Nearly a dozen soldiers took to state television and said they were overturning the presidential election and called for calm among the population

It is a terminally violent twist – perhaps to have been expected, but staggering nevertheless – to one of the most astonishing episodes in recent history. Yevgeny Prigozhin, who attempted a coup against Vladimir Putin, is reported to have been killed in a plane crash in Russia. If the chief of the mercenary group, Wagner, was indeed among the ten passengers said to have died when the private jet went down in the Tver oblast near Moscow, then the immediate suspicion would be that this was assassination by the Kremlin. In the course of 24 hours of armed mutiny, two months to the day ago, Putin had accused Prigozhin of treachery and then pardoned him. The two men even had tea together soon afterwards. Now, it seems, retribution may have come in the form of a dish served cold. According to Rosavista, the Russian aviation authority, Prigozhin was one of the names on passenger manifest of the Embraer jet RA-02795. According to some reports, Dmitry Utkin, one of the founder members of the group whose call sign, Wagner, became its name, is also among the dead. Officials in Moscow say that all the passengers, as well as the crew of three, have perished. A number of Wagner-linked social media channels claimed the jet had been shot down by the national air defence system. Others claimed there was a bomb on board. The destruction of the plane took place 24 hours after the news came that General Sergei Surovoki, who had previously been in charge of the Ukraine mission, had been fired from his post as the head of country’s aerospace forces. Surovokin, who earned the sobriquet "General Armageddon" for his brutal methods in the Syria conflict, was known to have good relations with Prigozhin and shared his antipathy towards some senior figures in the security hierarchy, including defence minister Sergei Shoigu, over the conduct of the Ukraine war. There were claims following the Wagner mutiny that Surovikin had been detained for questioning about his possible complicity. The Kremlin denied this, maintaining the general was merely “ resting”. A video had been posted of Prigozhin earlier in the week purporting to be of him in Africa declaring that Wagner was hard at work there and that made “Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa more free.” Africa, where Wagner has long acted as the Kremlin’s private army and established extensive lucrative networks, seemed to have been one place where the group and the Russian government could work together. Prigozhin had also appeared on the sidelines of a summit hosted for African leaders by Putin in St Petersburg. It was the first sighting of the Wagner boss since the mutiny. It had been assumed that Prigozhin would be exiled to Belarus in the deal brokered by the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, to end Wagner’s march on Moscow, and his presence at the meeting was seen by some Kremlin watchers to indicate that he was too powerful to be sidelined. If Prigozhin has been killed, then it would appear that was an image his enemies were prepared to publicise while plotting to remove him from the scene permanently. Wagner had been heavily engaged in Ukraine, capturing the city of Bakhmut, more a symbolic than a strategic prize, after bloody siege and assaults lasting months, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior advisor Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted regarding Prigozhin’s possible demise “…we have to wait for the fog of war to clear. However, it is clear that Putin does not forgive anyone for his own beastly fear - the very one that nullified him in June 2023 – and was waiting for the moment.” Ukrainian forces are taking part in a prolonged counteroffensive to reclaim territory, including Bakhmut, in the Donbas. An infantry captain – talking about Prigozhin’s fate and a spate of recent Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia – during a break in the town of Druzhkivka, mused: “Perhaps Russian air defence mistook his private plane for a large enemy drone. That would be a wonderful end for such a man, wouldn’t it?” Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Wigs, gold bars and pictures of severed heads: Inside Wagner boss’s lavish mansion UK Government closely monitoring reports of Wagner chief’s death in plane crash Joe Biden reacts to Wagner boss Prigozhin’s reported death in plane crash

By Shivangi Acharya NEW DELHI U.S. trade chief Katherine Tai has raised concerns with India over the Asian

At least 16 people were killed and dozens were missing after a landslide at a resort town in northwestern...

A truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be extended by two days, the Palestinian group and mediator Qatar said Monday, opening the way for...

After four failed attempts, the U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote Wednesday on a resolution which would call for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip" in the Israel-Hamas war. The final draft watered down language from a “demand” to a “call.” It also watered down a demand for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups” to a call. Malta, which sponsored the resolution, called for the vote after lengthy negotiations. Several diplomats said they expect it to be adopted. That requires nine “yes” votes from the 15-member council and no veto by any of its five permanent members: the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France. The draft resolution makes no mention of a cease-fire. It also doesn’t refer to Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed around 1,200 people and took some 240 others hostage. Nor does it cite Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes and ground offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza that Gaza's health ministry says has killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children. The draft asks that “all parties comply with their obligations under international law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians, especially children.” U.N. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, but in practice many parties choose to ignore the council’s requests for action. Richard Gowan, U.N. director for the International Crisis Group, said the Security Council has called for cease-fires in wars from the Balkans to Syria “with little or no impact.” The Security Council, which has the responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, has been paralyzed since the war began by its internal divisions. This is especially the case between China and Russia, which want an immediate cease-fire, and the United States, which has called for humanitarian pauses but objects to any mention of a cease-fire which its close ally Israel strongly opposes. The resolution calls for humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a “sufficient number of days” for unhindered access by the U.N., Red Cross and other aid groups to get water, electricity, fuel, food and medical supplies to all those in need. It says the pauses also should allow for repair of essential infrastructure and enable urgent rescue and recovery efforts. In the four previous tries for Security Council approval, a Brazil-drafted resolution was vetoed by the United States, a U.S.-drafted resolution was vetoed by Russia and China and two Russian-drafted resolutions failed to get the minimum “yes” votes. After the fourth failure, frustrated Arab nations turned to the 193-member General Assembly and succeeded in getting wide approval for a resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza meant to lead to a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas. It was the first United Nations response to the war. But unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are a barometer of world opinion. The vote was 120-14 with 45 abstentions. Of the five veto-holding Security Council members, Russia, China and France voted in favor, the United States voted against and Britain abstained. The General Assembly resolution was adopted Oct. 27, and Israel agreed Nov. 9 to four-hour pauses. But only very limited aid has been delivered to Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt, and a humanitarian catastrophe has been brewing. The Crisis Group's Gowan said U.S. opposition to a cease-fire “is a gift that keeps on giving for Russia diplomatically.” He said that while many diplomats think Russia is demanding a cease-fire “for largely cynical reasons to make the Americans look bad,” Moscow’s position “is closer to the mainstream of council thinking, and the U.S. looks isolated.” “A U.N. cease-fire call would embarrass but not really constrain the Israelis,” he told the AP. “But the U.S. clearly feels that even such a symbolic move is too much of a political risk.” Read More Tourists find the Las Vegas Strip remade for its turn hosting Formula One Ohio commission approves fracking in state parks and wildlife areas despite fraud investigation The UK government wants to send migrants to Rwanda. Here's why judges say it's unlawful Vatican plans to gradually replace car fleet with electric vehicles in deal with VW Discrimination charge filed against Michigan salon after owner's comments on gender identity Advocates scramble to aid homeless migrant families after Massachusetts caps emergency shelter slots

A brief but fierce storm pummeled concertgoers at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver with golf ball-sized hail, injuring dozens and forcing the cancellation of the show’s headliner, former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson

Florida is appealing a federal judge's decision to block a new state law targeting drag shows

Trade Desk Inc. shares plummeted the most in a year-and-a-half after the digital advertising platform gave a weak

Gabon’s junta says the country’s ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest since he was deposed last week, is now free and can travel on a medical trip

A slate of gun control measures is headed to Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk

Letecia Stauch killed her stepson Gannon while her then-husband Al Stauch was at work in town and their other children were not at home