News brief: Big stories of the day
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Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his re-election, the United States has said that the just-concluded elections in India, the largest democratic exercise in human history, is an inspiration for people around the world.
Putting an end to Amethi's decades-long-relationship with Congress, Smriti Irani has emerged as the star of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by giving Rahul Gandhi a run for his money in a constituency which was considered a bastion of the Gandhi family for decades.
The BJP repeated it superlative performance in five key Hindi-speaking states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, as the party along with its allies not only bagged or was leading in 165 out of 185 Lok Sabha seats, but also enjoyed a massive vote swing in its favour.
The US Justice Department unveiled 17 new criminal charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Thursday, saying he unlawfully published the names of classified sources and conspired with and assisted ex-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in obtaining access to classified information.
Taiwan's first official same-sex weddings kicked off Friday in a landmark moment for LGBT rights in Asia as gay couples took the historic step of registering as married, the culmination of a three-decade fight for equality.