Ukraine has claimed fresh success in its counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s forces, with the recapture of another village – a liberation that the army says is “key to success in all further directions”. The announcement by the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said that Russian forces had faced “significant losses” in the battle. Kyiv’s forces are seeking to reclaim land occupied by Moscow across multiple areas of southern and eastern Ukraine. The village of Andriivka is about 10 kilometres south of the Donetsk town of Bakhmut, which Russia captured in May after some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. Meanwhile, Britain’s most senior military officer said Ukraine had taken the initiative over Russia with its offensive, even if gains are gradual. Sir Tony Radakin said: “In the north they are holding and fixing Russian forces there and in the south they are making progress between 10 and 20km.” His comments came as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Ukraine’s destruction of a Russian air defence system in the annexed Crimea peninsula. Read More Kim Jong Un stops to see a fighter jet factory as Russia and North Korea are warned off arms deals She danced with Putin at her wedding. Now the former Austrian foreign minister has moved to Russia What is a Storm Shadow cruise missile?

While the stakes could hardly be higher for American democracy, voters are increasingly turned off by the apparently inevitable rematch between...

Pope Francis was recovering well in a Rome hospital on Thursday, the day after the 86-year-old had abdominal surgery that renewed health fears.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is seeking a dismissal of criminal charges against him, saying prosecutors have improperly turned civil and regulatory issues into federal crimes

A Brazilian court on Friday reached the majority it needs to bar far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro from politics for eight years over unfounded...

Several Republicans who opposed Rep. Jim Jordan's House speakership bid said they are experiencing angry calls, menacing messages and even death threats since casting their votes, increasing the already tense and chaotic atmosphere in the GOP as they struggle to elect a speaker.

Scientists have revealed why people should head to sleep at the same time every night. A study by Kings College London which involved 1,000 adults, aimed to find whether "social jetlag" (the shift between sleep patterns on work days and free days) can have an impact on health. In doing so, researchers discovered that sleeping at the same time and a healthy diet could decrease the risk of disease. They found that even a 90-minute difference in the mid-point of sleep could impact the types of bacteria in the gut. They analysed participants' sleep, blood and stool samples, and logged everything they consumed in a food diary. Those with "social jetlag" (16 per cent) appeared to have a diet filled with potatoes, crisps, chips and sugary drinks. Other studies have suggested that social jetlag is linked to weight gain, illness and mental fatigue. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Dr Wendy Hall, senior author from King’s College London, said: "We know that major disruptions in sleep, such as shift work, can have a profound impact on your health. "This is the first study to show that even small differences in sleep timings across the week seems to be linked to differences in gut bacterial species. "Some of these associations were linked to dietary differences but our data also indicates that other, as yet unknown, factors may be involved. "We need intervention trials to find out whether improving sleep time consistency can lead to beneficial changes in the gut microbiome and related health outcomes." Kate Bermingham, study author and senior nutrition scientist at ZOE, said: "Sleep is a key pillar of health, and this research is particularly timely given the growing interest in circadian rhythms and the gut microbiome. "[Social jetlag] can encourage microbiota species which have unfavourable associations with your health," she continued. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A video garnered significant attention showing woman walking in Beverly Hills, dressed to represent a victim of Hamas attack

President Guillermo Lasso is accused of embezzlement, but he says the allegations are politically motivated.

Russia has placed a Ukrainian singer who won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on its wanted list, state news agencies reported Monday. The reports said an Interior Ministry database listed singer Susana Jamaladinova as being sought for violating a criminal law. The independent news site Mediazona, which covers opposition and human rights issues, said Jamaladinova was charged under a law adopted last year that bans spreading so-called fake information about the Russian military and the ongoing fighting in Ukraine. Jamaladinova, who performs under the stage name Jamala, is of Crimean Tatar descent. She won the 2016 Eurovision contest with the song “1944,” a title that refers to the year the Soviet Union deported Crimean Tatars en masse. Her winning performance came almost exactly two years after Russia annexed Crimea as political turmoil gripped Ukraine. Most other countries regard the annexation as illegitimate. Russia protested “1944” being allowed in the competition, saying it violated rules against political speech in Eurovision. But the song made no specific criticism of Russia or the Soviet Union, although it drew such implications, opening with the lyrics “When strangers are coming, they come to your house, they kill you all and say ‘We’re not guilty.’” Read More Ukrainians who fled their country for Israel find themselves yet again living with war 10 years later, a war-weary Ukraine reflects on events that began its collision course with Russia With patriotic reggaeton and videos, Venezuela's government fans territorial dispute with Guyana

