Biden tells Swedish PM 'looking forward' to NATO bid's approval
US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Wednesday that he is "looking forward" to Sweden's stalled NATO membership bid winning final approval, as the Western...
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Nevada considers $190 million in annual tax credits to bring Sony, film industry to Las Vegas
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2023-05-12 12:22
Elon Musk's SpaceX and Italy's Unipol join forces to help Italians hit by flooding
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Gaza's post-war governance uncertain as war rages
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Turkey hikes interest rates in another sign of economic normalcy. But markets expected more
Turkey’s central bank has raised its key interest rate in another sign of commitment to a traditional path of battling inflation
2023-07-20 20:18
Who is Peter Overton? Tom Cruise 'barred' journalist from red carpet at 'Mission: Impossible 7' premiere
Peter Overton hosted the infamous '60 Minutes' interview with Tom Cruise in 2005
2023-07-10 18:57
'Poor Chris': Judi Dench reveals her embarrassing naked FaceTime call to friend
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2023-11-23 07:17
Ahead of the BET Awards, a look back at how the work helped hip-hop grow and thrive
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2023-06-24 00:16
Former MI6 spy chief says all signs suggest Wagner boss Prigozhin was ‘taken out’ by Putin
A former MI6 spy chief has said “all indications” suggest Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was “taken out” by Vladimir Putin, two months after staging a mutiny that dented the Russian president’s authority. Russia's civil aviation agency said that Mr Prigozhin, leader of the private mercenary group, and six top lieutenants were among 10 killed when a jet crashed soon after taking off from Moscow on Wednesday. Mr Prigozhin’s supporters claimed on pro-Wagner messaging channels that the plane was deliberately downed. Numerous opponents and critics of Mr Putin have been killed or gravely sickened in apparent assassination attempts. The Wagner group chief had mounted a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership in June and marched on Moscow with his mercenary fighters, with Mr Putin denouncing the rebellion as “treason” and vowing to punish those behind it. Sir John Sawers, head of the MI6 between 2009 and 2014, said on Thursday that all signs suggest the Russian president had “taken him out”, making it clear to Russians he was not going to “brook any challenge”. Former intelligence officer Christopher Steele also claimed it was an “inside job” and suggested a bomb inside a “wine crate” could have caused the explosion. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Sir John said: “All the indications point to the fact Putin has taken him out. He has reasserted his control. “He’s making clear to everyone inside and outside of Russia that he’s not going to brook any challenge. If there’s a slim chance that he’s not dead and he wasn’t on that plane, he will be soon.” The plane carrying three pilots and seven passengers was travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg, according to officials cited by Russia’s state news agency Tass. Footage shows the flaming wreckage after a private jet came down. Sir John explained the MI6 “wouldn’t have any extra information’ on Prigozhin’s death yet, but said it was likely there would have been “some device” on board that took the jet down. He said: “If there had been some air defence missile that took him out then there would be traces of that which would be detectable through satellite means. But I would have thought there would have been some device on board that brought the plane down suddenly and killed all those on board. “Of course, those on board were not only Prigozhin but those around him like his military commander Dmitry Utkin, some other long-standing aides, so it’s a way of taking out the entire Wagner leadership all in one go.” Meanwhile, Mr Steele, who was with the Secret Intelligence Service and ran the MI6 Russia desk, claimed a bomb inside a “wine crate” could have caused the explosion. He added that the crash looked like part of a “pattern of state-backed activity” by FSB or GRU forces. He told Sky News: “I think it is unlikely that Wagner commanders were actually behind this ultimately. I would suspect very much that it was an FSB or GRU operation. “Certainly it’s an inside job, the suggestion is that it’s a bomb in a wine crate. That’s a kind of ironic end for Putin’s former caterer.” He added: “[The crash] followed the day after General (Sergei) Surovikin, who you will remember was the commander first of all in Syria and later in Ukraine, was sacked from his job which was to be in charge of the security over the Russian homeland. “He was seen as somebody that was one of the generals who was supporting Prigozhin and was an ally of his. For him to have been removed a day before does rather suggest a pattern of state-backed activity here.” So far, the Kremlin has not commented on the crash. Mr Putin did not mention the incident during a speech in Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Kursk during the Second World War. Read More Ukraine war - live: Wagner chief Prigozhin and co-founder ‘killed’ in Russia plane crash as Putin at concert Minister warns against jumping to conclusions over Wagner chief’s reported death Plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief seen as Kremlin's revenge The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
2023-08-24 19:19
When did Jennifer Garner earn her SAG-AFTRA card? Actress reflects on guild membership as she joins picket lines for ongoing strike
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2023-07-23 17:46
18-year-old Nebraska woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for burning fetus after abortion
An 18-year-old Nebraska woman has been sentenced to 90 days in jail and two years of probation for burning and burying a fetus after she took medication from her mother to end her pregnancy
2023-07-21 01:57
'I felt like I couldn't breathe': Alix Earle reveals she almost called 911 amid panic attack at US Open
'I'm having really bad anxiety right now. We need to go to the bathroom,' Alix Earle told her friend
2023-09-15 08:58
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