Some $6 billion of Iranian assets once frozen in South Korea is now in Qatar, a key element for a planned prisoner swap between Tehran and the United States

President Joe Biden will host Costa Rica's President Rodrigo Chaves Robles Tuesday at a critical time for a region grappling with a record number of migrants heading to the United States.

By Harry Robertson and Julie Zhu LONDON/HONG KONG Global stocks inched higher on Wednesday as investors found a

Colorado dentist and father-of-six James Toliver Craig leaned back in his chair and twiddled his thumbs through his handcuffs on Wednesday, his beard unkempt above his orange prison jumpsuit, as court took a brief recess from a preliminary hearing on the first-degree murder charge he faces for allegedly poisoning his wife. The casual display came shortly after the prosecution laid out a litany of evidence they say supports their case that Craig deliberately poisoned his spouse of more than two decades, Angela Dawn Pray Craig, with shakes while pursuing a relationship with a Texas orthodontist. Craig, 45, was arrested one day after Angela, 43, was pronounced dead on 18 March following her third hospitalisation in a month for a host of concerning and worsening symptoms. Prosecutors on Wednesday revealed Craig was also now facing a second charge without specifying what it was. But testimony from the Arapahoe County Coroner and lead detective – as reporters and several of Angela’s relatives sat in the courtroom – included a number of explosive claims. According to evidence given by Arapahoe County Coroner Dr Kelly Lear, samples showed that Angela had an arsenic level of 68 around 11.50am on 15 March – but that level had increased to 330 just after 8.20pm. That would be “consistent with her receiving additional cyanide exposure in that time period,” Dr Lear said. The cause of death she listed in her report was acute “cyanide and tetrahydrozoline poisoning; the manner of death is homicide,” she testified Wednesday. Tetrahydrozoline is the decongestant used in Visine eye drops. The dentist had researched other types of poison before his wife’s death, including an internet search for oleander, Aurora Police Detective Bobbi Olson testified on Wednesday. A search warrant obtained for an exam room computer at his dental practice found that, in the weeks leading up to Angela’s final hospitalization, Craig had searched for “how to make murder look like a heart attack,” “is arsenic detectable in an autopsy” and “how many grams of pure arsenic will kill a human?” Det. Olson also testified about how hospital staff, then police, were informed by Craig’s business partner and his wife about their concerns regarding the dentist’s behavior. Ryan Redfearn and his wife, Michelle, who has a PhD in nursing, had been informed by staff at the joint dental practice he owned with Craig that his business partner had ordered a delivery of potassium cyanide to the office. He had instructed an office employee to look out for a private package but it was mistakenly opened by another worker after it arrived on 13 March, Det. Olson said. A staff member “reconstructed the box, put the packaging slip back in; prior to doing that, she saw that it said ‘potassium cyanide,’ described the container, said it was like a tinfoil cardboard type container” she’d never seen before in the dental practice, Det. Olson said. “There was also a biohazard type sticker on the box, as well; she put it back together and then handed it to Mr Craig.” The dentist was later seen leaving with the container, the detective said. The employee googled potassium cyanide and its symptoms, connected them to Angela’s illness and told the Redfearns, who then told nursing staff, who called police. Det. Olson said both Redfearns were interviewed in the early morning hours of 16 March. At that time, Michelle Redfearn pointed out to police the previous recent hospital visits Angela had made, the detective said. Mr Redfearn, meanwhile, told police that Craig had filed for bankruptcy in 2021 and the debt payments were being covered by his own part of the business to the tune of $18,000 a month. He said he’d informed his partner in January that he “needed to work more, be around more, take less time off and that he was going to have to take a pay cut,” the detective testified. Craig’s pay was $39,000 in January and less than $16,000 the following month, she said. The dentist had taken out four life insurance policies on his wife from two companies totaling nearly $4.5million, the court heard. Throughout all of this, prosecutors allege Craig was enjoying his burgeoning relationship with Texas orthodontist Karin Cain, who is named in the charging documents. Det. Olson on Wednesday confirmed that the dentist continued to write letters to Ms Cain from jail after his arrest professing his love for her. Just hours before Wednesday’s hearing, Ms Cain broke her silence to claim that Mr Craig lied to her about the state of his marriage and that she would never have gotten involved with him if she had known the truth. Rather than being his “mistress”, the Texas orthodontist said they had only met three weeks prior to his wife’s death at a dentistry conference. “I don’t like the label,” she said. “If I had known what was true, I would not have been with this person.” Ms Cain shared doubts that she played a part in Mr Craig’s alleged murderous motive, as she said they had never planned a future together. “There’s no way I’m a motive. There’s been no planning a future together,” she said. Ms Cain said that she met Mr Craig at the dental conference in February and that he lied to her by claiming his marriage was over and that he did not live in the same home as his wife. At the time, Ms Cain was also in the middle of divorcing her husband of three decades. While she was “not looking for love,” she said that they bonded over their apparent shared experiences and shared devotion to their children. In total, they spent just three days together at the conference, meeting on a Thursday before parting ways – her to Texas, him to Colorado – on Saturday. After that they messaged constantly and she felt “so connected” to her new companion, she said. She planned to visit him in Colorado but the first trip fell through. The second planned trip came in March when she said Mr Craig told her his wife was ill. The day before she was due to arrive in Denver, she said that Angela had a seizure and was placed on life support, with a low chance of survival. While she said she reconsidered going to Colorado at that time, Mr Craig allegedly encouraged her by saying that he could do with her support. They went for dinner twice, she said, where she noted his behaviour seemed odd. “He at no point seemed stressed or anxious,” she said. “I mean really I had to drag it out of him like, ‘Are you sure you’re ok?’” Days later, Angela was dead. Now, Ms Cain says she feels lied to by the person she felt she was falling in love with. “I don’t have any sort of headspace in my reality where it fits” what she has now learned in the criminal affidavit, she said. “I didn’t willingly have a relationship with somebody who was in a marriage.” Read More Poison shakes, an illicit affair and ‘crocodile tears’: What we know about Denver’s alleged killer dentist Prosecutors set to present evidence against Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife's shakes Colorado dentist is charged with murder for allegedly poisoning wife who complained of headaches for weeks

