Rapper Quando Rondo bonds out of jail after arrest on drug, gang charges in Georgia
Rapper Quando Rondo has bonded out of jail after he was indicted on drug and gang charges in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia
2023-06-29 06:20
Monica Belluci confirms relationship with Tim Burton amid dating rumors: 'I love him'
'I know the man, I love him, and now I’m going to meet the director, and another adventure begins. I love Tim,' said Monica Belluci
2023-06-29 06:16
How DeSantis says he can outdo Trump on the border
It's not so much a contrast but an amplification of Trump policies that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hopes will get him the Republican nomination.
2023-06-29 05:51
Madonna hospitalized for several days, tour postponed
Madonna is recovering after falling ill with a "serious bacterial infection" that landed her in an intensive care unit for several days, her manager Guy...
2023-06-29 04:58
Biden says 'Bidenomics' will restore the American dream
President Joe Biden vowed Wednesday to restore the American dream in a speech promoting his "Bidenomics" policy that he said will deliver a clean break with decades of...
2023-06-29 04:49
All we know about Kramatorsk pizza restaurant missile strike that killed twin sisters
A Russian missile attack on a pizza restaurant in the eastern city of Kramatorsk has killed at least 11 people, including three teenagers, and left more than 60 people injured. Authorities in the city have named 14-year-old twins, Yuliya and Anna Aksenchenko, as being among the dead. In a Telegram post, the city's council extended its condolences to the parents of the girls, saying that "a Russian rocket stopped the beating of the hearts of two angels". Another girl, aged 17, was also killed "We share the grief of your family and together with you we bow our heads in deep sorrow," the city council said. What happened in the attack? The Pizza RIA restaurant was popular with both locals, as well as aid workers and journalists – and was said to be crowded when it was hit on Tuesday evening. "I ran here after the explosion because I rented a cafe here.... Everything has been blown out there," said Valentyna, a 64-year-old woman who declined to give her surname. "None of the glass, windows or doors are left. All I see is destruction, fear and horror. This is the 21st century," she told Reuters. Police said around 60 people were injured in the strike, which turned the restaurant into a pile of twisted beams. Emergency services posted pictures online of rescue teams sifting through the site with cranes and other equipment. The Donetsk regional governor – the area where Kramatorsk is located – Pavlo Kyrylenko told national television that people were visible under the rubble. Their condition was unknown, he said, but "we are experienced in removing rubble". Video footage on military Telegram channels showed one man, his head bleeding, receiving first aid on the pavement. Eight people had been rescued alive from the rubble and at least three more were believed to be trapped, Veronika Bakha, the spokeswoman for the Donetsk region emergency services said. The attack also damaged 18 multi-story buildings, 65 houses, five schools, two kindergartens, a shopping center, an administrative building and a recreational building, the regional governor, Mr Kyrylenko, said. Why Kramatorsk? Russia has been keeping up an aerial assault across Ukraine for months. Kramatorsk is a major city west of the frontlines in Donetsk province, a key logistics hub. It would likely be a key objective in any Russian advance westward seeking to capture all of the region. The city has been a frequent target of Russian attacks, including a strike on the town's railway station in April 2022 that killed dozens. It was one of the worst single air strikes of the war. There were at least two strikes on apartment buildings and other civilian sites earlier this year. Officials initially blamed the strike in Kramatorsk on an S-300 missile, a surface-to-air weapon that Russia's forces have repurposed for loosely targeted strikes on cities, but the National Police later said Iskander short-range ballistic missiles were used. Russia denies targeting civilian sites in its invasion of Ukraine – which began in February 2022 – a claim rubbished by Ukrainian officials and Western allies of Kyiv. Kramatorsk's position in the Donetsk region, one of four Ukrainian provinces that Russia claimed to annex last September but does not fully control. Russia annexed the region of Crimea almost a decade ago. Ukrainian-held parts of the partially occupied provinces have been hit especially hard by Russian bombardment. The Kremlin demands that Kyiv recognize the annexations, while Kyiv has ruled out any talks with Russia until its troops pull back from all occupied territories. Kyiv recently launched a much-anticipated counteroffensive to take back occupied territory. What other strikes have there been in the last 24 hours? A second missile hit a village on the fringes of Kramatorsk on Tuesday, injuring five. A Russian missile also hit a cluster of buildings in Kremenchuk, about 230 miles west in central Ukraine, exactly a year after an attack on a shopping mall there that killed at least 20. No casualties were reported in the latest attack. On Wednesday morning, the head of the Kharkiv region said three civilians have been killed in Russian shelling. "Unfortunately, as a result of this shelling, three civilians in the village of Vovchanski Khutory were killed near their homes," governor Oleh Synehubov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. What has been the Ukrainian response? On Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities arrested Wednesday a man they accused of helping Russia direct the missile strike. The Security Service of Ukraine alleged in a message on Telegram that the man had filmed the restaurant for the Russians and informed them about its popularity. Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, said in a statement: “The agent of the Russian Federation will definitely answer to the Ukrainian court. But his detention is also a signal to all other adjusters and traitors who work for the enemy. Remember – the punishment is inevitable!” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video message on Tuesday that the attacks showed that Russia "deserved only one thing as a consequence of what it has done – defeat and a tribunal". Ukraine has been pushing for a war crimes tribunal to deal with Russia's actions in Ukraine, and have been gathering evidence. Reuters and Associated Press 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 Twin sisters, aged 14, among at least 11 dead in Russian missile strike in Ukraine Cambodian leader Hun Sen, a huge Facebook fan, says he is jumping ship to Telegram Footage shows scale of destruction after Russian strike on Kramatorsk restaurant
2023-06-29 03:54
As Russia teetered, the elite trembled, and some private jets left
By Guy Faulconbridge, Darya Korsunskaya and Gleb Stolyarov MOSCOW (Reuters) -As one of the most brutal mercenary forces marched on
2023-06-29 03:53
Ad wars heat up in the 2024 presidential race as spending nears $70 million
Former President Donald Trump is dominating cable airwaves, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is betting on Iowa and South Carolina, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is blanketing New Hampshire as candidates tailor their ad spending with the 2024 presidential race heating up.
2023-06-29 02:45
President talks up 'Bidenomics' though new poll shows just 34% approve his handling of the economy
President Joe Biden had a tough sell Wednesday, trying to convince voters that the U.S. economy is flourishing
2023-06-29 02:26
NYC Faces Poor Air Quality as Smoke From Canada Fires Heads East
New York City, Long Island and New Jersey have been hit with air-quality alerts as another plume of
2023-06-29 01:51
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck set to renew their vows with 'big' party at their $60M mansion in Los Angeles
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are set to renew their vows at 'the end of July'
2023-06-29 01:45
Hakeem Jeffries is staging a takeover of the New York Democrats. His hope to become Speaker may depend on it.
Hakeem Jeffries is staging a takeover of the New York Democratic Party. HIs future as U.S. House Speaker may depend on it; he needs five more seats to take the majority in 2024, and six of the most vulnerable seats are held by Republicans in New York.
2023-06-29 01:26
