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Three Ukraine-based Russian paramilitary groups say they have crossed into Russia and are now fighting government troops there. The Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) and Siberian Battalion (SB) posted videos purportedly showing their fighters in Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions. The FRL and an exiled Russian politician claimed two villages were now in control of "liberation forces". Russia's defence ministry said the breakthrough attempts were thwarted. It claimed more than 234 Ukrainian troops had been killed and several tanks had been destroyed. Ukraine-based Russian armed groups claim raids into Russia 18 hours ago By Jaroslav Lukiv, BBC News Share Telegram/Freedom of Russia Legion An armed soldier in a video posted by the Freedom of Russia LegionTelegram/Freedom of Russia Legion The Freedom of Russia Legion said Russia must be "freed from Putin's dictatorship" Three Ukraine-based Russian paramilitary groups say they have crossed into Russia and are n...

The rate of price increases picked up in February, as petrol and housing costs pushed higher. from BBC News https://ift.tt/8NgqTBv Posted by Golam Rabbany website

The US will send $300m (£234m) in military weapons to Ukraine, including ammunition, rockets and anti-aircraft missiles, the White House has said. The surprise announcement comes as a bill in Congress to send further aid to Ukraine stalls amid partisan debate. The US shipment, the first in nearly three months, is intended to prevent Ukraine from losing ground to Russia. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said this aid "is nowhere near enough to meet Ukraine's battlefield needs". "This ammunition will keep Ukraine's guns firing for a period, but only a short period," Mr Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday, adding that "it will not prevent Ukraine from running out of ammunition." The White House has been appealing to Congress for months to pass a budget that sends aid to Ukraine, as well as Israel and Taiwan. A $60bn aid bill has already passed the Senate, but has yet to face a vote in the House of Representatives. Speaker of the House Mike Johns...

India's government has announced plans to enact a controversial citizenship law that has been criticised for being anti-Muslim. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will allow non-Muslim religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to seek citizenship. The authorities say it will help those facing persecution. The law was passed in 2019 - sparking mass protests in which scores of people died and many more were arrested. Rules for it were not drawn up in the wake of the unrest but have now been, according to the country's home affairs minister Amit Shah. He made the announcement on Monday, writing on social media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "delivered on another commitment and realised the promise of the makers of our constitution to the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians living in those countries". Implementation of the CAA has been one of the key poll promises of Mr Modi's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Pa...

The fraud trial of a British hedge fund trader renowned for throwing extravagant parties and hosting stars such as Elton John at charity concerts has begun. Sanjay Shah is one of nine British and US nationals accused of defrauding Denmark out of $1.8bn (£1.4bn) through major tax evasion and avoidance schemes. The so-called cum-ex schemes were designed to exploit weaknesses in national tax laws and focused on huge share trades, which were carried out with the sole purpose of generating multiple refunds of a tax that had only been paid once. Mr Shah, the founder of London-based hedge fund Solo Capital Partners, denies any wrongdoing. He has been held in custody in Denmark since being extradited to the country following his arrest in Dubai in 2022. Prosecutors alleged that Mr Shah, the main suspect in the case, fraudulently obtained a dividend tax refund from the Danish treasury via the trading schemes that flourished following the 2008 financial crisis, Reuters reported. So-called cum-ex...

India's government has announced plans to enact a controversial citizenship law that has been criticised for being anti-Muslim. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will allow non-Muslim religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to seek citizenship. The authorities say it will help those facing persecution. The law was passed in 2019 - sparking mass protests in which scores of people died and many more were arrested. Rules for it were not drawn up in the wake of the unrest but have now been, according to the country's home affairs minister Amit Shah. He made the announcement on Monday, writing on social media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "delivered on another commitment and realised the promise of the makers of our constitution to the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians living in those countries".

Oppenheimer wins six awards as best picture to be announced 18,208 18,208 viewing this page With updates from Katie Razzall, Emma Saunders, Emma Vardy, Peter Bowes and Tom Brook in Los Angeles. Related Video and Audio VIDEO 33 SECONDSVIDEO 33 SECONDS0:33 Play video Watch: Stars dazzle on red carpet in Oscars arrival from BBCWatch: Stars dazzle on red carpet in Oscars arrival BBC Play video Watch: Stars dazzle on red carpet in Oscars arrival from BBC VIDEO 1 MINUTE 22 SECONDSVIDEO 1 MINUTE 22 SECONDS1:22 Play video The first Arab woman with two Oscar nominations from BBCThe first Arab woman with two Oscar nominations BBC Play video The first Arab woman with two Oscar nominations from BBC VIDEO 1 MINUTE 31 SECONDSVIDEO 1 MINUTE 31 SECONDS1:31 Play video Cate Blanchett: The New Boy co-star is 'a magnetic presence' from BBCCate Blanchett: The New Boy co-star is 'a magnetic presence' BBC Play video Cate Blanchett: The New Boy co-star is 'a magnetic presence' from BBC...

