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WASHINGTON The U.S. State Department on Monday said Russia's Wagner Group is trying to obscure its efforts to

Russia alleges that dozens of Ukrainian militants crossed into one of its border towns in its Belgorod region, striking targets and forcing an evacuation, before over 70 of the attackers were killed or pushed back by what the authorities termed a counterterrorism operation. Ukraine denied any involvement in the skirmishes Monday and Tuesday, instead blaming two Russian groups that claim to be volunteers fighting alongside Kyiv's forces in an uprising against the government of President Vladimir Putin. While neither version could be independently verified, whatever happened appears to have sent Moscow scrambling to respond to one of the most serious border incursions since Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said an elderly woman died in the chaotic evacuation, and 12 people were wounded in the attack and shelling. As fighting there apparently continued Tuesday morning, he urged residents not to return to their homes, and only in late afternoon declared the operation was over. A look at what's known about the attack and the murky groups who say they carried it out: WHO'S CLAIMING RESPONSIBILITY? Two groups — the Freedom of Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps – claimed responsibility for the attack and announced an ambitious goal of “liberating” the Belgorod region. Little is known about them beyond what they say about themselves, and it's not clear how they are. The website of the Freedom of Russia Legion says it was formed last spring “out of Russians’ desire to fight against Putin’s armed gang” and is “officially recognized” by Kyiv’s military. “We are fighting in full cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and under the leadership of the Ukrainian command,” the website says. The website said it fought last summer in “small battle groups,” and now was involved in the battle for the eastern city of Bakhmut. The Russian Volunteer Corps’ page in the messaging app Telegram used to say it was a formation within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It now describes itself as merely fighting on the Ukrainian side. In August 2022, an announcement posted there said: “We, Russian volunteers living in Ukraine, decided to take up arms and create a military formation, the Russian Volunteer Corps, in order to together with our Ukrainian comrades defend their homeland which gave us shelter, and then continue the fight against the criminal Putin regime and his henchmen.” Other posts claimed the group was fighting in southeastern Ukraine, or as volunteers serving elsewhere in the country, including in Kyiv's suburbs of Bucha and Irpin. In March, the Russian Volunteer Corps claimed responsibility for an incursion in Russia's Bryansk region, another border area. Media reports at the time identified some of its members as Russian nationalists. In a post Tuesday, the Russian Volunteer Corps described its political views as “right-wing conservative and traditionalist." WHAT DOES UKRAINE SAY? Ukrainian officials have never confirmed any ties with either group. The government in Kyiv denied involvement in this week's Belgorod incident, calling it an act by disgruntled Russians. When they did talk about it, officials were vague. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said “patriots of Russia” and “people who actually rebelled against Putin’s regime” were behind the attack. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak blamed “underground guerrilla groups” that are “composed of Russian citizens.” In remarks to the news outlet Suspilne, Ukraine intelligence official Andrii Yusov said it was the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion. Andrii Cherniak, another intelligence representative pointed to the fact that the two groups claimed responsibility. "This is the consequence of aggressive politics of Putin’s regime and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” he told The Associated Press. WHAT DOES RUSSIA SAY? Russia calls it an incursion by saboteurs deployed by Kyiv, with officials and state media using various epithets ranging from “militants” to “terrorists.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Belgorod attack was a diversion, meant “to draw attention away” from Russia's victory in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which Moscow claimed to have captured over the weekend after months of bloody fighting. Asked Tuesday about claims that the invaders were ethnic Russians, Peskov insisted that “these are Ukrainian militants from Ukraine.” “There are lots of ethnic Russians in Ukraine, but these are still Ukrainian militants,” Peskov said. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said more than 70 “Ukrainian terrorists” were killed in Russia’s operation. He also referred to the attackers as “nationalists.” Russian state TV reported the invaders were from Ukraine's armed forces. One report alleged the attackers used U.S. military equipment despite Washington’s assurances its weapons won't be used for attacks on Russia. WHAT'S THE TRUTH? It's hard to know. Analysts and commentators say both Russia and Ukraine would likely benefit from its own version of the events. The British Defense Ministry tweeted Tuesday that “Russia will almost certainly use these incidents to support the official narrative that it is the victim in the war.” Russian state media coverage appears to support this notion, with its allegations that U.S. weapons were used in the attack and the general tone of some reports that overlaid video from the region with tense, dramatic music. For Kyiv, it's beneficial “to take up the position of an observer and not admit its involvement,” said Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov. “The fact is that the war is happening on Russian territory, the Kremlin is being clearly indicated that Russians are not the only ones who can employ hybrid (warfare) methods,” Zhdanov told AP. The involvement of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion should serve as signs that “there are forces inside Russia who can resist Putin’s regime,” he said. At the same time, the Belgorod attack “showed Russia’s helplessness," Zhdanov said. “Russia turned out to be completely unprepared -– neither its security forces, nor border guards, nor special services were prepared for hostilities on their own turf. The myth that Russia keeps its border locked has been busted,” he added. Some Russian voices echoed that sentiment. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner private military contractor, used the incident as yet another chance to bash the Russian Defense Ministry for not adequately protecting the border. Alexander Kots, military correspondent with the pro-Kremlin newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda, also raised questions on his Telegram page. “What’s with our technical equipment of the border, surveillance systems, motion detection systems?" he asked. "What’s with mining of the potentially dangerous areas? What’s with anti-tank equipment? Why did an enemy armored group breach deep into our territory?” These are the questions “to which there are no answers,” Kots said. “To be more accurate, there are, but they’re very unpleasant.” ___ Karmanau reported from Tallinn and Arhirova reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Russian sailors offered limited option to qualify for Paris Olympics Who is behind Belgorod incursion on Russian region bordering Ukraine? Ready for a digital euro? At 25, European Central Bank preps for future of money

