By Esha Mitra, CNN

Murshidabad / Kolkata, India (CNN) — Sadre Alam went to war for India. Suprabuddha Sen’s grandfather illustrated its first constitution. For decades, both men exercised their rights enshrined in that document to vote in the world’s largest democracy.

Days before polls opened in crucial state elections in April, they found out that their right had been taken away from them. There was little or no explanation.

Alam, 62, opens a thick maroon binder that holds the 30 or so documents he says he took to local officials to try and convince them of his right to vote: his grandfather’s land deeds from the 1920s; evidence his parents had voted decades ago; his army discharge certificate. To no avail.

“It feels strange to think my country is not mine today,” the former soldier told CNN at his home in West Bengal state, where votes from the election he was barred from are now being counted. “That’s my pain. Everyone is asking me: ‘How did your name get excluded despite being in the army?’”

Alam and Suprabuddha are among more than nine million names to have been culled from West Bengal’s voter roll. Millions more were deleted nationwide just before a clutch of state elections across India that will decide whether the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can make inroads in state houses in the country’s south and east, where it has traditionally struggled to gain power.

The BJP says the voter list clean-up is vital for removing duplications, the names of the deceased and other discrepancies, and preserving the integrity of India’s democracy. Critics say the Election Commission of India (ECI), which is meant to be an independent body, is acting at the behest of the BJP to advance its majoritarian agenda and weaken representation of India’s Muslim minority.

That’s made the voter roll controversy particularly combustive in West Bengal, where almost a third of the 90 million-strong population are Muslim and where the BJP has been making inroads in recent years.

‘Logical discrepancy’

Days before polls opened, Alam was told his name was no longer on the voter roll because officials had found a “logical discrepancy” in the 15-year age gap between his mother and him in the records.

The suggestion of a discrepancy is an insult, says the former soldier, who served in India’s brief 1999 war with neighbor and arch-rival Pakistan.

“In early 1963, my grandfather married off his fourteen-year-old daughter, and I was born in December at the end of that year,” he said.

“Where is my fault in this? So is there a doubt I am not my mother’s child? Was I picked up from somewhere?”

Suprabuddha Sen, 88, was not even told why he had lost the voting rights he’d held for decades.

It hurt even more given his personal links to the foundation of India’s democratic system following independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

His grandfather’s illustrations of Indian history and culture adorn India’s constitution; the iconic four-lion emblem that is the government’s official letterhead and is found on the cover of each Indian passport was designed by one of his students under his supervision.

“I can’t remember a time when we haven’t voted,” said his wife Deepa Sen – who was also removed from the voter roll without explanation.

Suprabuddha told CNN he had submitted his graduation records, government pension documents, even an expired passport – but that officials did not budge.

“After that I don’t know what else I can give them.”

According to the Sabar Institute, a public policy and research group, about 2.4 million of the names deleted from the voting list in West Bengal are deceased, leaving around 6.7 million names.

Data on how many of those belong to eligible voters is hard to come by, but CNN heard from more than a dozen vot

Por Brad Lendon, CNN

Un buque de guerra de la Armada estadounidense perdió energía y propulsión durante varias horas en el Indo-Pacífico el martes tras sufrir lo que un comunicado de esa rama de las fuerzas militares calificó de “fallo técnico” en su sistema eléctrico, informó un funcionario de defensa.

Según un analista naval, esta situación dejaría al buque, el destructor de misiles guiados USS Higgins, y a su tripulación de aproximadamente 300 personas completamente indefensas en el agua. La Armada informó que no hubo heridos entre los tripulantes.

El Higgins “experimentó una pérdida de energía en todo el buque”, declaró el comandante Matthew Comer, portavoz de la Séptima Flota de EE.UU., en un comunicado el viernes.

“Los informes iniciales indican un fallo eléctrico que pudo haber producido chispas o humo, los cuales cesaron una vez que se cortó la corriente”, agregó Comer.

De acuerdo con Comer, se ha restablecido la energía y la propulsión a bordo del destructor de la clase Arleigh Burke.

Pero un funcionario de defensa declaró a CNN que el corte de energía y propulsión duró “varias horas”.

Según expertos consultados por CNN, ese es un lapso de tiempo considerable para que el barco pierda la capacidad de controlar sus movimientos en el mar, con los radares eléctricos y las defensas de combate inoperativos.

“El barco está indefenso, sin acceso a la tecnología e inmóvil”, señaló Carl Schuster, excapitán de la Armada estadounidense.

