AP could not independently confirm Zaluzhnyi's account of the raid.

The revelation threatens to polarize public opinion in Ukraine at a critical moment in the war. Russian forces are making slow, steady gains across Ukraine's eastern front, and both sides are clinging to incompatible demands as the U.S. presses them to reach a peace deal.

Zaluzhnyi said that during the 2022 raid on his office he called Zelensky's chief of staff warning him he was prepared to call in the military to stop it and protect the command center: "I will fight with you and have already called in reinforcements to the center of Kyiv for support."

While that near crisis early in the war passed, disagreements between Zaluzhnyi and Zelensky over how to defend their country persisted, according to Zaluzhnyi.

A dispute over a counteroffensive in 2023 that ultimately failed was particularly contentious, the former general said. Zelensky dismissed him as army chief in February 2024, and later announced he would be headed to London.

The move was widely seen by political analysts as an effort by Zelensky to limit Zaluzhnyi's potential as a political rival.

While a deal to end the war remains elusive, Zelensky has agreed in principle to a plan laid out by U.S. President Donald Trump that calls for elections once the war is over and security guarantees are in place.

One evening in mid-September 2022, Zaluzhnyi emerged from a tense meeting at Zelensky's headquarters and headed back to his office in Kyiv.

Hours later, dozens of agents from Ukraine's security service showed up at Zaluzhnyi's office to search the premises, Zaluzhnyi said. He says he prevented them from rifling through documents and computers.

The raid was clearly a threat, Zaluzhnyi said.

Later, he learned that Ukraine's security service had sought a search warrant from a district court in Kyiv two days earlier to inspect the address where Zaluzhnyi's office is located. The agency was seeking to search a strip club allegedly run by a criminal organization, according to a court document obtained by AP.

But the strip club named in the filing had been closed at that location since before Russia's full-scale invasion, two employees who work at the club's new location told the AP.

The SBU said it was looking into several addresses as part of an investigation into organized crime - unconnected to Zaluzhnyi.

Zaluzhnyi believes the agency could not plausibly have mistaken the location of the country's main war command center.

The 2023 counteroffensive drew widespread criticism from military experts for being too ambitious and coming too late, giving Russian forces time to fortify positions.

Zaluzhnyi says the plan he had crafted with help from NATO partners failed because Zelensky and other officials wouldn't commit the resources it required.

The original plan was to concentrate enough forces into a "single fist" to retake the partially occupied region of Zaporizhzhia - home to a vital nuclear power plant - and then have them advance south to the Sea of Azov. This would sever a corridor of land the Russian army had been using to resupply Crimea, which it illegally annexed in 2014. Success required a large, concentrated buildup and tactical surprise, Zaluzhnyi said.

What happened instead, he said, was that forces were dispersed over a wide area, diluting their striking power.

His account of how the counteroffensive diverged from the original plan was corroborated by two Western defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren't authorized to speak publicly to the media.

Zaluzhnyi's key criticisms of Ukraine's war strategy are that it depends on an unrealistic number of troops and is not organized well in how it develops and deploys new technologies to the battlefield. He watches developments closely, but says he has not been involved with military decision-making since Zelensky pushed him out. Zaluzhnyi said he and Zelensky had "absolutely friendly" conversations on the two occasions they met since then.

Some analysts say Zaluzhnyi's lack of involvement in Ukraine's day-to-day political affairs could weaken his popularity.

Still, an Ipsos poll published last month showed support for Zaluzhnyi in a hypothetical future election at 23%, compared with Zelensky's 20%, making him the president's top competitor.

Many Ukrainians see him as a figure capable of changing the system, said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst based in Kyiv. "People will vote not only for Zaluzhnyi but also against Zelensky - blaming him for the failures of his presidency," he explained.

Zaluzhnyi avoids discussing politics, he says, for fear of fomenting division among Ukrainians. "Until the war is over or martial law ends, I am not discussing this and have done nothing toward that," he said.

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GB curlers on brink of early exit after Canada defeat

Team GB's Winter Olympics curling medal hopes are now in serious jeopardy after Bruce Mouat's world champions were beaten 9-5 by Canada in Cortina.

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Tarique Rahman To Take Oath As Bangladesh's Prime Minister Today

Tarique Rahman will take the oath as the new Prime Minister of Bangladesh on Tuesday after leading his party to a forceful victory in the crucial general elections.

Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has bagged 209 out of 297 seats, while right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami secured 68 seats in the 13th Parliamentary elections. Deposed premier Sheikh Hasina's Awami League was barred from contesting polls.

Breaking with a long-standing tradition, the swearing-in ceremony of the 60-year-old BNP chairman would be held at the South Plaza of the Parliament Complex instead of Bangabhaban.  President Mohammed Shahabuddin will administer the oath to the new cabinet members at the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday afternoon, state-run BSS news agency reported on Monday.

"The Parliament Secretariat is set to hold the oath-taking ceremony of the new cabinet members at 4:00 pm tomorrow," Secretary of the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat Kaniz Maula said.

Earlier Tuesday, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin would administer the oath to all newly elected members of the parliament.

All 297 newly elected lawmakers of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad (JS) will "first take oath as the members of parliament (MPs) and then as the members of the Constitutional Reform Council," said a press release of JS Secretariat.  BNP has called a parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament Building at 11:30 am to elect the parliamentary party leader.

"As the leader of the majority party, our party chairman, Tarique Rahman, will be the Prime Minister," said Salah Uddin Ahmed, a member of the standing committee of the BNP.

The Constitutional dictates - immediately after their swearing-in, the BNP MPs will elect their leader who will be invited by the President to form the government, a Bangabhaban presidential palace official said on Monday.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of Rahman. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Secretary-General of Lok Sabha Utpal Kumar Singh are also likely to accompany Birla.

Rahman would become the prime minister for the first time. He will replace the interim government chief Muhammad Yunus, under whose tenure Dhaka's relations with New Delhi witnessed a significant downturn.

Yunus took charge in August 2024 after the collapse of Hasina's Awami League regime following the massive anti-government protests.

After his party's victory, Rahman visited the homes of his political rivals, including Jamaat-e-Islami chief Shafiqur Rahman and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam, where he exchanged greetings and held cordial discussions.

In a post-election press conference, Rahman called for “national unity” and “peace” in the national interest, warning that divisiveness would undermine democracy. He said the country faces a fragile economy, weakened institutions, and a deteriorating law and order situation.

“Our paths and opinions may differ, but in the interest of the country, we must remain united. I firmly believe that national unity is our collective strength, while division is our weakness,” he said.

  He said the new government faces two major challenges - tackling the economy and ensuring good governance.

Rahman, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and BNP's founder, late President Ziaur Rahman, returned home two months ago after 17 years of self-exiled life in London. His principal credentials are dynastic, but he has not held any public office so far. Analysts say the family background earned him a sort of political acumen.

When a journalist asked how he would reconcile with the millions of Awami League supporters, Rahman answered, "By ensuring the rule of law".

In response to a related question, he said there was "no room for politics of vengeance", warning that attacks based on political affiliation or differing opinions would not be tolerated.

The BNP has invited about 1,200 domestic and foreign guests to the event.

Maldives President Mohammed Muizzoo, Turkish Undersecretary Beris Ekinci and Sri Lanka's Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa would be among those attending Rahman's oath ceremony.

Bangladesh held the significant 13th parliamentary election on February 12 after a period of tumultuous political vacuum, instability and fragile security situation, including widespread attacks on minorities after the fall of the 15-year rule of Hasina.

Four candidates from minority communities, including two Hindus, all from the BNP, won in the elections.

Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, a member of the BNP's highest policy-making standing committee, and Nitai Roy Chowdhury, one of the vice presidents of the party, won their seats.

The third minority MP-elect is Saching Pru, a senior BNP leader and follower of the Buddhist faith, while the fourth minority candidate, Dipen Dewan, belongs to the Buddhist majority Chakma ethnic minority group.

Hindus comprise approximately eight per cent of the population in the Muslim-majority country of 170 million people.

Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General and coordinator of the liaison committee of the 11-party alliance, AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, has said that they want to play a constructive role as an opposition party.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Himachal Governor Cuts Assembly Speech To 2 Minutes, Row Erupts

The Budget Session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly began on a stormy note, with sharp differences surfacing between Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and the state government over the contentious issue of Revenue Deficit Grant or RDG. In a rare development in parliamentary practice, the Governor wrapped up his customary address in just 2 minutes and 1 second, significantly cutting short what is typically a detailed outline of the government's policy roadmap.

