Ukraine-Russia war – latest: Moscow claims it repelled fresh offensives as Kyiv liberates four villages
Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday it had repelled attempted offensives by Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions and had hit targets with sea-launched high-precision missile strikes. Russia said its forces had launched a strike on Ukrainian army reserve locations using long-range precision weaponry, launched from the sea. Ukraine said on Monday its troops had recaptured a fourth village from Russian forces in a cluster of settlements in the southeast, a day after reporting the first small gains of its long-anticipated counteroffensive. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar posted a photo showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag at what she said was the village of Storozheve in Donetsk, and thanked the 35th Separate Brigade of Marines for liberating it. Reuters confirmed the location of the footage. Kyiv also said on Sunday that its forces had liberated three villages - Blahodatne, Neskuchne and Makarivka. The long-expected counteroffensive was indirectly confirmed by Vladimir Putin on Friday, who said that a Ukrainian military push was underway, but had failed to breach Russian defensive lines and taken heavy casualties. Read More Mapped: Ukraine claims four villages captured in first gains of counteroffensive Ukraine's dam collapse is both a fast-moving disaster and a slow-moving ecological catastrophe Musician Travis Leake spoke up about freedom of speech in Russia with Anthony Bourdain in 2014. Now he’s been detained
2023-06-12 19:28
Silvio Berlusconi: Former Italian PM plagued by tax fraud and ‘bunga bunga’ sex scandals dies aged 86
The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has died at the age of 86. Berlusconi, who amassed a fortune after founding Italy’s largest media company, had been suffering from leukaemia and recently developed a lung infection. He died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan. The former prime minister suffered from a range of health conditions in recent years, including prostate cancer, heart ailments and a spell in hospital with Covid-19 in 2020. He was readmitted to the same hospital in Milan on Friday where he recently spent almost six weeks for treatment for the lung infection. Doctors said he had chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia, a rare type of blood cancer but not one that is considered to be acute. His personal physician Dr Alberto Zangrillo had said the lung infection diagnosis was linked to his leukaemia. Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto expressed “great, enormous pain” over the news of his death. “He leaves a huge void, because he was a great,” he wrote. “It’s the end of an epoch, the closing of an era. I loved him very much. Goodbye Silvio.” Berlusconi dominated Italian politics for almost 20 years, leading the centre-right party Forza Italy from 1994 to 2009, before taking the helm of successor party The People of Freedom until 2013. The right-wing populist led four governments across three spells as prime minister of Italy – from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2011. His last few years in the country’s top job were marred by allegations of corruption and tales of “bunga bunga” sex parties at his lavish villa outside Milan. He was accused of unlawful sex with 17-year-old nightclub dancer known only as “Ruby the Heartstealer” – but he was acquitted on appeal in 2014, after several women testified that his bung bunga parties were merely “elegant dinners”. Berlusconi made his name and the bulk of his huge fortune beginning with his business dealings in the 1980s. He was the controlling shareholder of Italian media giant Mediaset, and owned the football club AC Milan from 1986 to 2017. The tycoon was convicted of tax fraud in 2012 and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, later shortened to one year of community service. In 2019 he staged an unlikely political comeback by winning a seat in the European parliament. Italian national news channels ran sombre coverage of the news of Berlusconi’s death, with Sky News’ foreign editor Andrew Connell noting that coverage on Sky TG24 was “something akin to the death of a royal”, describing him as a “unique politician known well beyond Italy”. Forza Italia forms part of far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government, but Berlusconi held no position in her cabinet and the two clashed over the 86-year-old’s friendship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin – Ms Meloni has voiced her strong support for Ukraine since the war broke out in February 2022. On his 86th birthday, while the war raged, Mr Putin sent Berlusconi best wishes and vodka, and the Italian boasted he returned the favour by sending back Italian wine. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right League party, penned a lengthy tribute on Twitter to “one of the greatest ever, in all fields, from all points of view, without equal”. Former centre-left prime minister Matteo Renzi referred to Berlusconi’s divisive legacy in his own tribute on Monday. “Silvio Berlusconi made history in this country. Many loved him, many hated him. All must recognise that his impact on political life, but also economic, sport and television, has been without precedence,” he wrote. Political blogger Dario D’Angelo tweeted: “Whether you loved him or you hated him, it matters little today. With Silvio Berlusconi goes a part of your life. Of our life.” Berlusconi controlled his business empire through Fininvest, a family holding company with assets worth €4.9bn (£4.19bn) at the end of 2021. Before his death, Silvio owned 61.3 per cent of Fininvest, while Pier Silvio and Marina Berlusconi, his two children from his first marriage, each owned a 7.65 per cent stake. The future of his business interests will likely depend on how he has chosen to distribute his 61 per cent stake between his five children from two marriages. Eldest daughter Marina is expected to play a prominent role, though Berlusconi never publicly named a successor to take charge of the company. Read More Silvio Berlusconi, scandal-scarred ex-Italian leader, dies at 86, according to his TV network Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi was also successful in soccer at AC Milan and Monza Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi dies aged 86 Reports: Former Italian Premier Berlusconi readmitted to hospital 3 weeks after release Four villages ‘liberated’ in Ukraine’s first gains of counteroffensive How much has the Madeleine McCann investigation cost?
