Paige Spiranacconfidently strolled out to the mound and delivered a well-executed rainbow pitch that was caught with ease by the player on the receiving end

After nearly 50 days in Hamas captivity, 17 Thais are due to arrive in Bangkok.

Provides an overview of Niger, including key dates and facts about this west African country.

This week’s new entertainment releases include fresh tracks from Quavo, the arrival on Disney+ of James Gunn’s cornball finale “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol

Four months after a fire at an immigration detention center on the United States border, eight badly burned survivors are stuck in their rooms at a Mexico City hotel

Kyiv's troops are pushing through heavy intense artillery fire from Russian forces to advance in the east of Ukraine, the commander of the country's armed forces has said. Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said that despite meeting stuff resistance, Ukraine's ground forces are making "gradual advances in the direction of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region. The city, which is now occupied by Russian forces, has gained symbolic significance for both Kyiv and Moscow having been the scene for some of the most intense fighting of the war. "The enemy fiercely clings to every centimetre, conducting intense artillery and mortar fire," Col Gen Syrskyi said in a statement. It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video late on Thursday night in which Ukrainian soldiers said they had taken the village of Staromaiorske, which sits in the western park of Donetsk region the opposite side to Bakhmut. Russian military bloggers said artillery fire at the Ukrainian troops had effectively razed the village and reported more barrages Friday. Capturing the village, which is south of a cluster of settlements that Ukraine capture at the beginning of its counteroffensive last month, would give Ukraine a platform to push deeper into Russian-held territory. Fighting has intensified at multiple places along the more than 600-mile frontline, where Ukraine deployed its recently acquired Western weapons to push back Russia's troops. That includes the southern Zaporizhzhia region. However, Kyiv's troops are attacking without the air support it says is vital – and face an enemy that has had months to fortify their positions as Ukraine prepared its counter punch. Russia is trying to hold on to the territory it controls in the four provinces it illegally annexed in September: Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kherson and Luhansk. Col Gen Syrskyi said fighting that targets the enemy's artillery as well as its command and control structure is a priority as his troops probe Russian lines for weaknesses. "In these conditions, it is crucial to make timely management decisions in response to the situation at hand and take measures for maneuvering forces and resources, shifting units and troops to areas where success is evident, or withdrawing them from the enemy's fire," he said. Elsewhere, Mr Zelensky marked Ukraine's Statehood Day – which coincides with commemorations of the adoption of Christianity on lands that later became Ukraine, Russia and Belarus – by reaffirming the country's sovereignty. His words were a rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who used his claim that Ukraine didn't exist as a nation to justify his invasion. "Now, like more than a thousand years ago, our civilizational choice is unity with the world," Mr Zelensky said in a speech on a square outside St. Michael's Monastery in Kyiv. "To be a power in world history. To have the right to its national history, of its people, its land, its state. And of our children, all future generations of the Ukrainian people. We will definitely win!" Moscow also accused Kyiv of firing two missiles at southern Russia, with the Defence Ministry said it shot down a missile in the city of Taganrog, about 20 miles east of the border with Ukraine, and local officials reported 20 people were injured. The Russian Defence Ministry later said it downed a second missile near the city of Azov. Ukraine's secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, blamed Russian air defense systems for the explosion in Taganog. Separately, an explosion was reported to have hit an oil refinery in the southwestern Russian city of Samara. In St Petersburg, African leaders pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to move ahead with their peace plan aimed at ending Russia's invasion and to renew a deal on the export of Ukrainian grain that Moscow tore up last week. While not directly critical of Russia, the words on the second day of a summit with Mr Putin were more forceful than those previously voiced. "This war must end. And it can only end on the basis of justice and reason," African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat said. At the summit, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi urged Russia to revive the Black Sea grain deal. Since withdrawing from the deal, Russia has bombed Ukrainian ports and grain depots. Mr Sisi, whose country is a big buyer of grain via the Black Sea route, told the summit it was "essential to reach agreement" on reviving the deal. A senior Ukrainian official accused Russia on Friday of threatening civilian vessels in the Black Sea, urging the international community to condemn Moscow's actions. Associated Press and Reuters 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 Baby died after ‘extremely vulnerable’ mother gave birth alone in prison G20 ministers reach agreement on most, but not all, climate issues Why is Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin back in Russia?

The National Archives has concluded its review of the classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, with 99% of the records having been made publicly available, the White House said Friday.

Spain’s right-wing parties were poised to win two key regions in municipal elections on Sunday, potentially complicating Socialist

About 200 law enforcement personnel are searching for escaped convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante in eastern Pennsylvania, hoping to "stress him" out of hiding as the manhunt Wednesday stretches into its seventh day, a US Marshals Service official said.

Factors largely outside of farmers’ control – from the increasingly unpredictable weather to growing costs of everything from fuel to loans – make the threat of losing the beloved family farm a constant worry

The suspected gunman in Wednesday night’s shooting at a biker’s bar in California has been identified as retired police officer John Snowling. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said Snowling, a former officer from the City of Ventura, died during a confrontation with law enforcement. Undersheriff Jeff Hallock said he couldn’t confirm whether Snowling was killed by deputies but said it was “safe to assume” so, local news station KTLA reports. The violence broke out around 7pm at the Cook’s Corner bar. Four people, including the suspected gunman and his wife, were killed. Six others were wounded. This is a developing story ... check again for updates.

The death toll in an investigation linked to a Kenyan cult that practised starvation to "meet Jesus Christ" has exceeded 400 after 12 more bodies were found...