What we know about Russia's Wagner rebellion

MOSCOW (AFP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin faced the most serious challenge to his long rule on Saturday when the leader of the Wagner mercenary group vowed to topple Moscow's military leadership. Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, released a series of messages from late Friday into Saturday claiming that he and his troops had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and taken control of its military sites. That sparked a series of extraordinarily fast-moving events, with the private ar

June 25, 2023

Rebel Russian mercenaries halt advance on Moscow, Kremlin says fighters to face no action

Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who advanced most of the way to Moscow halted their approach, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, in a move that their leader said would avoid bloodshed. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former Putin ally and founder of the Wagner army, said his men reached within 125 miles (200 km) of the capital on Saturday. Earlier, Moscow deployed soldiers in preparation for their arrival and told residents to stay indoors. The Wagner fighte

June 25, 2023

The mercenary chief who urged an uprising against Russia's generals has long ties to Putin

The millionaire mercenary chief who long benefitted from the powerful patronage of President Vladimir Putin has moved into the global spotlight with a dramatic rebellion against Russia's military that challenged the authority of Putin himself. Yevgeny Prigozhin is the 62-year-old owner of the Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, a private army of inmate recruits and other mercenaries that has fought some of the deadliest battles in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On Friday, Prigozhin abruptly

June 25, 2023

Russia says Wagner Group's leader will move to Belarus after his rebellious march challenged Putin

  Russia says the head of a private military company who staged a short-lived rebellion will move to Belarus and not face prosecution as part of deal to defuse a crisis that posed a challenge to President Vladimir Putin's government.   The rebellious Russian mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow before abruptly reversing course will move to neighboring Belarus and not face prosecution, the Kremlin said Saturday, as part of a deal to defuse a crisis that represen

June 25, 2023

Putin vows to crush 'armed mutiny' after Russian mercenary boss tries to oust top brass

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to crush what he called an armed mutiny after rebellious mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday he had taken control of a southern city as part of an attempt to oust the military leadership. The dramatic turn, with many details unclear, looked like the biggest domestic crisis Putin has faced since he ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine - which he called a "special military operation" - in February last year. In a televised address

June 24, 2023

Cathay Pacific flight incident injures 11 in Hong Kong

Eleven people were injured on Cathay Pacific's flight CX880 at Hong Kong's international airport early on Saturday after the carrier aborted takeoff due to a technical issue, Cathay said in a statement. The flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles was carrying 17 crew and 293 passengers. It performed "an aborted takeoff in accordance with standard procedures after a technical issue was detected by the crew." The injuries occurred during a precautionary evacuation back at the gate

June 24, 2023

Russia declares 'anti-terrorist operation regime' in Moscow

Russia on Saturday declared an "anti-terrorist operation regime" in Moscow and the Moscow region, after the chief of the Wagner mercenary group vowed to overthrow Russia's military leadership and claimed control of a key military headquarters in the south. "With the aim of preventing possible terrorist acts on the territory of the city of Moscow and the Moscow region, an anti-terror operation regime has been introduced," the country's national anti-terrorist committ

June 24, 2023

Wagner chief vows to topple Russia top brass, says fighters 'ready to die'

The head of the Wagner mercenary group said Saturday he had crossed into Russia with his forces to topple Moscow's military leadership, saying he and his 25,000 fighters were "ready to die." Yevgeny Prigozhin, 62, said his forces, who have spearheaded much of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, had entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and controlled its military sites. "We are inside the (army) headquarters, it is 7:30 am (0430 GMT)," Prigozhin said in a vi

June 24, 2023

Yellen says it's 'critical' to maintain US-China ties after Biden's 'dictator' remarks

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that it’s “critical” the US and China maintain a relationship so they can “work together” on global challenges, coming just after President Joe Biden’s remarks calling Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “dictator” drew condemnation from Beijing. Speaking at a news conference in Paris, Yellen said that “with respect to the comments, I think President Biden and I both believe it’s critical to main

June 22, 2023

Blinken says he urged China to encourage N. Korea to act responsibly

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on China to use its influence on Pyongyang to stop the reclusive country from making further provocations, he said Monday, amid anticipation that North Korea may soon launch a space rocket in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Blinken insisted China is in a "unique" position to encourage North Korea to act responsibly. "We also spoke about North Korea's increasingly reckless actions and rheto