The flashpoint was the speech prepared by the government, portions of which allegedly questioned the functioning of the Centre and certain constitutional institutions. The Governor objected to these sections, saying pages 1 to 16 of the document contained remarks that were, in his view, against the "institutional framework".

Maintaining that he could not read out comments that undermine the dignity of constitutional bodies, he chose to read only the opening two paragraphs and the concluding portion.

He skipped paragraphs 3 to 16, the core section dealing with the Revenue Deficit Grant and the state's financial concerns. Before exiting the House, he asked members to read the remaining text themselves, triggering sharp political reactions.

Reacting to the stand-off, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu downplayed the Governor's move, saying it was "not an exception" and that Governors have skipped addresses in the past. However, he remained firm on the financial dispute. "This is not about the government. RDG is our right. Do not harm the rights of the state," he asserted.

The unprecedented brevity of the address has set the stage for a charged Budget Session, with the RDG issue likely to dominate proceedings in the days ahead.

RDG Withdrawal and its impact

*The Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG) is a constitutional lifeline under Article 275 (1), designed to bridge the gap between a state's own revenue and its essential spending. For Himachal Pradesh, its discontinuation by the 16th Finance Commission from the 2026-27 fiscal year creates a fiscal crisis.

*The state is already struggling to pay Rs 8,500 crore in revised salary arrears and Rs 5,000 crore in Dearness Allowance (DA). Without the RDG, these payments face an indefinite freeze.

(With inputs from VD Sharma in Shimla)

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Swedish Man Suspected Of Helping Over 100 Men Buy Sex With His Wife

A man in northern Sweden is suspected of helping more than 100 men buy sex with his wife, a prosecutor told AFP on Monday.

Sweden's law on prostitution bans the buying of sex but not the selling.

The man, who is in his 60s, was arrested in late October after his wife reported him to police and has been remanded in custody since then, prosecutor Ida Annerstedt told AFP.

"He is suspected of having facilitated, or profited financially from, the sale of the complainant's sexual services," Annerstedt said.

Annerstedt said the man had been remanded in custody suspected of the crime of "procuring".

She said police were looking into other suspected crimes but declined to give any details, citing the confidentiality of the ongoing investigation.

She also declined to say whether the woman, who is in her 50s, had been forced to sell sex or not.

The suspected crimes were believed to have occurred from January 2022 until the man's arrest last year.

Annerstedt said she expected to press charges on March 13.

The prosecutor said 120 individuals who were suspected of having bought sexual services had been identified but it was unlikely that all of them could be investigated as part of the main probe.

Separate investigations into the buyers could be launched after the case concluded.

Public broadcaster SVT reported that the man, who has denied the alleged crime, had previously been convicted of several offences, including assault and unlawful coercion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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'Quit For Self-Respect': Bhupen Bora Resigns From Congress After 32 Years

Senior Congress leader in Assam, Bhupen Bora, on Monday announced that he has resigned from the party, ending his 32-year-long association with the grand old party.

Speaking to reporters here, Bora said he sent his resignation letter to the party's central leadership at around 8 a.m. “I have resigned from the Congress. I have already forwarded my resignation letter to the central leadership,” Bora said, adding that the decision was taken to protect his self-respect.

“I have quit the party for my own self-respect,” he asserted.

Expressing deep dissatisfaction with the functioning of the party, Bora alleged that the Congress leadership has failed to take timely and decisive calls on organisational matters.

“The party is unable to even decide who should attend its rallies and who should not,” he said, pointing to what he described as growing confusion and lack of coordination within the organisation.

Bora said he had devoted the prime years of his political life to the Congress.

“I gave 32 years of my life to the Congress party,” he said, underlining his long association and contributions at various levels of the organisation.

While refraining from naming specific leaders, Bora hinted at persistent internal issues and leadership paralysis that, according to him, made it difficult to continue in the party.

He said that despite raising concerns on multiple occasions, there was no meaningful response from the top leadership.

Asked about his future political course, Bora said he will take a decision after consulting his supporters and well-wishers. However, he made it clear that his resignation was final and not an impulsive move.

“This is not a sudden decision. I have thought about it carefully,” he said.

Bhupen Bora's exit is being seen as a significant setback for the Congress in Assam, where the party has been struggling to regain political ground ahead of the next Assembly elections.

His resignation comes at a time when the party is already grappling with internal challenges and leadership questions in the state.

Political observers believe Bora's departure could trigger further churn within the Assam Congress unit in the coming days.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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