RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin (Shutterstock).

Vladimir Putin declared victory in the Russian presidential election, winning his fifth six-year term as the leader of this nation.

Russia’s Central Election Commission has Putin with about 87 percent of the vote with 90 percent of the precincts reporting.

Critics of the election note that public criticism of his leadership has been subjected to police pressure and that Putin’s leading critic Alexei Navalny, died in a remote Arctic prison.

Some silent protests were held by crowding around polling stations at midday.

Voting was also held in parts of Ukraine under Russian military occupation. 

Netanyahu rejects American criticism

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected suggestions from American leaders that new elections should be held in his country.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) on Thursday called for new elections, suggesting that Israel risked becoming a “pariah” as civilian casualties mounted in Gaza.

President Joe Biden agreed, but on Sunday Netanyahu fired back that the calling of elections was not something appropriate for America to decide.

“That’s something that Israel, the Israeli public does on its own,” he said. “We’re not a banana republic.”

Sports: Anaheim Ducks drop sixth straight

The Anaheim Ducks suffered their sixth consecutive defeat on Sunday, losing 4-2 to the St. Louis Blues on the road. After taking an early 1-0 lead, the Ducks were outscored 4-1 the rest of the way. Troy Terry scored both Anaheim goals, bringing his season total to 19 scores.

With the loss, the Ducks are 23-42-3, worth 49 points. That’s seventh place in the NHL Pacific Division (of eight teams) and 14th place in the Western Conference (of 16 teams).

The Ducks are next in action on Tuesday, hosting the Minnesota Wild (33-27-8, 74 points) at Honda Center.

Weather: Pre-summer temps for area

Our West Orange County area will be enjoying almost-summer weather for the next few days. Monday’s daytime high should be 74 with an overnight low of 52 under mostly sunny skies.

Tuesday and Wednesday will be almost identical with highs of 71/72 (53/54) with partly cloudy skies. Thursday is forecast to have morning clouds and afternoon sun with a high of 72 (53).