
China, Japan, South Korea to hold meeting of leaders at a time convenient for all
BEIJING China, Japan and South Korea agreed on Tuesday to hold a summit among their leaders at a
2023-09-26 15:46

Russia remains silent as Ukraine claims Black Sea Fleet commander among 34 officers killed
Russia continues to be silent on the reported death in Crimea of one of Vladimir Putin’s top navy commanders. Admiral Viktor Sokolov, one of Russia’s most senior naval officers who commanded the Black Sea Fleet, was reportedly killed along with 33 other officers in a missile attack on the Russian fleet’s headquarters in the port city of Sevastopol on 22 September. In a rare acknowledgment of a strike on Crimea, Ukraine’s special forces declared the operation had killed Sokolov along with dozens of other officers and wounded 105 others in an update on Monday. Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, posted the admiral’s name and a photo on social media. It is not immediately clear how Ukraine’s Special Forces counted the dead and wounded in the attack. The Russian defence ministry has not issued any statement to confirm or deny that Sokolov had been killed. In its most recent statement about the attack, the Russian defence ministry said just one serviceman was missing, revising an earlier statement that a man had been killed. The statement claimed Russian air defences had downed five missiles. If confirmed, Sokolov’s killing would be one of Kyiv’s most significant strikes on Crimea, which Russia seized and illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Sokolov would then become the 16th senior commander to have been killed since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. Among the 15 previously reported killed are Major General Vladimir Frolov, the deputy commander of Russia’s 8th army, Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, and Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, the first deputy commander of Russia’s 41st army. In its update on the Sevastopol strike, Ukraine’s special forces said the air force fired 12 missiles on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters as it targeted areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated. Two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units were hit, the special forces said. Moscow-installed authorities in Sevastopol are reported to be taking extra defensive measures in the face of Ukraine’s increased attacks on Crimea in recent days. Sevastopol is a critical region providing a platform from which Russia has launched many of its air attacks on Ukraine in the 19-month-long war. Ukraine has steadily ramped up its attacks in the Black Sea and on the Crimean Peninsula and has started using missiles in addition to assault drones. Kyiv has said that destroying the Russian Black Sea fleet would significantly speed up the end of the war. Ukraine resumed its missile strikes on Monday with an attack on a military airfield in Sevastopol. The city remained under an air raid alert for a short while during and after the airstrike. Read More Ukraine launches new missile attack near Putin’s military airfield in Crimea’s Sevastopol Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s Black Sea fleet commander ‘killed in attack on Crimea navy HQ’ Putin gives defence chief one month deadline to stop Ukrainian counteroffensive in its tracks As Gen. Milley steps down as chairman, his work on Ukraine is just one part of a complicated legacy Putin gives defence chief one month deadline to stop Ukrainian counteroffensive in its tracks
2023-09-26 15:28

Putin unrecognisable in shell suit with full head of hair in uncovered 1990s video
Previously unseen home video footage shows a younger, untidy and awkward-looking Vladimir Putin socialising and playing table tennis during a visit to Finland around three decades ago. The rare clip, obtained by Finnish outlet Yle, shows the future Russian president dressed in a shellsuit playing darts and eating with other guests at a hospitality venue near Helsinki. According to sources spoken to by Yle, the Finnish broadcasting company, the video was shot around a May Day holiday in the early 90s. At the time Putin, then around age 40 and becoming a major player in the St Petersburg political scene, was working as a KGB officer and had become an adviser to Anatoly Sobchak, then mayor of the Black Sea city. Mr Sobchak is also seen in the clip along with his bodyguards and the party later goes fishing together. On their return, a man can be heard shouting from the boat: “I cannot hear you - we have so much fish. We have so much fish that I cannot hear you.” Putin is seen facing away from the camera with the hood of his coat up. The other men in the boat are facing in the direction of the filmer. Throughout the video, Putin appears to be aware that he is being filmed but on occasion tries to turn his face away from the camera. After the boat returns to shore, a woman is seen scaling the catch on a jetty next to the lake where the men had been fishing. An eyewitness told Yle the woman was Putin’s then-wife Lyudmila. The outlet said it was unable to corroborate the account but confirmed that the Putin’s and their children - Maria and Katerina - were present. Yle said the video was a far cry from the “macho, dictatorial image that Putin has since hewn for himself”. ”This is pre-rich Putin, Putin in a bad shell suit, with a bad haircut, bad vest, doing everyday dad stuff,” said Luke Harding, Russia expert and former Moscow correspondent for the British newspaper The Guardian. ”The most striking thing is he is smiling. He looks human, rather than the ghoul he has become,” says Mr Harding when shown excerpts of the video by Yle. Read More Putin gives defence chief one month deadline to stop Ukrainian counteroffensive in its tracks Russia unleashes hypersonic missiles on Odesa port in overnight attack Russian oil supplies continue to spike despite G7 price cap sanctions, data shows Putin wants Ukrainian counteroffensive halted before early October, report says South Korea's Yoon calls for a strong military amid deepening North Korean-Russian ties Ukraine launches new missile attack near Putin’s military airfield in Sevastopol
2023-09-26 15:20

Assisted dying: Grieving son calls for law change
James Johnson says his terminally ill mother used her life savings to die alone at a Swiss clinic.
2023-09-26 15:19

Nagorno-Karabakh: Fuel depot blast kills 20 as refugee count doubles
Officials say 290 people have been taken to hospital with dozens in a critical condition.
2023-09-26 15:17

Chinese dissident 'stranded' in Taiwan airport pleads for asylum in US or Canada
A Chinese dissident who has been living in a Taiwanese airport since Friday has pleaded for the United States or Canada to grant him asylum after he fled Thailand saying he feared being deported back to China.
2023-09-26 14:24

Ukraine says Russian ships still launching strikes after alleged death of commander as US Abrams tanks arrive
Russian warships were still launching attacks on Ukraine following the claim from Kyiv that the commander of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet was killed Friday, as President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the arrival of US Abrams tanks to the country.
2023-09-26 14:16

Japan's MUFG Bank, two others lead $290 million Sierra Space fundraising -Nikkei
TOKYO MUFG Bank is among three Japanese firms leading a $290-million fundraising round for U.S. spaceship company Sierra
2023-09-26 14:15

Evergrande shares slide as mainland unit misses debt payment
Beijing-based news service Caixin reported several current and former Evergrande executives have been detained.
2023-09-26 13:59

Net Zero by 2050 Still Remains Possible With Rapid Renewables Expansion, Says IEA
Achieving net zero by 2050 is still possible, but requires tripling renewable energy capacity by the end of
2023-09-26 13:59

China Says It’s Talking to the US About Xi Attending APEC Summit
China said it’s talking to the US about who will represent the Asian nation at a summit in
2023-09-26 13:58

Coach McVay bemoans 'self-inflicted wounds' in Los Angeles Rams 19-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals
Getting into the end zone seemed tougher for the Rams when it mattered most on Monday night
2023-09-26 13:53