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is widely expected to announce his run for the Republican presidential nomination this week, putting him in direct competition with Donald Trump. As US president, Mr Trump campaigned for Mr DeSantis’s election in 2018 but the men have since become enemies, with the former regularly attacking his rival with childish nicknames on social media and at rallies. Mr DeSantis rose to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic through his opposition to social restrictions and has since marketed himself as a younger, less complicated party figurehead than Mr Trump, winning admirers on the right with his regressive policies on LGBT+ rights in Florida’s schools. The men will fight for the GOP nomination against the likes of Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy and Larry Elder, with Mr Trump’s ex-vice president Mike Pence also likely to enter the race. As Mr DeSantis prepares to take the national stage, interest will inevitably turn towards his personal life and that of his wife, Casey DeSantis, as prospective US first lady. Jill Casey Black was born on 26 June 1980 in Zanesville, Ohio, the daughter of Robert Black and Jeanne Caponigro. Her father is an optometrist and ex-US Air Force officer, and her mother is a speech pathologist and the daughter of a Sicilian immigrant. She graduated from the historic College of Charleston in South Carolina, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a minor in French and competed on the equestrian team. After graduating, she went on to become a television host, initially on the Golf Channel programmes On The Tee and PGA Tour Today. She first met Mr DeSantis on a golf course – he serving as an officer in the US Navy at the time – and the couple married in September 2009, their wedding taking place at Walt Disney World Resort, which the groom admits is now “kind of ironic” given his bitter disputes with the Walt Disney Corporation as governor. While her husband entered the political arena, Ms DeSantis continued her media career by becoming a local news anchor with WJXT in Jacksonville, Florida, working in various roles including as a morning presenter and crime reporter. From there, she hosted the roundtable discussion show The Chat on Jacksonville stations WTLV and WJXX. Other lifestyle programmes she has presented include First Coast Living and The American Dream and she is also known as the producer of The JT Townsend Story, an award-winning documentary about the high school football star. Ron and Casey DeSantis have three small children together: five-year-old Madison, four-year-old Mason and two-year-old Mamie, the latter said to be the first baby to be born in the Florida governor’s mansion in more than half a century. As the state’s first lady, Ms DeSantis has been involved in such projects as the Hope Florida initiative – promoting economic self-sufficiency – and Resiliency Florida, a scheme to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health in professional sport. In October 2021, it was announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, although she confirmed the following March that treatment had been successful and that she was now cancer-free. She has since dedicated herself to raising awareness of the disease. According to a recent profile of Ms DeSantis published by Politico – and since angrily denounced as a “hit piece” by The Nation – the couple are said to be so close as to be known collectively as “The DeSanti”, with the first lady taking it upon herself to “humanise the robot” (Mr DeSantis has a reputation for being something of an awkward communicator) and to influence her husband’s policy positions. “She is both his biggest asset and his biggest liability,” donor Dan Eberhart told the publication. “And I say biggest asset in that I think she does make him warmer, softer.” “But he needs to be surrounded with professional people, not just her. I’ve heard from staffers frustrated that they think the governor’s made a decision, he talks to her, comes back, the decision is the opposite or different.” He added: “The sad part is I think she’s very smart. I think she’s very talented. But she also needs to realise if they want to play on this stage, they need serious help.” Read More DeSantis asks that judge be disqualified from Disney's free speech lawsuit DeSantis super PAC tackles tricky task of organizing support for him in Iowa without the candidate DeSantis meets New Hampshire lawmakers, greets voters ahead of expected 2024 announcement

Negotiations are continuing to unfold in an attempt to reach a debt limit deal, but major differences between House Republicans and the White House have yet to be bridged, and the pressure is only intensifying as the risk of default grows ever more real with each day.

CNN's ratings appear to have taken a hit in the wake of its much-maligned town hall featuring former President Donald Trump. More than a week after the controversial television spectacle, the network weathered its lowest-rated week since June 2015, according to The Daily Beast. The network averaged approximately 429,000 total daily viewers between Monday and Friday of last week. The network's viewership was also down by double digits when compared to the same week last year. Those numbers remained consistent for its primary advertising demographic of 25-54 year-olds. CNN's cable news rivals had far better viewership during the same time period; MSNBC had more than double CNN's daily audience, with 976,000 total viewers, while Fox News went beyond that with 1.4m. In a statement to The Independnet, CNN defended its ratings, noting that it outpaced Fox News for the month of May up through the 20th. “CNN is reaching the most P2+ and P25-54 viewers in cable news (39.173 million P2+ and 10.529 million P25-54), outpacing Fox News (35.422 million P2+ and 7.950 million P25-54),” a CNN spokesperson told The Independnet. Despite those numbers, Fox News is weathering its own storms with the abrupt firing of Tucker Carlson. Its numbers are down 41 per cent in its key demographics year-to-year, and down 24 per cent in total viewership. Its weekday demographic audience immediately after Carlson's departure was the lowest it has been since the first week of September 2001. Both Fox and CNN are suffering in their primetime time slots. Several of their weeknight primetime offerings have been beaten in the ratings by Newsmax, a far-right media channel that has served as a landing spot for conservative viewers fleeing Fox News in the wake of Carlson's departure. Newsmax saw a similar boost immediately after the 2020 election after Fox News accurately called Arizona for Joe Biden before any other news outlet. Chris Wallace's Friday night interview show on CNN scored only 224,000 total viewers in its 10pm slot; 60,000 more people were watching Newsmax during the same time slot. CNN noted to The Independent that Wallace’s show is available on Max before it airs on CNN, calling it “inaccurate” to portray the CNN viewership as the show’s only audience numbers. The only network actively gaining viewers is MSNBC, which saw its audience numbers increase 44 per cent — likely a result of the CNN exodus. CNN's town hall with Mr Trump and moderated by Kaitlan Collins included the former president further maligning E Jean Carroll — whom he was found by a court to have sexually assaulted and defamed — calling 6 January 2021 a "beautiful day," and promising to pardon Capitol rioters who attempted to thwart the nation's democratic transfer of power after his 2020 election loss. He also continued to push the idea that the 2020 election was stolen. Blowback to the town hall was so severe that CNN star anchor Anderson Cooper made a statement on-air about the debacle, ultimately asking them to view the event as a warning about Mr Trump's political aspirations. Read More Trump defames E Jean Carroll yet again after she sues him over CNN town hall insults Trump Media files $3.78bn defamation lawsuit against Washington Post over Truth Social reporting Trump slams Fox News’ Laura Ingraham over ‘hit piece’ saying DeSantis would do better against Biden than him

Germany’s business outlook deteriorated for the first time since October as a struggling manufacturing sector threatens to undermine

By Eduardo Baptista BEIJING In the years before China declared U.S. firm Micron Technology's products a national security

Germany's intelligence services already have the right to monitor the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), the first time the authorities have taken such a step against a political party since the Nazi era. Now, they have taken aim at the AfD's youth faction, whose members are as young as 14. CNN has been taking a closer look at the group.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin told China’s premier that bilateral relations are stronger than ever, as Moscow looks