Russian president Vladimir Putin is visiting Kyrgyzstan for his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him over war crimes in Ukraine. Mr Putin arrived in the central Asian nation on Thursday for a two-day state visit for bilateral meetings and a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of Russia’s Kant military airbase outside Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. The Kremlin chief has rarely taken trips abroad since he launched what he called a “special military operation” in Ukraine in early 2022 and is not known to have stepped out of Russia since the ICC warrant was issued. The ICC issued a warrant in March on charges of overseeing the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. Russia, which does not recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction, has rejected the warrant as “illegal” and politically motivated. But its issuing has complicated Mr Putin’s plans for international travel, seeing him miss a key summit of the Brics group of developing nations in South Africa – which is an ICC member. Mr Putin is due to travel to China next week for the third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. Neither Kyrgyzstan nor China are members of the ICC, which was established to prosecute war crimes. During his visit to Bishkek, Mr Putin promised to continue to deliver modern weapons to its military base in Kyrgyzstan. “For my part, I would like to offer assurances that the Russian leadership will continue to pay close attention to the issues of providing the air base with advanced types of weapons, modern technology and equipment,” said Mr Putin. "This military outpost significantly contributes to boosting Kyrgyzstan’s defensive power and ensuring security and stability in the whole region of Central Asia," he added. The leader highlighted double-digit growth in Russia and Kyrgyz trade, which analysts suggest is due to violation of Western sanctions by Russian businesses. He reiterated Russia’s importance as a strong trade partner for Kyrgyzstan. “Our country is the main supplier of oil products to Kyrgyzstan, we fully supply Kyrgyz consumers with gasoline (petrol) and diesel,” Mr Putin told a briefing. “Russia is one of the leading trade partners of Kyrgyzstan. Our trade turnover grew 37 per cent last year to a record of nearly $3.5bn. In the first half of this year it grew a further 17.9 per cent,” he added. The Russian president is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings including with Kyrgyz president Sadyr Japarov and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, and conclude with his attendance at a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a grouping of former Soviet nations. Moscow’s relationships with other nations in a region it has historically considered its sphere of influence have faced challenges due to Western sanctions imposed on Russia in response to the situation in Ukraine. Last week, the central bank of Kyrgyzstan called upon domestic banks to enhance their monitoring and enforcement measures to ensure better adherence to Western sanctions targeting Moscow. It comes after the US imposed sanctions on four Kyrgyz companies in July for re-exporting electronics components and other technology to Russia. Additional reporting by agencies Read More IOC bans Russian Olympic Committee for including annexed Ukraine territories Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s ‘exhausted’ troops ‘suffer significant losses in key town Avdiivka’ French police probe ‘poisoning’ of TV journalist who denounced Putin’s war live on air The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

By Brad Brooks (Reuters) -An already rain-soaked New England braced for more downpours, with four people dead from flooding, and

Madison Beer turned heads at the Billboard Music Awards by donning a $1,580 Nensi Dojaka minidress with sheer panels and sleek stiletto heels

Bryan played Brad Taylor on the ABC series from 1991-1999 with Tim Allen playing his father

As Spain sizzles in its first official heat wave of the year, the National Statistics Institute says that deaths from heat stroke and dehydration in the hottest months of 2022 _ the hottest year on record _ were up 88% over the previous year

By John Kruzel WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Ohio State University's bid to dismiss lawsuits brought

Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has been under pressure to quit after overseeing a tumultuous period for the firm.

Manny Ramírez was back where he became one of baseball's most feared hitters