Vladimir Putin’s forces “have abandoned” the village of Piatykhatky on the Zaporizhzhia front after it was reportedly recaptured by Kyiv, according to Russian military blogger War Gonzo. It is Ukraine’s first village gain for nearly a week and marks a significant escalation of Ukraine’s counter-offensive which was launched earlier this month. The military blogger suggested Ukraine has concentrated large reserves and “heavy armoured vehicles” in the area, which is the most direct route to Crimea. Russian-installed official Vladimir Rogov claimed on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had taken the settlement of Piatykhatky and were entrenching themselves there while coming under fire from Russian artillery. However, he said heavy fighting continues in the area. The reports have not been independently verified. Russia claims it is inflicting heavy losses on Kyiv’s forces and president Putin said last week that Ukraine had “no chance” of success in the counter-offensive. Meanwhile, Ukraine said last week it had regained control of about 100 square km (38 square miles) of territory in just over a week, recapturing a string of villages in Donetsk region to the east. Read More Why Russia’s attempts to get round oil sanctions risk ecological disaster Ukrainians leaving UK because they cannot get housing, volunteer made MBE says Putin lectures African leaders seeking peace in Ukraine – as they tell him war must end

With mounting frustration due to an ailing economy, rising unemployment and looming deadly protests, Sierra Leoneans are heading to the polls on Saturday, June 24, to select their next president. Thirteen people are vying for the top job in the west African country. But experts say it's likely to be a two-horse race between incumbent President Julius Maada Bio — elected in 2018 and fighting for his second term — and Samura Kamara, the head of the All People's Congress Party, Sierra Leon's main opposition camp. The winner needs 55% of the vote to clinch victory in the first round or it goes into a runoff within two weeks. More than three million people are registered to vote in the coming week. This would mark the country's fifth presidential election since the end of a brutal 11-year civil war — more than two decades ago — which left tens of thousands dead and destroyed the country's economy. Sierra Leone had witnessed two peaceful transfers of power since, from the ruling party to the opposition party. Bio has been facing increasing criticism because of debilitating economic conditions. Nearly 60% of Sierra Leone’s population of more than seven million are facing poverty, with youth unemployment being one of the highest in West Africa. Multiple deadly anti-government protests rocked the country, with calls for Bio to step down. Fueled by a rise in cost of living, the latest one in August, left dozens dead, including security forces. As of April, Sierra Leone, which has one of the world's weakest currencies, saw inflation rise to more than 43% — from a high of more than 41% in March — and the exchange rate against the U.S. Dollar is under pressure, according to economic analysts. The election also comes during a surge of regional political upheaval, with deadly clashes between supporters of the opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, and police in Senegal as well as military coups in Burkina Faso and Mali. Thus, Sierra Leone having a peaceful vote is of greater importance, say analysts. “We’ve seen this democratic backsliding in the region. So if Sierra Leone's (presidential) election is free, fair and credible, it could be a bellwether for regional democracy,” said Jamie Hitchen, a political analyst focused on Sierra Leone and an honorary research fellow at the University of Birmingham. This week's vote is expected to be a tight race. It will be a reverse of the 2018 presidential elections when Bio — at the time representing the opposition party — faced Kamara from the then-ruling party, whom the former president had handpicked as his successor. Bio, at the time, narrowly beat Kamara in a runoff by a margin of less than 5%, mainly because of support in the southern and eastern districts. Kamara garnered support from the north and west regions. A former military head of state, Bio came to power promising to end rampant corruption. Analysts say that he had invested in improving education in the country and took steps to fight rampant corruption. The country ranked 110 on Transparency International's index in 2022, moving up from 129 when he took office. But the weak economy has drawn criticism, with Sierra Leoneans taking to the streets protesting widespread poverty. Bio coined his current presidential campaign, “The People's Manifesto 2023,” promising to “solidify gains” made during his tenure. “Despite the turbulent times globally, we have done the work in the past five years,” he said at his campaign launch in May, assuring his supporters of a “victory in the polls, with God on our side.” Bio's opponent, Kamara, a seasoned politician who served in various government positions including as foreign minister, is running while facing corruption charges, since 2021, of allegedly embezzling public funds from a renovation project in New York during his time as minister. His case is set to be heard in court by mid-July. He's hoping to catapult support by promising to fix the country’s economic woes. Regardless of who wins the election, economic growth is expected to remain slow, bogged down by sluggish global expansion and a rise in domestic inflation, said Rukmini Sanyal, an analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research and analysis division of the Economist Group. The new government will face the same macroeconomic challenges and so “the risk of social unrest” will continue over the near-term, Sanyal said. Public frustration over soaring inflation, widespread poverty and high unemployment rate "will play a key role in eroding away the incumbent (party's) popularity,” she said. Still, locals say prices have spiked so much, that another term of the current president isn't comforting. “We need someone who can manage the economy because clearly (the president) is unable to, and we are suffering,” said Alpha Kamara, a taxi driver in the capital, Freetown. Some people, however, say the ruling party has a proven track record and they are willing to give it more time. “I want to see more development, which is why I am going to vote for Bio," said Mohamed Lamin, a local, “he provided us with free education, built roads, a new airport and many other (projects).” Rights groups warn that economic troubles are compounding distrust in a population already skeptical of government institutions and that neither party has so far presented “a meaningful path forward.” “One of the biggest fears of (the population) is the fear of crisis. We live in a society where we have a huge level of distrust among ourselves,” said Abdul Fatoma, chief executive for Campaign For Human Rights Development International, a local advocacy group. “The opposition and the ruling party are not giving us a clear roadmap as to how we are going to revamp the economy," he said, "How are we going to build trust in investors (and) businesspeople?” But for many Sierra Leonians, once the votes are cast on June 24, what they'll be watching for is a president who can bring people together. “Within their first 100 days, (the winner) should try not to vilify their opponents, nor create a hostile environment where people start feeling left out,” said Thomas Moore Conteh, the executive director for the Citizens Advocacy Network, a local rights group. “What we expect is (a president who) unifies the country, and works on building a powerful economy." ———- Mednick reported from Dakar, Senegal Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide EU member Slovenia overwhelmingly defeats Moscow ally Belarus for a seat on the UN Security Council Blinken arrives in Beijing for first China visit by US’s top diplomat in five years Trump floats special counsel conspiracy as he claims Fox abandoned ‘King’ of Maga

