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Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is in Russia, the Belarusian president has said – despite an agreement with the Kremlin he would move to Belarus in the wake of a short-lived rebellion against Moscow last month. The statements from President Alexander Lukashenko raise fresh questions about the deal the end what was an extraordinary challenge to the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "As for Prigozhin, he's in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus," Mr Lukashenko – who helped broker the deal to end the Wagner march on Moscow – said. He added that that "as far as I know" the rest of the Wagner fighters were still at their bases. That could mean eastern Ukraine, where Mr Prigozhin's forces have been involved ins some of the fiercest fighting that has followed Moscow's invasion of the country, or a Wagner training base in Russia's Krasnodar region. Mr Lukashenko said that an offer to Wagner to station some of its forces in Belarus still stands but that, at least for now, "the issue of their relocation has not been resolved". Having said last week that Mr Prigozhin was in Belarus, on Thursday he told reporters that the Wagner chief was in St Petersburg, where he has a home and offices, and that he could also travel to Moscow if he wishes. Part of the deal between Mr Prigozhin and the Kremlin was that all charges against him would be dropped. The Belarusian president suggested that Mr Prigozhin has been given back the cash and weapons that were confiscated by Russian authorities. Reports in local St Petersburg media on Wednesday had also suggested that Mr Prigozhin was in the city to collect the arsenal. A business jet linked to Mr Prigozhin left St Petersburg for Moscow on Wednesday and headed to southern Russia on Thursday, according to flight tracking data, but it was not clear if he had been on board. It was later tracked flying north again. Mr Lukashenko said that that he had spoken to Mr Prigozhin by phone on Wednesday and that he and his Wagner forces intended to continue to work for Russia. The details around Mr Prigozhin's deal with the Kremlin are still murky and the Wagner's movements may be linked to him being allowed to tie up his affairs. But it seems extraordinary that Mr Putin would allow Mr Prigozhin to move with impunity, given the cracks in the Russian president's authority Mr Prigozhin's munity appeared to expose. The latest developments may suggest that the threat posed by Mr Prigozhin has not yet been fully defused and that the Kremlin is treading carefully until it can figure out what to do with troops who may still be loyal to him. But the current situation does not exactly project the strongman image that Mr Putin has built his rule upon. The Kremlin sought to act nonchalantly when asked about Mr Prigozhin's movements on Thursday. "No, we do not follow his movements, we have neither the ability nor the desire to do so," Mr Putin's spokesman – Dmitri Peskov – said. But a better view of the probable thoughts of those inside the Kremlin was provided by state media and pro-Krelim sources. Online newspapers Fontanka and Izvestia posted videos and photos of Mr Prigozhin's opulent mansion that showed stacks of cash and gold bullion. The Rossiya 1 television channel also aided footage from what it said was a raid by Russian security services on the St Petersburg mansion, while hosts called for Mr Prigozhin to face "accountability" for what was a treacherous act. All this plays into the idea that while Mr Prigozhin has postured as an enemy of corrupt elites, he owes his wealth to Mr Putin. Russian media also published a collection of selfies that showed him posing in various wigs, fake beards and foreign uniforms, seemingly another attempt to embarrass. Mr Lukashenko said that he would discuss the situation in an upcoming meeting with Mr Putin. Mr Lukashenko said Mr Prigozhin had his liberty but that journalists were naive if they thought Russian security services were not keeping a very close eye on him. However, the Belarusian leader shrugged off suggestions that Mr Putin might order Mr Prigozhin killed, saying: "If you think that Putin is so vicious and vindictive to finish him off, no, it's not going to happen." The Belarusian leader said he doesn't think the mercenaries' presence in his country would lead to its destabilisation and said any Wagner troops there would be required to sign a contract with Belarusian authorities that would outline conditions and limitations of their actions. Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich told the Associated Press, however, that Mr Lukashenko could feel uneasy about Wagner's presence on his turf. "If this structure rebelled against its master once, it can do it again and again and march on Minsk instead of marching on Moscow," Mr Karbalevich said. Asked about the deployment of Russia's tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, Mr Lukashenko claimed they are intended to deter any aggression against the country. "Don't touch us, and we will never use these deadly weapons," he said. In Ukraine, Russia fired cruise missiles at the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, killing at least five people in an apartment building. Ukrainian officials said it was the heaviest attack on civilian areas of the city since Moscow's forces invaded the country last year. Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Bulgaria yesterday as part of a tour to drum up support from allies ahead of a Nato summit next week. Mr Zelensky then travelled to Prague to meet with Czech officials on Thursday night. In Washington, the administration of Joe Biden has decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine and is expected to announce on Friday that the Pentagon will send thousands as part of the latest military aid package for the war effort against Russia. The controversial weapons drop dozens of bomblets that human rights groups say endanger civilians as they release over a wide area, and they can continue to pose a deadly risk long after fighting has stopped. 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 Wagner chief Prigozhin is in Russia, president of Belarus says Son of jailed Belarusian presidential hopeful handed 8-year sentence Belarus opposition leader says anonymous note alleges that her husband died in prison

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A top engineer at Twitter has announced he is quitting his role with the company following the glitch-ridden launch of Florida governor Ron Desantis’s 2024 presidential campaign on the social media platform. “After almost four incredible years at Twitter, I decided to leave the nest yesterday,” Foad Dabiri, who was an engineering chief at Twitter, tweeted on Thursday. The Twitter engineer’s exit from the company comes a day after Mr DeSantis’s long-anticipated 2024 campaign bid for the White House on a Twitter livestream. Mr DeSantis’s campaign launch announcement on Twitter Spaces – the platform’s audio group-chat feature – was marred by a a host of glitches, including long silences and persistent echoes. The Twitter app reportedly crashed for several users who tuned in to listen to the announcement and at one point the Republican governor himself disappeared from the livestream. Mr Musk – who had boasted about several overhauls to the microblogging site since his takeover of the company to make Spaces better – shut the initial Spaces event and started a new one. The second event where Mr DeSantis read a short speech, reportedly gathered fewer listeners than the first, attracting about 161,000 people, according to Twitter’s public-facing data. The buggy event, according to many users on the social media platform, is a reflection of how Twitter under Mr Musk is far from operating smoothly. Since Mr Musk’s takeover of Twitter, he has laid off nearly three-fourths of the company’s workforce, following which the platform has faced several technical issues. Earlier this week, a bug caused tweets deleted by some users in the past to resurface on their timelines, and weeks earlier, many users complained that they were unable to post images and share external links. Mr Dabiri was the engineering lead at Twitter’s Growth Organisation. He tweeted on Thursday that during his stint with the company, he “experienced two distinct eras” before and after Mr Musk’s takeover. “And then came ‘2.0.’ What an extraordinary journey it has been. To say it was challenging at the outset would be an understatement,” Mr Dabiri said. The engineering chief however did not comment on why he was leaving Twitter, and whether it is linked to the problems with the DeSantis livestream. Both Twitter and Mr Dabiri did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment. “Working with Elon Musk has been highly educational, and it was enlightening to see how his principles and vision are shaping the future of this company,” he tweeted. Read More Ron DeSantis news – live: DeSantis floats pardoning Trump and Jan 6 rioters after ‘train wreck’ Twitter launch AOC jokes more people watched her gaming online than listened to glitch-ridden DeSantis launch DeSantis pushes past embarrassing campaign start, outlines travel schedule for early state visits AOC jokes more people watched her gaming online than listened to DeSantis launch What is Twitter Spaces and why did it go so wrong during DeSantis’s 2024 launch? What are Elon Musk’s political beliefs?

