Rahul Gandhi doubles down on election fraud claims | Hook News Wrap

India's Election Commission is once again in the spotlight after Congress leader raked up alleged polling irregularities. This time his focus was on the 2023 Assembly elections in Karnataka. He said the polling body deleted voters en masse from Congress strongholds at the time. He further alleged that the voter IDs were deleted using fake logins and phone numbers from outside the state. Gandhi said that a centralised software was used to do this.

He has now demanded the Election Commission to turn over all "incriminating evidence to Karnataka CID within 1 week." But the Election Commission, like last time, has stayed defiant. The claims have been called 'baseless and incorrect.'

Trump fulfills Antifa promise

US President Donald Trump said he would designate "Antifa" -- a shorthand term for "anti-fascist" used to describe diffuse far-left groups -- as "a major terrorist organization."

Antifa has no head or national organization and seemed to be made up of "independent, radical, like-minded groups and individuals," a Congressional Research Service analysis found in 2020. Antifa -- whose name has roots in socialist groups in 1930s Germany that opposed Hitler -- has a track record of confronting right-wing groups and engaging in civil disobedience.

US Fed's first rate cut of 2025

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time this year.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed that the central bank remains "strongly committed" to maintaining its independence from politics, however, when asked about the addition of a key advisor to Trump among its ranks this week. He added that the Fed was "right to wait and see how tariffs and inflation and the labor market evolved" before lowering rates for the first time in nine months.

Fed projections, however, reveal a "stark divide" on the need for additional cuts this year, said economist Michael Pearce of Oxford Economics. Among 19 Fed officials assessing the path of monetary policy, seven projected no further reductions -- even as a narrow majority overall penciled in two more cuts.

Another India-Pakistan clash

Pakistan set up another politically charged showdown with arch-rivals India at the Asia Cup after defeating the United Arab Emirates by 41 runs in Dubai on Wednesday. The win means Pakistan join India in the Super Four from Group A. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka meet Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi to decide who goes through to the next round from Group B. Bangladesh are also in the running with two wins in three matches.