Elon Musk, the world’s richest-person and head of electric carmaker Tesla Inc., said President Joe Biden’s call for

The US secretary of state is the first American diplomat to visit China in almost five years.

The air quality in New York City deteriorated on Saturday evening as smoke from wild fires in Canada

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing on Sunday morning for a whirlwind diplomatic trip as the

A 19-year-old Michigan man accused of threatening a mass attack on a synagogue will make his second appearance in court this week after the FBI arrested him on Friday and discovered a cache of weapons at his home. Seann Patrick Pietila, of Pickford on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, was charged with one count of interstate communication of threats after posting antisemitic content on social media, prosecutors said. He appeared in court on Friday and a detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday. According to prosecutors, Mr Pietila seemed inspired by mass shootings that included the 15 March 2019 mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand which left 51 dead and 40 injured, The Detroit News reported. Court documents outlined how authorities found makeshift plans for Mr Pietila’s own event on the tragedy’s five year anniversary – 15 March 2024 – possibly targeting the Shaarey Zedek congregation in East Lansing, according to the AP. “The investigation began with a tip earlier this week that someone was making threats on Instagram to commit a mass killing, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court,” the AP reported. Officials said that a note was found in Pietila’s phone mentioning Shaarey Zedek and the date of 15 March 2024, the Lansing State Journal reported. The note continued: “Me and Limey, Equipment: hand-made pipe bombs, molotovs, Two Stag-15s, 12 guage shotgun and two back up Glock 18s AND a Akm full auto conversion,” the paper reported. On the same day the teenager was arrested, another man was found guilty by a federal jury of attacking.a synagogue 350 miles away in Pittsburgh in 2018. Robert Bowers was found guilty on all 63 counts he faced, which included hate crimes resulting in death and the obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death. The ruling came more than four years after he killed 11 people during the Tree of Life synagogue attack. On 18 October 2018, Bowers walked into the synagogue with an AR-15 and other guns and began firing at the congregants. The attack would become the worst anti-Semitic attack in US history. In addition to the 11 people he killed, Bowers injured seven people, including five police officers who engaged him in a shootout. In Michigan, Rabbi Amy Bigman of Shaarey Zedek told The Detroit News the synagogue had notified its congregation of 220 families after learning on Friday afternoon about the Pietila investigation from FBI agents, and that an arrest had been made and that person had been charged, the AP reported. “We wanted our congregation to know that federal, state and local authorities are aware of the situation that didn’t happen because our law enforcement was on top of things, which we are thankful for,” Bigman said. If convicted, Mr Pietila faces up to five years in federal prison. The Independent has reached out to his lawyer. US Attorney Mark Totten said on Friday that Mr Pietila was “alleged to have communicated with others on social media and “evinced a neo-Nazi ideology, antisemitism, glorification of past mass shooters, and a desire and intent to mimic past mass shooters or mass casualty events,” according to the State Journal. Mr Totten said he was “incredibly grateful to the FBI for their swift action to identify and arrest Pietila,” the AP reported. “Antisemitic threats and violence against our Jewish communities — or any other group for that matter — will not be tolerated in the Western District of Michigan,” he said. “Today and every day, we take all credible threats seriously.” Read More Synagogue shooter found guilty in deadliest attack on Jewish community in US history Synagogue massacre survivor cried 'Mommy' as her 97-year-old mother was shot and killed by her side Rabbi recounts fear and heroism during deadliest antisemitic attack in US history US weighs in on Roger Waters antisemitism debate, says artist has long history of denigrating Jews Kanye West sparks controversy after serving sushi on nude women during 46th birthday party