Según explicó, los generadores diésel de emergencia solo servirían para alimentar las comunicaciones y el aire acondicionado.

El comunicado de la Armada no especificó en qué punto del área de responsabilidad del Comando Indo-Pacífico —que se extiende desde las aguas de la costa oeste de Estados Unidos hasta la frontera occidental de la India, y desde el Polo Norte hasta la Antártida— tuvo lugar el incidente.

La Armada ha informado de que está investigando la causa del problema.

Los destructores de la clase Arleigh Burke, como el Higgins, son los pilares de la flota de superficie de la Armada de Estados Unidos, con más de 70 unidades en servicio.

El Higgins, comisionado en 1999, cuenta con una tripulación de aproximadamente 300 personas y tiene su base en Yokosuka, Japón.

Con 154 metros de eslora y un desplazamiento de más de 8.200 toneladas, transporta el sistema de combate Aegis y cuenta con tubos de lanzamiento vertical para una variedad de misiles, incluidos los misiles de ataque terrestre Tomahawk.

Según informó previamente CNN, el mes pasado se produjo un incendio en otro buque de la Armada estadounidense, el portaaviones USS Gerald R. Ford, en la zona de lavandería del barco.

El incendio del 12 de marzo no estuvo relacionado con el combate, declararon en su momento las fuerzas estadounidenses. Dos marineros recibieron atención médica por heridas leves y se encontraban en condición estable.

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Por Will Ripley, CNN

Durante la inauguración de una imponente escultura de bronce que representa a soldados norcoreanos y rusos en combate, Kim Jong Un elogió a los militares que eligieron la muerte antes que ser capturados mientras luchaban en Ucrania.

Se trata de un reconocimiento inusualmente explícito de una doctrina de combate que durante mucho tiempo se sospechaba en Pyongyang.

Según una transcripción publicada por la agencia estatal KCNA, Kim declaró que quienes “optaron sin vacilar por autoinmolarse” y realizar ataques suicidas demostraron la máxima forma de lealtad, en referencia a soldados que se lanzan sobre granadas o detonan explosivos para evitar ser hechos prisioneros.

Kim hizo estas declaraciones durante la apertura de un nuevo y amplio complejo conmemorativo en las afueras de la capital, donde caminó entre filas de tumbas recién cavadas antes de arrodillarse para depositar tierra en un sitio de entierro abierto.

En el interior, estatuas de bronce y muros de mármol negro grabados con nombres rodean exhibiciones de restos de soldados, objetos personales y equipo militar capturado.

El sitio, que es en parte cementerio y en parte museo, constituye el eje de una campaña más amplia para presentar las muertes de soldados norcoreanos en la guerra de Rusia contra su vecino como actos de heroísmo y sacrificio patriótico.

Durante meses, los medios estatales norcoreanos han ofrecido relatos vívidos y, a menudo, gráficos sobre cómo murieron esos soldados.

Informes previos describen militares que detonaron granadas al verse rodeados, advirtiendo a sus compañeros que se alejaran antes de activar la explosión, o que se quitaron la vida tras resultar heridos para evitar ser capturados. En un caso, se reportó que soldados se abrazaron antes de detonar explosivos.

Durante años, agencias de inteligencia, funcionarios ucranianos y desertores han señalado que se esperaba que los soldados norcoreanos se suicidaran antes de ser capturados. Pyongyang nunca lo había confirmado.

Ahora, la doctrina está siendo respaldada al más alto nivel y de forma pública, en un sitio construido para honrar a los caídos en la guerra.

El memorial ofrece una de las señales más claras hasta ahora de la magnitud de la participación de Corea del Norte en la guerra de Rusia.

Un análisis de NK News encontró que dos muros de mármol negro dentro del complejo enumeran 2.288 nombres de soldados que se cree murieron en combate, junto a 271 tumbas y más de 1.700 compartimentos para restos cremados.

El complejo cuenta con muros ampliables y espacios vacíos para futuros enterramientos, lo que sugiere que no se trata de un capítulo cerrado.

Funcionarios de Corea del Sur y de países occidentales estiman que más de 10.000 soldados norcoreanos han sido desplegados en la región rusa de Kursk, con miles de muertos o heridos, pérdidas que Corea del Norte no había reconocido de forma tan abierta hasta ahora.

