WASHINGTON House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Wednesday that a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling limit

Jimmy Kimmel highlighted the book's negative online reviews, attributing them to the irony of telling supporters that reading makes them gay

Some of the worst air quality levels on record on the East Coast are impacting consumer shopping patterns and driving air purifier stocks higher. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is creating hazardous air quality.

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

President Joe Biden on Monday scoffed at the idea of granting his predecessor, former president Donald Trump, a pardon absolving him of any crimes he may have committed during or after his presidency. Mr Biden was asked if he’d consider a reprieve for Mr Trump as he departed the White House en route to his Delaware home on Monday, the day before the eighth anniversary of his late son Beau Biden’s death. Asked whether he’d heard that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said he’d pardon the disgraced ex-president — and if he’d consider doing so himself, the president flashed a smile and chuckled as he turned towards the South Lawn and his flight aboard Marine One. During his 2020 campaign for the presidency against Mr Trump, Mr Biden was asked if he’d commit to not following the example of the late Gerald Ford, who famously awarded his disgraced predecessor, Richard Nixon, “a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States” committed between the start of his aborted second term and his August 1974 resignation, if the same issue might arise with Mr Trump. The question about pardoning his then-opponent came during a Covid-era virtual town hall hosted by MSNBC in May 2015. The then-former Vice President replied: “Absolutely, yes. I commit”. He added that the question of whether to prosecute Mr Trump was “hands-off completely” because, in his view, the attorney general of the United States is “the people’s lawyer” and not “the president’s lawyer”. Mr Trump has already been indicted by a New York grand jury on more than 30 counts of falsifying business records, but US presidents cannot grant any pardons or reprieves for crimes prosecuted by state or local prosecutors. The twice-impeached former president could face federal charges as a result of two investigations being supervised by a Department of Justice Special Counsel, Jack Smith. Mr Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor, was appointed in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland shortly after Mr Trump declared his candidacy in next year’s presidential election, He is currently overseeing an investigation into Mr Trump’s alleged unlawful retention of national defence information at his Palm Beach, Florida home, and his alleged obstruction of that investigation, and has reportedly wrapped up questioning of witnesses before a Washington DC grand jury. Mr Smith is also looking into the ex-president’s role in fomenting the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, which came as Mr Trump pushed to remain in office despite losing the 2020 election to Mr Biden. Read More Ron DeSantis says he will consider pardon for Trump if elected Biden says he congratulated Turkey’s Erdogan in phone call Biden invokes late son Beau’s memory as he pays tribute to fallen US soldiers UK condemns ‘appalling’ Ugandan anti-gay legislation Beau Biden: The story of Joe Biden’s late son Biden marks Memorial Day nearly 2 years after ending America's longest war, lauds troops' sacrifice

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The suspects are accused of inciting the murder and pointing out the teacher to the killer.

OSAKA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 31, 2023--

Iran’s state media say the country's navy has added a destroyer to its Caspian Sea fleet capable of launching cruise missiles

Most Asian shares fell Monday after a mixed US jobs report and a reversal of gains on Wall

Mangled debris recovered from the small submersible that was destroyed when it imploded during a recent dive to the Titanic wreck was offloaded Wednesday in eastern Canada, bringing to...

By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the island nation of Tonga on