Ukraine has strongly rejected a call by Pope Francis for Kyiv to negotiate an end to its war with Russia and have "the courage to raise the white flag". Ukraine's foreign minister says it will "never raise any other flags" than the country's blue and yellow colours. And the country's President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the comments as "virtual mediation". A Vatican spokesman later said the Pope was speaking of stopping the fighting through negotiation, not capitulation. The interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, recorded in February, is scheduled to air on 20 March as part of a cultural programme. According to a transcript quoted by Reuters news agency, the Pope was asked to comment on a debate between those who want Ukraine to seek a settlement with Russia - or wave the "white flag", as the interviewer put it - and those who argue that doing so would legitimise aggression. The Pope was quoted as saying: "The strongest one is t...

This week, Germany faced uncomfortable questions after a security lapse allowed a top-secret military discussion to be intercepted - then made public by Russian state media. Officers from the German air force were heard talking about weapons aid to Ukraine, and the conversation also included sensitive details about UK military activities. Our analysis editor Ros Atkins explains.

This week, Germany faced uncomfortable questions after a security lapse allowed a top-secret military discussion to be intercepted - then made public by Russian state media. Officers from the German air force were heard talking about weapons aid to Ukraine, and the conversation also included sensitive details about UK military activities. Our analysis editor Ros Atkins explains. When it was released last year, the Pooh film received a string of downright awful reviews. The Guardian called it a "a terrifying combination of not-scary and not-funny" awarding it one star, while Empire said it was "the poorest writing and acting seen in a theatrically-released horror film in living memory". The movie won worst picture, worst screenplay, worst director and worst rip-off. Pooh and Piglet, depicted in the film as blood-thirsty killers, also won worst on-screen couple. But the negative reviews have not deterred director Rhys Frake-Waterfield, who won worst director. He has a...

A Hamas delegation has left talks in Cairo without a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza, but the armed group says indirect negotiations with Israel are not over. It had been hoped that a 40-day truce could be in place for the start of the Islamic month of Ramadan next week. With more signs of a famine looming, international pressure has only grown. But Egyptian and Qatari mediators have struggled to seal a deal that would see Hamas free Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails. Israel did not send a delegation to Cairo, saying it first wanted a list of the surviving hostages who could be released under the agreement. A Hamas delegation has left talks in Cairo without a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza, but the armed group says indirect negotiations with Israel are not over. It had been hoped that a 40-day truce could be in place for the start of the Islamic month of Ramadan next week. With more signs of a famine looming, international pressure has only grown. But Egypt...

President Joe Biden is to announce that the US military will construct a port in Gaza to get more humanitarian aid into the territory by sea, senior US officials say. The temporary port will increase the amount of humanitarian assistance to Palestinians by "hundreds of additional truckloads" per day, officials say. However it will not include US troops on the ground in Gaza, they said. The UN warns that a quarter of the population is on the brink of famine. The port will take "a number of weeks" to set up, the officials said, and will be able to receive large ships carrying food, water medicine, and temporary shelters. Initial shipments will arrive via Cyprus, where Israeli security inspections will take place. Mr Biden is due to make the announcement during his State of the Union address later. Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in Gaza after Hamas's attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 253 others w...

 The US has carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid for Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted in by three military planes. The operation, carried out jointly with Jordan's Air Force, was the first of many announced by President Joe Biden. The head of a well-known aid organisation told the BBC he thought there was a famine in northern Gaza. At least 112 people were killed as crowds rushed to an aid convoy outside Gaza city on Thursday. Hamas has accused them for the killing. Israel denies this and says it is investigating. The first US airdrop comes as a top US official said the framework of a deal for a six-week ceasefire in Gaza was in place. The Biden administration official said on Saturday that Israel had "more or less accepted" the deal. "It will be a six-week ceasefire in Gaza starting today if Hamas agrees to release the defined category of vulnerable hostages (...) the sick, the wounded, elderly and women," the unnamed official said. Med...

The smell of rotten, boiled eggs stands out in Kateryna’s memory of her six months living at a refugee camp in Berlin. “When you peel them, the smell is horrible,” she said. “The yolk is black.” She has a collection of photos and videos of inedible food on her phone that she says was served to Ukrainian refugees at the camp set up at the former Tegel airport. Sliced bread black with mould. Small white worms crawling on a yogurt cup. But the food, and subsequent stomach issues she said some developed, was only one of the issues plaguing the camp. With the two-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine approaching, Kateryna is one of more than a million Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in Germany hoping to restart their lives. That process, though, has been more confusing, stressful, and lengthier than she anticipated. The 38-year-old and her two teenage daughters shared a room with up to a dozen people, with only a thin curtain separating their unit from hundreds of others. Bunk beds lin...