Former president Donald Trump took credit for the end of abortion rights enshrined under Roe v Wade, which was overturned by the US Supreme Court a year ago. Mr Trump spoke at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Conference on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health decision. The crowd gave Mr Trump a standing ovation when he referenced the ruling, a long-sought policy outcome of the religious right. “Exactly one year ago today, those justices were the pivotal votes in the Supreme Court’s landmark decision ending the constitutional atrocity known as Roe v Wade,” he said. The twice-indicted and twice-impeached former president said that what differentiated him from other presidential candidates who attended the conference was that he actually facilitated the end of the enshrined right to seek an abortion, which had been the law of the land for half a century. “Conservatives had been trying for 50 years, exactly 50 years,” he said. The former president gave the closing address at the conference which featured every other Republican presidential candidate, including Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former vice president Mike Pence, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and Sen Tim Scott (R-SC). But the former president received the largest applause of any of the candidates, even noting how attendees booed Mr Christie, who has staged a longshot candidacy for president largely to criticise Mr Trump. Many Republicans have feared that the end of Roe v Wade cost Republicans otherwise winnable elections during the 2022 midterms. Indeed a survey from NBC News found that 61 per cent of voters disapproved of the Dobbs decision. Mr Trump made his typical attacks on the so-called “radical left”. “We cannot be afraid to take on the Democratic extremists,” he said. “We have to be strong and powerful. That’s why when I’m re-elected I will continue to fight against the demented late-term abortionist and the Democrat Party who believe in unlimited abortion on demand and even executing babies after birth.” Mr Trump said he would support exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. The former president also said that he would seek a federal role on abortion. But the former president did not articulate what federal restrictions he would support. By contrast, Mr Pence, his former vice president, announced his support for a 15-week national abortion ban. “Some have even gone on to blame the overturning of Roe v Wade for election losses in 2022,” Mr Pence said in his address on Friday. “But let me say from my heart, the cause of life is the calling of our time and we must not rest and must not relent until we restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law in every state in this country.” Mr Trump has long boasted of how he got three conservative Supreme Court justices on the bench, which paved the way to the end of federal abortion rights. But Mr Trump has also criticised his Republican rivals for being too harsh when it comes to reproductive freedom. Mr Trump for his part cited numerous policy strides he made on abortion despite the fact that he spent many years as a Democrat who supported abortion rights. In addition, the former president said he would support measures to promote adoption. “I will ask Congress to expand the adoption tax credit,” he said. “We’ll do that because a lot of people have been adopting and that’s a great thing.” But Mr Trump received even louder applause when he spoke about restricting transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports. Numerous Republican legislatures and governors, including Mr DeSantis, have passed and signed legislation both restricting transgender girls’ participation in women’s sports and restricting gender-affirming care for minors. “I will sign into law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states,” he said. “And on day one, I will reinstate the Trump ban on transgenders in the military.” He also went further and said that the federal government would not support gender transition care. Despite recently being indicted, the former president received numerous applause when he brought up the slew of legal investigations and the recent charges against him. Mr Trump had pleaded not guilty to both criminal indictments against him. “Every time the radical left Democrats, Marxists communists and fascists indict me, I consider it a great badge of courage,” he said. The former president event attempted to argue that he was a martyr for the evangelical audience. “I’m getting indicted for you,” he told the crowd. Read More Chris Christie defiant as conservative crowd boos Trump criticism Trump news – live: Trump takes credit for Roe downfall as he rambles about Russia’s ‘big mess’ One year later, the Supreme Court's abortion decision is both scorned and praised Biden warns Republicans aren’t done with abortion bans as protesters hit streets on anniversary of Roe’s fall One year later, the Supreme Court's abortion decision is both scorned and praised The religious right used to be uneasy about Trump – but his dominance is now complete

Donald Trump, who has often lied, unquestionably told the truth when he said Thursday was a "dark day" for America.