Russian president Vladimir Putin said that the Wagner private military company “simply doesn't exist” as a legal entity, in comments adding to the series of often bizarre twists that have followed the group’s abortive revolt last month – the most serious threat to Putin’s 23-year rule amid the war in Ukraine. “There is no law on private military organizations. It simply doesn’t exist,” Mr Putin told a Russian newspaper late Thursday, referring to the Wagner group. Mr Putin recounted to Kommersant his own version of a Kremlin event attended by 35 Wagner commanders, including the group's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on June 29. That meeting came just five days after Prigozhin and his troops staged a stunning but short-lived rebellion against Moscow authorities. The meeting was revealed earlier this week by a Kremlin official. Mr Putin said that at the talks, Wagner rejected an offer to keep its troops in Ukraine, where they have played key battlefield roles, under the leadership of their direct commander. “All of them could have gathered in one place and continued to serve,” Mr Putin told the newspaper, “And nothing would have changed for them. They would have been led by the same person who had been their real commander all along.” Mr Putin has previously said that Wagner troops had to choose whether to sign contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry, move to neighboring Belarus or retire from service. According to him, although “many nodded” when he made his proposal, Mr Prigozhin rejected the idea, responding that “the boys won’t agree with such a decision”. This, Mr Putin said, was one of “several employment options” put forward at the meeting. During the revolt that lasted less than 24 hours, Mr Prigozhin’s mercenaries quickly swept through the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and captured the military headquarters there without firing a shot, before driving to within about 200km (125 miles) of Moscow. Mr Prigozhin described the move as a “march of justice” to oust the military leaders, who demanded that Wagner sign contracts with the Defense Ministry by July 1. The fate of Mr Prigozhin and the terms of a deal that ended the armed rebellion by offering amnesty for him and his mercenaries, along with permission, to move to Belarus remain cloudy. Wagner mercenaries are completing the handover of their weapons to the Russian military, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Their disarming of Wagner reflects efforts by Russian authorities to defuse the threat they posed and also appears to herald an end to the mercenary group’s operations on the battlefield in Ukraine, where Kyiv’s forces are engaged in a counteroffensive. Read More Russia-Ukraine war – live: Wagner forces training soldiers in Belarus after Prigozhin exile Tucker Carlson and Mike Pence clash in heated exchange over Ukraine at GOP 2024 forum Putin wants to attend an August summit. Host country South Africa doesn't want to have to arrest him Russian antiwar activist allowed into Serbia after spending more than a day at the Belgrade airport Why are Russian and Belarusian players allowed back at Wimbledon? Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

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A British tourist has said she was raped by five men in her hotel room while on holiday in Cyprus. The 20-year-old said told Cypriot police she was attacked by five men in her hotel in the city of Famagusta. Cypriot police have since arrested five men from Israel. A spokesman at the island’s police headquarters in Nicosia said on Monday: “The five were detained overnight in a cell following the charges. They will appear today before Famagusta’s district court. We have not released their ages but can confirm that they are all young.” The news comes after last year a British woman won her appeal to overturn a conviction for ‘lying’ about being gang-raped by 12 tourists when she was 18 in Cyprus, On Friday Cyprus police arrested 20 people after a march against migrants and refugees on the island’s second-largest city, Limassol, turned violent with mobs vandalising property. Five people were injured during the unrest on Friday evening after about 500 people took to the streets for the march, the police said. Rubbish bins were set alight and some shops were vandalised, police said. Witnesses quoted by Cypriot media outlets said some foreigners were attacked during the march. Asian delivery drivers were assaulted and storefronts belonging to migrants were smashed as the violence continued until the early hours of Sunday, according to Reuters news agency. Police used water cannon to disperse the protesters, some of them hooded and holding a banner that read “Refugees not welcome”. Overnight Saturday to Sunday, three people from southeast Asia were attacked and robbed, state media said. Among the victims were a group of visitors from Kuwait, according to social media accounts of witnesses. Senior diplomat Kyriakos Kouros said a protest was filed by an ambassador of an unnamed Arab state on Saturday after tourists were targeted. “They cut short their visit. I doubt they will ever return,” Kouros, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on the social media platform X on Sunday, posting a picture of the departure of a group at an airport. One member of the group was in a wheelchair. “It is the first time I have felt so embarrassed about such an incident in our country,” he wrote. “This isn’t the Cyprus I was born, raised, had a family and am getting old in,” he said. Read More Israel's prime minister pitches fiber optic cable idea to link Asia and the Middle East to Europe Greece: Firefighters rescue 25 migrants trapped in forest as massive wildfire approached Greece further reinforces firefighting forces in massive wildfire in northeast burning for 13th day Massive wildfire in northeastern Greece persists for 11th day despite European firefighting efforts Official says the UN remains committed to helping reach a deal healing Cyprus' ethnic split Greece reinforces firefighting forces to tackle massive blaze in the country's northeast