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Everyone has a theory about their dreams and the science or meaning behind them. And when the weather hots up, the more bizarre they tend to get. “Dreams are a fascinating and enigmatic phenomenon that occur during sleep, encompassing a vast realm of imaginative experiences,” says sleep expert and CEO of MattressNextDay, Martin Seeley. “They are a collection of thoughts, images, sensations, and emotions that unfold within the theatre of our minds.” Why do we dream? When we sleep, our brain enters a complex state where it engages in various cognitive processes, explains Seeley, including memory consolidation, problem-solving and emotional regulation. “Dreams are thought to emerge from these processes, weaving together fragments of memories, desires, fears, and subconscious thoughts into a narrative or non-linear sequence,” adds Seeley. “And they can be surreal, vivid, or mundane, blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy.” While the precise purpose and meaning of dreams remains a subject of exploration and debate, Seeley says they can serve as a portal into the inner workings of our minds: “Providing a canvas for exploration, processing of emotions, and glimpses into the subconscious depths of our psyche.” Why do we dream more when it’s hot? Lisa Artis, deputy CEO of The Sleep Charity, says: “When the weather is hot, it can disrupt our sleeping patterns, making it difficult to fall asleep in the first place – and causes us to wake more often during the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep phase.” REM sleep is where we experience intense dreaming, explains Artis – so waking during or at the end of this cycle can mean we are more likely to remember our dreams. “Dreams happen regularly, but are often forgotten and our mind’s way of unpacking the day’s events, dealing with stress and sorting through our day-to-day thoughts,” notes Artis. Our body heat generally peaks in the afternoon then starts to drop over an evening to prepare us for sleep, says Artis. Melatonin, the sleep hormone, is produced when this happens.“An ideal temperature is around 16-18°C and anything around the 24°C mark can cause restlessness,” says Artis. “So, it’s no surprise that when we’re experiencing a heatwave with temperatures reaching over 30°C, it affects our sleep.”Can a heatwave really make dreams more surreal? The connection between heatwaves and the content or nature of dreams is not fully understood. However, there may be a few possible explanations if your dreams seem weirder when the weather heats up – although Seeley points out these are all speculative. First off, he agrees it may have a lot to do with the fact we’re less comfortable and waking more when it’s hot. “These frequent awakenings can interrupt the normal sleep cycle and result in a higher probability of remembering dreams, including the more unusual or vivid ones,” he notes. “So, during a heatwave, the increased frequency of waking up during the night might contribute to a greater recall of strange or funky dreams.” Secondly, the body’s physiological response to heat may influence brain activity, he adds: “Heat can affect neurotransmitter levels, such as serotonin and dopamine, which play a role in regulating mood and emotions. These alterations in neurotransmitter activity might impact the content and emotional tone of dreams, potentially leading to more surreal or bizarre experiences.” Psychological factors could also play a role. Heatwaves can cause restlessness and increased stress levels in some individuals. Seeley adds: “Stress and emotional fluctuations can manifest in dreams as strange or unusual scenarios, as the mind processes and attempts to make sense of these experiences.” Can we stop strange heatwave dreams happening? While it’s probably not possible to completely control the content of our dreams, there are certain strategies you can try to promote better sleep – and potentially reduce the likelihood of experiencing a restless night and unusual dreams during hot weather. Create a cool sleep environment: “Use fans, air conditioning, or open windows to circulate cool air in your bedroom – and consider using lightweight, breathable bedding materials,” says Seeley. Stay hydrated: “Drink enough water throughout the day to prevent dehydration, especially during hot weather,” he continues. “Being adequately hydrated can help maintain a balanced sleep cycle.” Practice relaxation techniques: “Engage in activities that promote relaxation before bed, such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, or taking a warm bath,” suggests Seeley. “These practices can help calm your mind and promote a more restful sleep.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live All the times Kate has channelled the late Queen’s style since her death It’s not just dry skin: 5 things everyone needs to know about eczema YouTube begins verifying videos by UK doctors to tackle health misinformation

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will be the center of attention at an EU summit on Thursday following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week