The two rival superpowers are having their most important talks in years. Here are the points of tension.

President Joe Biden on Saturday called the Chinese spy balloon debacle “embarrassing” for the Asian superpower’s leaders – while highlighting his hopes for productive talks as Antony Blinken embarks upon the first high-profile diplomatic trip to Beijing since the 46th president took office. Speaking before boarding a plane to Pennsylvania on Saturday morning, President Biden told reporters that China “has some legitimate difficulties unrelated to the United States. “And I think one of the things that that balloon caused was not so much that it got shot down, but I don’t think the leadership knew where it was and knew what was in it and knew what was going on,” the President said. “I think it was more embarrassing than it was intentional. And so I’m hoping that, over the next several months, I’ll be meeting with [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping] again, and talking about legitimate differences we have – but also how ... to get along.” The already tense relations between the United States and China became further strained earlier this year when the US shot down what it said was a Chinese spy balloon flying over American soil. China persistently denied that the balloon, which was shot down in February over the Atlantic, had been used for spying. Presidents Biden and Xi agreed to Secretary Blinken’s trip at a meeting last year in Bali, but it was delayed by the balloon drama. Secretary Blinken will be the highest-level American official to visit China since President Biden took office and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years. He is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday, top diplomat Wang Yi, and possibly Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, according to US officials. “Yet prospects for any significant breakthrough on the most vexing issues facing the planet’s two largest economies are slim, as already ties have grown increasingly fraught in recent years,” the Associated Press news agency reported. “Animosity and recriminations have steadily escalated over a series of disagreements that have implications for global security and stability.” Speaking to the AP before Mr Blinken’s departure, two US officials downplayed hopes for major progress and stressed that the trip was intended to restore a sense of calm and normalcy to high-level contacts. “We’re coming to Beijing with a realistic, confident approach and a sincere desire to manage our competition in the most responsible way possible,” said Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for East Asia and the Pacific. Kurt Campbell, the top Asia expert at the National Security Council, said “intense competition requires intense diplomacy if we’re going to manage tensions. That is the only way to clear up misperceptions, to signal, to communicate, and to work together where and when our interests align.” Read More Blinken set for high-stakes China visit with tensions rising and breakthrough prospects low China calls hacking report 'far-fetched' and accuses the US of targeting the cybersecurity industry Chinese premier meets with Palestinian president in effort to increase Middle East presence Blinken heads to China this weekend on mission to salvage sinking ties and keep communications open Beijing criticizes new US sanctions on companies over pilot training, weapons development

Joe Biden got his 2024 presidential re-election campaign underway in Philadelphia on Saturday by continuing to pitch voters on his pro-labour bonafides. The Democrat told an audience of union members at the Philadelphia Convention Center he would keep trying to boost the working and middle class with “Bidenomics,” which he framed as opposed to the ideas of Republicans, who recently unveiled a series of tax proposals that would funnel benefits overwhelmingly to the wealthiest Americans. “They are coming for your jobs. They are coming for your future. They are coming for the future we are building for your kids and grandkids,” Mr Biden told the crowd. “And when they come as they did this past week with the trickle down economics plan, cut taxes for the rich, who do you think they are carrying the water for?...Who do you think is going to start carrying the burden? You are. Working people in this country.” According to an analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, under the recent tax proposals from the GOP, the richest fifth of Americans would receive $60.8bn in benefits next year, while the poorest would receive nearly 60 times less. During the event, Mr Biden cited initiatives like the bipartisan $50bn semiconductor manufacturing investment bill signed last summer, as evidence of his attempts to back American workers. This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information. Read More Trump says ‘Long live the King’ in rant day after Biden said ‘God save the Queen’ Nikki Haley's husband begins Africa deployment as she campaigns for 2024 GOP nomination Biden seeing collapsed stretch of Interstate 95 from the air over Philadelphia