Inaugurado en el primer aniversario de la declaración de victoria de Rusia en Kursk, con la presencia de altos funcionarios de Moscú y Read more

By Lex Harvey, CNN

(CNN) — Banksy has confirmed that he is behind a large statue that mysteriously appeared in the heart of London depicting a suited man marching off a pedestal with a flag smothering his face.

The enigmatic artist took credit for the work in a humorous video, posted to his Instagram page Thursday, which showed workers erecting the statue under the cover of night.

The seemingly satirical monument, which bears Banksy’s signature on its plinth, has been drawing crowds to London’s Waterloo Place since it popped up in the early hours of Wednesday morning. An apparent commentary on the idea of blind patriotism, it stands among statues of important British historical figures including King Edward VII and Captain Scott.

The video posted to Banksy’s Instagram Thursday shows an older gentleman walking up to the sculpture saying, “I don’t like it.” But many commentors on social media reacted positively to the new work. “A compelling statement on collective blindness – forward motion without vision, without preparation,” said one Instagram user.

“Really powerful,” the user added. “The flag carries no identity – no country, no allegiance – just a form, making the figure universal… and somehow still unmistakably directed.”

By Thursday afternoon, London authorities had erected barriers around the statue. Westminster City Council, which oversees the area, told the BBC: “We’re excited to see Banksy’s latest sculpture in Westminster, making a striking addition to the city’s vibrant public art scene. While we have taken initial steps to protect the statue, at this time it will remain accessible for the public to view and enjoy.”

The stunt comes less than two months after the Reuters news agency claimed that it had revealed Banksy’s identity in a sprawling investigation. Banksy, according to Reuters, is a bespectacled middle-aged man from Bristol named Robin Gunningham, though the artist did not confirm or deny his identity.

The apparent unmasking of Banksy, who has gone to great lengths to preserve his anonymity since his work began appearing around the UK in the 1990s, sparked controversy, with fans and collectors questioning how the revelation might affect the value and resonance of his work.

“I wanted the memory of the anonymous artist – and the mystery behind that – to live on,” Nico Epstein, a Lisbon-based art consultant, told CNN in March.

“Banksy is a superhero for many, many people. People want to believe that fairy tale and now it’s come to a close.”

Banksy is best known for using stencils and spray paint to depict his political, satirical and often subversive messages, though he has produced several statues and sculptures in his three-decade career. In 2004, he took credit for a sculpture depicting a pensive nude bronze figure wearing a traffic cone as a hat called “The Drinker” – a play on Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” – that appeared in London’s West End.

Although Banksy emerged from the Bristol graffiti scene, many of his most famous works have appeared in London, including the “Girl with Balloon” murals, which began popping up in the city in 2002.

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By Brad Lendon, CNN

(CNN) — A US Navy warship lost power and propulsion for several hours in the Indo-Pacific on Tuesday, a US defense official said, after suffering what a Navy statement called an “engineering casualty” in its electrical system.

Such a situation would leave the ship, the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins, and its crew of about 300 “helpless” in the water, a naval analyst told CNN. There were no injuries among those aboard, the Navy said.

The Higgins “experienced a loss of power throughout the ship,” Cmdr. Matthew Comer, a spokesperson for the US 7th Fleet, said in the statement Friday.

“Initial reports indicate an electrical malfunction, which may have produced sparking or smoke that ceased once power was removed,” Comer said.

Power and propulsion have been restored aboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Comer said.

But a defense official told CNN the power and propulsion outage lasted “several hours.”

That’s a significant amount of time for the ship to lose its ability to control its movements in the sea, with electrically operated radars and combat defenses inoperative, experts told CNN.

“The ship is helpless, electronically blind and immobile,” said Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain.

Emergency diesel generators would just power communications and air conditioning, he said.

The Navy statement did not say where in the Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility – which stretches from the waters off the US West Coast to the western border of India, and from the North Pole to Antarctica – the incident occurred.

The cause of the problem is under investigation, the Navy said.

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers like the Higgins are the workhorses of the US Navy’s surface fleet, with more than 70 in service.

The Higgins, commissioned in 1999, carries a crew of about 300 and is homeported in Yokosuka, Japan.

At 505-foot-long and displacing more than 8,200 tons, it carries the Aegis combat system and has vertical launch tubes for a range of missiles, including Tomahawk land-attack missiles.

A fire broke out on another US Navy vessel, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, in the ship’s laundry area last month, CNN previously reported.

The fire on March 12 was not combat-related, the US military said at the time. Two sailors received medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and were in stable condition.

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