List of All Articles with Tag 'r'

The flash flood in Sikkim state has caused massive damage and left thousands stranded.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said the plane carrying Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was blown up from the inside and fragments of hand grenades have been found in the bodies of those killed in the crash. This is the first time Mr Putin commented on the details of the plane crash that killed Prigozhin – the mercenary leader who had challenged his regime and launched a military coup by marching onto Moscow in a dramatic threat to the Kremlin not seen in decades. "Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash," Mr Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, but did not share any details on the type and number of hand grenades that could have been detonated on board. He denied an external influence or targeting of the plane from the outside. "There was no external impact on the plane – this is already an established fact," he said, rejecting assertions by unidentified US officials who said shortly after the crash that they believed it had been shot down. Mr Putin said the head of Russia’s investigative committee had reported to him a few days ago. The private Embraer jet carrying the Wagner leader and the mercenary group’s co-founder along with eight other people crashed north of Moscow on 23 August. All 10 people onboard were reported dead. Mr Putin also suggested that the remains of the passengers, including Prigozhin, should have been tested for alcohol and drugs. He said he thought investigators were wrong to have not carried out these tests on the bodies of those killed in the crash. "In my opinion, such an examination should have been carried out but it was not," he said. The searches of Wagner’s offices in St Petersburg by the FSB found 10bn roubles ($100m) in cash and 5kg (11 pounds) of cocaine, he said. The investigators of the crash have yet to report publicly on the cause. Neither Wagner nor Prigozhin’s family could be reached to comment on Mr Putin’s remarks. Prigozhin had claimed pride in casting Wagner as the world’s most war-hardened fighting force and was known to have carried out Russia’s dirty work in middle-east and Africa. The mercenary fighters waged a brutal battle – dubbed the “meat grinder” – in Bakhmut last year in winter, where they eventually handed Moscow its biggest territorial gain in many months. Just two months before his death, he had accused Mr Putin’s top military brass, defence minister Sergei Shoigu and general staff Valery Gerasimov of incompetence and warned that Russia could lose the war in Ukraine unless it raised its game. The brief mutiny against Russia’s defence establishment posed the biggest challenge to Putin’s rule since the former KGB spy came to power in 1999. According to the leaders in the West, not only did it expose the strains on Russia of the war in Ukraine, it also showed the worsening relations between the Russian president and his long-time stooge. Read More Putin’s ‘punishment battalions’ full of convicts and drunk recruits: ‘They’re just meat’ Wagner succession: Yevgeny Prigozhin’s son ‘set to be next mercenary boss’ Putin orders former Wagner commander to take charge of 'volunteer units' in Ukraine ‘Weak’ Putin killed Wagner mercenary chief Prigozhin, Zelensky says

The Filipino coast guard earlier removed China's floating barriers in the disputed South China Sea.

A man who showed up twice to the Wisconsin Capitol with a gun demanding to talk to the governor this week made a "concerning statement" during at least one of the visits and was twice detained by authorities, state officials said.

There were no military targets in the village that was hit by a Russian missile strike Thursday, a top Ukrainian police official said, in what was one of the deadliest attacks against civilians since the conflict began and which the country's president called "inhuman" and "deliberate."

Justin Fields connected with DJ Moore for 230 yards and three touchdowns to help the embattled Chicago Bears pick up their first win of the season by beating Washington 40-20

Pura Luka Vega, 33, faces up to 12 years in jail under the Catholic-majority country's laws.

Vladimir Putin’s missile attack on a cafe and grocery store in northeastern Ukraine that led to 51 deaths, six injuries and three people left missing was “no blind strike”, said president Volodymyr Zelensky. The strike is the deadliest in the Kharkiv region since Mr Putin’s Ukraine invasion and also among the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian missile attack, especially after January this year. The missile strike occurred on Thursday afternoon in Kharkiv’s Hroza village where dozens had gathered to mourn a fallen Ukraine soldier, officials said. “A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address on Thursday. “Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike,” he said after attending a summit of the European Political Community in Spain. Mr Zelensky said a six-year-old boy was among the dead. According to regional officials, families had remained in the village despite a war-time order to evacuate. The site of the attack showed large piles of bricks, shattered metal and building materials strewn around the cafe and shop struck by a Russian missile. The attack was likely carried out with an Iskander ballistic missile, a Ukrainian minister said, citing preliminary information. Bodies of the dead were laid out in a field next to a children’s playground as rescue workers were seen making their way and sifting through mounds of debris from the attack. Regional police investigator Serhiy Bolvinov said they will use DNA laboratories to identify the bodies as they have found only bits and pieces and remains of the bodies. Officials said the Russian missile hit a service marking a reburial in his home village of a soldier who had died in action elsewhere. The son of the soldier was also killed in the attack, along with his wife and mother, prosecutors told public broadcaster Suspilne. “There were only civilians. The boy was from this village. When he died, we were under occupation. The (family) decided to rebury him, to bring him home,” said resident Oleksandr Mukhovatyi. “Then this happened. Someone betrayed us. The attack was precise, it all landed in the coffee shop.” He said his mother, brother and sister-in-law were among the dead. Local officials were sitting down for a meal when the missile struck, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said. “From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy,” he told Ukrainian television. Defence minister Rustem Umerov said the strike was clearly targeted and Ukrainian security services had launched an investigation into the matter. “The terrorists deliberately carried out the attack during lunchtime, to ensure a maximum number of casualties,” he said. “There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians.” Russia has not issued a comment on the attack in Hroza. It has denied deliberately targeting civilians, but many have been killed in attacks that have hit residential areas as well as energy, defence, port, grain and other facilities. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Deadly Russian attack on memorial service was no blind strike, says Zelensky White House condemns ‘horrifying’ Russian attack on grocery store in Ukraine Russian missile strike kills more than 50 Ukrainians gathered for wake – in deadliest such attack in months Nearly 50 European leaders stress support for Ukraine at a summit in Spain. Zelenskyy seeks more aid Russia has tested a nuclear-powered missile and could revoke a global atomic test ban, Putin says

Ron Rivera's Washington Commanders produced another terrible first half and fell into a 24-point hole against the Chicago Bears

Turkish airstrikes killed at least 11 people in multiple Kurdish-controlled locations in northeastern Syria, the Kurdish Internal Security Force said Thursday, the latest response from Ankara's forces following a bomb attack in Turkey's capital claimed by Kurdish militants.

A Bronx day care provider, her husband and his cousin have been indicted on murder and other charges on suspicion of exposing four children -- including a 1-year-old who died -- to fentanyl at the day care center last month, the Bronx district attorney's office said Thursday.

'Today' Craig Melvin took a chance to visit a home and garden emporium called Shop Terrain in Connecticut