Donald Trump and Joe Biden made strange royal references this weekend. In a rant on his Truth Social page on Saturday, Mr Trump referred to himself as “The King” in an extended, somewhat inscrutable metaphor about the relationship between him and Fox News. “Well, it’s happened, just as I predicted,” Mr Trump wrote. “The Golden Goose that was so beautiful is being slaughtered by Fools. MAGA has left Fox for more promising “prairies.” Long live the King. The only solution for Fox News is to bring back Trump Allies and MAGA—Backing No Personality Ron DeSanctimonious has been a disaster….” Mr Trump has been fuming at the conservative news network for years, after Fox was early in (correctly) calling the key battleground state of Arizona for Joe Biden during the 2020 election. Things only escalated during the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit against the network, in which embarrassing internal communications showed top Fox anchors and leadership questioning or outright mocking Donald Trump and his election-related conspiracies. “Why is Rupert Murdoch throwing his anchors under the table, which also happens to be killing his case and infuriating his viewers, who will again be leaving in droves - they already are,” the former president said on Truth Social. “There is MASSIVE evidence of voter fraud & irregularities in the 2020 Presidential Election. Just look at the documentary ‘2000 MULES’ and you will see large scale ballot stuffing caught on government cameras, or votes cast without Legislatures approval, or just recently, the FBI/Twitter Files Scandal. RIGGED!!!” Mr Trump wasn’t the only one with a monarchy moment in recent days. On Friday, speaking before the National Safer Communities Summit in Connecticut, Mr Biden ended a speech about gun violence with the phrase, “God Save The Queen.” Mr Biden, who often speaks of his pride in having Irish-American heritage, is usually more known for making headlines by being slightly sceptical of the British monarchy. Last month, during a fundraising event in New York, the president said he visited Northern Ireland for the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April to make sure “the Brits didn’t screw around.” Read More Nikki Haley's husband begins Africa deployment as she campaigns for 2024 GOP nomination Trump can’t bully his way out of his latest legal woes – he’s just too stubborn to know when he’s beaten Watch live: Joe Biden kicks of re-election campaign in Pennsylvania with union rally