2023-06-12 18:49
Ukraine-Russia war – latest: Four villages ‘liberated’ in Kyiv’s first gains of counteroffensive
Ukrainian forces have claimed their first successes in a long-anticipated counteroffensive, as they recaptured three villages from Russian forces in the southeast of the country on Sunday. On Monday, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar further posted a photo showing soldiers hoisting the Ukrainian flag at what she said was the village of Storozheve in Donetsk, and thanked the 35th Separate Brigade of Marines for liberating it. Reuters could not verify the report and it was not immediately clear when the village was reclaimed, but if confirmed it would mean the first week of its pushback against Moscow ended in tangible territorial gains for Ukraine. Unverified footage further showed Kyiv’s forces hoisting the Ukrainian flag at a building in the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk region and posing with their unit’s flag in the adjacent village of Neskuchne. The troops also reportedly retook Makarivka, the next village to the south. The long-expected counteroffensive was indirectly confirmed by Vladimir Putin on Friday, who said that a Ukrainian military push was underway, but had failed to breach Russian defensive lines and taken heavy casualties. Read More Ukraine claims first successes of counteroffensive as it recaptures three villages Ukraine's dam collapse is both a fast-moving disaster and a slow-moving ecological catastrophe Musician Travis Leake spoke up about freedom of speech in Russia with Anthony Bourdain in 2014. Now he’s been detained
2023-06-12 18:26
Turkey’s Record Current-Account Gap Piles Pressure on Simsek
Turkey’s current-account gap unexpectedly widened in April, adding to a record deficit and underscoring the challenge facing President
2023-06-12 17:54
Johnson, Once a Tory Winner, Is Desperate for Them to Lose
It was classic Boris Johnson to be on a trip to Cairo when he lobbed yet another political
2023-06-12 17:16
British girl, 11, shot dead as she played on swings in family home in France
An 11-year-old girl from a British family was shot dead in France while her father was seriously wounded following the attack. The girl was playing on the swings while her family was enjoying a barbecue in their garden on Saturday night when a neighbour fired several shots at them. The incident happened at around 10pm local time in the village of Saint-Herbot in Brittany, western France. The suspect – a 71-year-old Dutch national – was arrested along with his wife, prosecutors said. Her father, who was reportedly shot in the head, is in a critical condition at a hospital. Her mother received non-life-threatening injuries. The girl’s eight-year-old sister managed to escape unhurt but was left in a state of “shock” after witnessing the shooting. A British foreign office spokesperson said they were providing assistance to the family. “We are providing consular assistance to a British family following a shooting in France and are in contact with the local authorities,” a statement said. Carine Halley, a prosecutor in Brittany’s Quimper, said the child died immediately and the father was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition, according to The Times. She said initial evidence suggests "the suspect suddenly emerged armed with a gun and fired several times towards the victims” and shut himself in his house along with his wife. “The motives for this tragedy are not yet known. It appears there had been a conflict between the two neighbours for several years over a piece of land adjoining the two properties,” Ms Halley said. Marguerite Bleuzen, the mayor of Plonévez-du-Faou, said the attack was believed to be in connection to a land “dispute between neighbours” from past three years. “We knew the family well. There is a village fete every year and they always came,” she said. “It’s completely incomprehensible to have shot a child. This happened without any warning,” she added. “Nobody can understand how this could have happened.” A local resident said that the younger girl raised the alarm after the shooting, shouting: "My sister is dead, my sister is dead". “We heard noises and thought they – either the children or the parents – were playing with fireworks. Then the youngest girl came running to the neighbours shouting,” the neighbour who was not named said. “We went and saw the girl was dead and her father and mother were injured.” The killing of the British girl comes just days after another three-year-old British girl was among four children and two adults who were stabbed in a park by a man in Annecy in eastern France. Read More Man accused of knife attack on four children in Annecy held on attempted murder charges British girl stabbed in knife attack can leave hospital soon, prosecutors say France details huge security for Paris' gargantuan 2024 Olympic opening ceremony British girl killed during barbecue in France as father fights for life – latest Biden to host outgoing NATO secretary-general Stoltenberg as competition to replace him heats up Finucane: Right to commemorate the dead must apply to every section of society
2023-06-12 16:29
Novartis Makes $3.5 Billion Bet on Chinook’s Rare Disease Drugs
Novartis AG agreed to buy Chinook Therapeutics Inc. for as much as $3.5 billion to add two promising
2023-06-12 15:59
War in Ukraine Prompts Increased Cyberattacks on German Businesses
More than one in 10 German companies were the victim of a cyberattack last year, according to a
2023-06-12 15:50
Hungary’s Economy Chief Floats Idea of Raising Inflation Target
Hungary may need to consider raising its inflation goal as price-growth is unlikely to return near the central
2023-06-12 15:23
Further BOE Rate Hikes Can’t Be Ruled Out, Warns Policy Maker Haskel
Bank of England policy maker Jonathan Haskel said the central bank must guard against persistent inflation risks, an
2023-06-12 14:51
UBS Completes Credit Suisse Takeover to Create Bank Titan
UBS Group AG completed the acquisition of former rival Credit Suisse Group AG, sealing the biggest merger in
2023-06-12 14:26
Novo Nordisk Plans $2.3 Billion Manufacturing Expansion in Denmark
Novo Nordisk A/S is spending 15.9 billion Danish kroner ($2.29 billion) to expand production facilities in Denmark as
2023-06-12 14:16