June 19, 2023

Four Palestinians killed as Israel deploys helicopters in West Bank

JENIN, Palestinian Territories -- Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank killed four Palestinians including a militant on Monday, in a raid that saw seven Israeli security personnel wounded and rare helicopter fire. The sound of gunfire was heard across Jenin as wounded Palestinians continued to arrived by ambulance to the northern West Bank city's Ibn Sina hospital into the early afternoon, an AFP journalist said. The Palestinian health ministry said four people had been killed and at le

June 19, 2023

Europe is world's fastest warming continent: climate report

PARIS -- Europe should brace for more deadly heatwaves driven by climate change, said a sweeping report on Monday, noting the world's fastest-warming continent was some 2.3 degrees Celsius hotter last year than in pre-industrial times. Crop-withering drought, record sea-surface temperatures and unprecedented glacier melt are among the consequences laid out in a report by the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The continent, whi

June 19, 2023

Chinese online shoppers are enticed by deep discounts, payment plans as zest for spending lags

HONG KONG — Chinese shoppers were treated to deep discounts, new products and payment plans as online merchants sought to revive their sluggish appetite for spending during China’s first major online shopping festival after the end of zero-COVID policies. For the first time, e-commerce retailer JD.com did not release the results of its 618 shopping festival, which ended Sunday, making it hard to know just how much was spent. A bigger shopping festival, Single's Day, held on Nov.

June 19, 2023

US-China pledge to stabilize deteriorating ties, resume high-level talks after Blinken visit

BEIJING — The United States and China have pledged to stabilize their badly deteriorated ties during a critical visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi pronounced himself satisfied with progress made during talks in Beijing. But, Blinken told media, China refused to resume military to military communications, a US priority. It remains to be seen whether the two countries can resolve their most important disagreements, m

June 19, 2023

Soccer project tracking social media abuse identifies 300 people from World Cup posts

A project using artificial intelligence to track social media abuse aimed at players at the 2022 World Cup identified more than 300 people whose details are being given to law enforcement, FIFA said Sunday. The people made “abusive, discriminatory, threatening posts or comments” on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, soccer’s governing body said in a report detailing efforts to protect players and officials during the tournament played in Qatar. The

June 18, 2023

Militant attack kills 41 at Ugandan school

MPONDWE, Uganda -- Militants linked to the Islamic State group massacred at least 41 people, mostly students, in western Uganda, the country's deadliest such attack in over a decade, officials said Saturday. The military said it was pursuing the attackers from the Allied Democratic Forces, who also abducted six people during a raid on a school late Friday before fleeing back towards the Democratic Republic of Congo. Officials and witnesses said guns and knives were used in a grisly late-nig

June 18, 2023

US, Japan, Philippines discuss S. China sea, North Korea

The national security advisers of the United States, Japan and the Philippines on Friday discussed regional security issues and ways to strengthen the trilateral alliance, they said in a joint statement. It was the first meeting between White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and his counterparts, Akiba Takeo of Japan and Eduardo Ano of the Philippines. "The three (advisers) discussed a wide range of regional security challenges, including with respect to the South China Sea and

June 16, 2023

[Graphic News] Canadian fires in context of century’s catastrophic wildfires

In the throes of Canada’s raging wildfires, a glance at this century’s major blazes paints a troubling picture of a globe marked by climate change. The 21st century has seen many of these destructive events, with Australia’s 2019-20 season and Russia’s 2021 wildfires scorching immense tracts of land. The fire seasons of 2009 and 2015, one in Australia and another in Russia, saw an alarming loss of life, unlike most other major fires. The current Canadian situation, althou

June 14, 2023

Silvio Berlusconi, scandal-scarred ex-Italian leader, dies at 86, according to his TV network

MILAN — Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday, according to his television network. He was 86. Mediaset announced his death with a smiling photo of the man on its homepage and the headline: “Berlusconi is dead.” Berlusconi was admitted to the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan on Friday, his second recent hospitalization for treatm

June 12, 2023

4 kids found alive after 40 days in Amazon

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Four Indigenous children survived an Amazon plane crash that killed three adults and then braved the jungle for 40 days before being found alive by Colombian soldiers, bringing a happy ending to a search-and-rescue saga that captivated a nation but also prompted questions about their extraordinary survival. Officials in the South American country announced their rescue Friday, following days of highs and lows as searchers frantically combed through the rainforest hunting for

June 11, 2023