The last time that a Democratic presidential candidate won North Carolina, Anderson Clayton could not vote. But now, the 25-year-old chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party has a task that would overwhelm operatives twice her age: flip North Carolina blue for the first time in 16 years. “Like, I know that we either win in 2024, and we do amazing things and we go forward as a state and as a nation, or we regress backwards,” she told The Independent in an interview. “It really is now or never for North Carolina, in my opinion.” Republicans, for their part, know that the state is important. Last weekend, former president Donald Trump, former vice president Mike Pence and Florida Gov Ron DeSantis, three of the top contenders for the Republican nomination for president, descended on Greensboro for the state GOP convention. North Carolina is not an early primary state like Iowa, New Hampshire, or even neighbouring South Carolina. But the three candidates visiting the state shows the importance of the state, Ms Clayton told The Independent. “They have to win North Carolina,” Ms Clayton said, noting how the last time a Republican won the presidency without winning the Tar Heel State was Dwight Eisenhower’ in the 1950s. “And what’s at stake is that you have three candidates like Trump and Pence and DeSantis, who are coming in who are all three examples, in my opinion, of right-wing extremism each in their own right.” Democratic voters in the state have plenty of reasons to turn out and vote. Despite the fact that the state has a Democratic governor in Roy Cooper, Republicans in the state legislature have enough votes to override his veto, which they did recently when they passed a 12-week abortion ban, cutting off abortion access throughout a majority of the South. Mr Cooper, who is term-limited, will also see the end of his term in 2024, which means Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein will compete for his seat against Mark Robinson, who has a history of making inflammatory remarks. Ms Clayton said she is not taking anything for granted, especially against an incredibly well-organised Republican Party. “I think that Democrats have to take the energy that we have right now and the anger that we have right now and motivate it forward and use people to say how do we turn anger into action,” she said. “Because right now, there’s not a whole lot of things that we can change at the state level, because you know, you do have racial gerrymandering that is now legal ... that is racial gerrymandering to me.” Democrats in North Carolina were not always starting from such a disadvantage. In 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win North Carolina since Jimmy Carter in 1976, while Kay Hagan won the state’s US Senate seat. Democrats also controlled the governorship and both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly even as other Southern states moved rightward since the 1960s. But since Mr Obama’s 2008 victory, Republicans have run the table in the state. In 2010, as the state reeled from the Great Recession, Republicans took both houses of the General Assembly for the first time since 1898 and in 2012, they won the governorship, giving them the first trifecta in ages. Since then, Republicans flipped the state’s other Senate seat when Thom Tillis won it in 2014 and held it in 2020 when a sex scandal felled Democrat Cal Cunningham, and Joe Biden narrowly lost the state even as Mr Cooper won re-election. Last year, even as Democrats beat back two Trump-endorsed congressional candidates, Republicans gained seats in the state legislature, cleaned up in the Supreme Court, and Republican Ted Budd beat Cheri Beasley in the Senate race thanks in part to Mr Trump’s endorsement and tons of money from Senate Mitch McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund political action committee. The weak performance led to Ms Clayton’s election. She said Democrats have made many mistakes in those intervening years, which caused them to fall so far, suggesting the party appears to have mostly abandoned rural voters. “The majority of North Carolina lives in a rural community, you’ve got the highest or the second highest population of rural folks besides Texas in our state,” she said. “And to cede any of that ground to see these populations that have historically black and brown communities. And then in these rural counties that we have not tapped into, it’s just doing a disservice to our party.” She said that means going to every county in the state. “So in our Democratic governor candidate showing up in Cherokee County in North Carolina, my God,” she said. “When was the last time that, you know, Murphy saw a Democrat, like, it’s been a minute, to be honest with you.” She also added that Democrats could learn from Mr Obama’s victory in 2008, when he sent organisers throughout the South. President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee have begun to make a play for the state and Mr Biden visited North Carolina last week. Ms Clayton added that, for the most part, Democrats nationally have avoided supporting state parties in the South. “Georgia had to win an election before the national party came in and invested in them,” she said. “There’s a real aspect here of, we have underfunded the South for generations in this party. And you’re underfunding an area that is predominantly Black and brown communities that are, I think, a sleeping giant of the Democratic Party in the South.” North Carolina has eluded Democrats, unlike other southern states. Virginia has voted for a Democrat for president every election since Mr Obama’s first victory, though it elected a Republican governor in 2021, while Georgia voted for a Democrat for the first time since 1992 when Mr Biden won it in 2020 and it now has two Democratic Senators. Ms Clayton’s youth may befuddle some, and she said she never imagined she’d be a state party chairwoman. “It’s allowed me to be able to say everything that I’ve ever wanted to do on behalf of a Democratic Party,” she said. “And I think that that’s a really empowering place to be. And it’s going to inspire, I hope, more young people to realise that this world that we’re living in is ours to change the reality of.” Since assuming the leadership post, Democrats received a gut punch when Tricia Cotham, a Democratic state legislator, switched parties, giving Republicans a veto-proof majority in the legislature. At the state’s GOP convention last weekend, she was feted as a hero and Mr Pence gave her a shout-out. That enabled them to pass a 12-week abortion ban and override Mr Cooper’s veto. In addition, during the convention, Mr Trump touted how he won the state twice and continued to repeat his lies about a stolen election. Ms Clayton said that she wants North Carolina to be a firewall against election lies. “And for me, the case that I'm making is that, we don't want to give election deniers a two-week window to make that case. We want to make sure this election is wrapped up on the November night,” she said. Still, she added that she is not being a defeatist. “I know it feels like that right now, I know that the defeatist nature of or the Republican extremism is hard to come out of right now,” she said. “But we have to, and we have to snap back as a population and, and being able to say we need to run somebody everywhere.” Read More GOP senator Thom Tillis is pushing back on Trump on guns. Why the North Carolina Republican think it’s time to act ‘It’s making them angrier’: North Carolina Republicans rally around Trump after indictment ‘Everybody needs to support Trump’: Ex-president’s indictment overshadows DeSantis in North Carolina Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement