South Carolina high court will not reconsider abortion ban decision
By Nate Raymond South Carolina's top court on Tuesday declined to reconsider a recent ruling upholding the state's
2023-08-30 05:26
Hong Kong: Closure of Cantonese language group worries residents
Cantonese is a Chinese dialect spoken by a majority in Hong Kong - some fear China wants to change that.
2023-08-30 05:18
Professional Women’s Hockey League unveils its Original 6: 3 teams based in the US and 3 in Canada
The new Professional Women’s Hockey League has unveiled its Original Six franchises
2023-08-30 05:15
Putin social media influencers profiting from war propaganda
Russia's military bloggers profit from the growing advertising market on Telegram, the BBC has found.
2023-08-30 04:50
6 Famous Scientists and Inventors Who Struggled With Math
Some of the world's greatest scientists have struggled with math—just like the rest of us.
2023-08-30 04:22
U.S. banks to raise $70 billion in debt under draft rules aimed at mitigating failures
By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Large regional banks would have to issue roughly $70 billion in fresh debt under a
2023-08-30 04:19
Oil rises 1% on softer dollar, US braces for hurricane hit
By Shariq Khan BENGALURU (Reuters) -Oil prices rallied more than a dollar a barrel on Tuesday as the greenback slid,
2023-08-30 03:48
Secretive funeral for Wagner chief as Putin stays away
A behind-closed-doors “farewell ceremony” has been held for the Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin – a funeral avoided by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Secrecy had surrounded the funeral arrangements for Prigozhin, killed in a plane crash on 23 August, two months to the day after staging a 24-hour mutiny that was the biggest challenge to Mr Putin’s authority since he rose to power in 1999. The low-key ceremony stands in stark contrast to Prigozhin’s aggressive self-promotion, with videos from Ukraine having become a regular fixture of his months-long feud with Moscow’s military command over the invasion Mr Putin started. That ended with his forces marching on Moscow, only stopping 125 miles from the capital when a deal was struck with the Kremlin. “The farewell to Yevgeny Viktorovich took place in a closed format. Those who wish to say goodbye may visit Porokhovskoye cemetery,” his press service said in a short post on Telegram, accompanied by a photo of Prigozhin. But the seemingly private ceremony suits the Kremlin and Mr Putin, with Prigozhin having gone from years-long ally of the Russian president to being branded a “traitor” over his armed uprising. It meant that the event could not be turned into a large-scale show of support for the Wagner chief, who as well as collecting enemies had gained admiration among some of Moscow’s elite for throwing his troops into some of the bloodiest battles of Mr Putin’s war. That included around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, control of which has gained symbolic significance for both Kyiv and Moscow. Wagner forces were at the vanguard of that fight and helped Russian forces take it – although fierce battles continue around the suburbs of the ruined city. Hence why Mr Putin and the Kremlin have to walk a fine line in not denigrating Prigozhin, despite few observers believing the Russian president would let the embarrassment of the Wagner mutiny stand without retribution. Comments from Mr Putin have reflected that stance. He noted last week that Wagner leaders “made a significant contribution” to the fighting in Ukraine and described Prigozhin as a “talented businessman” and “a man of difficult fate” who had “made serious mistakes in life”. Pictures published on social media showed Prigozhin’s dark granite tombstone surrounded by a sea of flowers, mostly red roses, in the cemetery on the northeast edge of his hometown. Other makeshift memorials have appeared in recent days in both Moscow and St Petersburg. Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin political analyst, noted that Prigozhin has become a legendary figure for his supporters who are increasingly critical of the authorities. “Prigozhin’s funeral raises an issue of communication between the bureaucratic Russian government system that doesn’t have much political potential and the politically active patriotic segment of the Russian public,” Mr Markov said. Russia‘s top criminal investigation agency, the Investigative Committee, officially confirmed Prigozhin’s death on Sunday, but it has not given a cause for the crash. A number of leaders in the West, and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, have suggested that nothing of this magnitude could occur in Russia without Mr Putin’s knowledge. The Kremlin has claimed that such accusations are an “absolute lie”. The Kremlin had confirmed earlier on Tuesday that Mr Putin would not attend Prigozhin’s funeral. Also on Tuesday, prominent Russian nationalist Igor Girkin failed in an appeal against his pre-trial detention on charges of inciting extremism, a Moscow court said. Mr Girkin, also known as Strelkov, has fiercely criticised the way that Russia has conducted the war in Ukraine and his arrest was seen as an extension of a crackdown on dissent by Putin. The Embraer Legacy 600 private jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow with the loss of all 10 people on board, including top Wagner bosses Dmitry Utkin and Valery Chekalov, and a crew of three. Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Chekalov, the head of Wagner logistics, was buried at another St Petersburg cemetery. His family was joined by dozens of people, including Wagner mercenaries and employees from Prigozhin’s business empire. On the battlefield in Ukraine, a military spokesperson said Kyiv’s forces were advancing against Russian forces in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia after recapturing Robotyne, the latest of a cluster of villages it says it has taken back in recent weeks. Kyiv also said its troops had had some “success” in the direction of the village of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region, but gave no details. Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said fighting was heavy in the country but that Ukrainian forces were making progress around Bakhmut, while Russian shelling killed a 45-year-old man and wounded at least one other person in the northeastern Ukrainian town of Kupiansk. Russia also said it had downed two drones over the Black Sea it said were launched by Ukraine. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary White House says Kremlin has ‘long history’ of killing opponents The key to Ukraine punching through Russia’s defences | Askold Krushelnycky Russian hard-line nationalist ordered to stay in prison after accusing Putin of weakness
2023-08-30 03:22
Breaking impasse, Tennessee lawmakers adjourn tumultuous session spurred by school shooting
Tennessee lawmakers have ended a special session initially touted to improve public safety in the wake of a deadly school shooting
2023-08-30 02:52
Medvedev rolls into US Open second round, with Alcaraz and Venus Williams in later action
Daniil Medvedev sent an early message that this U.S. Open might be more than a two-man race between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic
2023-08-30 02:48
Prigozhin buried in private funeral - Wagner chief's press service
The mercenary group boss, who led June's aborted armed rebellion, was killed in a plane crash last week.
2023-08-30 02:47
Trump trials present unique challenge for Biden campaign
By Jarrett Renshaw A barrage of state and federal criminal charges leveled against your main political rival should
2023-08-30 02:45