Ukraine claims to liberate eastern village

 

What we're covering

• Ukrainian forces have taken back the village of Urozhaine in the eastern Donetsk region, following intense battles as part of its counteroffensive against Russia.
• The first container ship to use a temporary Black Sea shipping corridor, implemented after Russia withdrew from a UN-brokered grain deal last month, departed Odesa Wednesday.
• Separately, Russian drones attacked port infrastructure on the Danube River in southern Ukraine, damaging granaries and warehouses.
• CNN has exclusive footage showing the moment Ukrainian forces used an experimental sea drone to attack Russia’s bridge to annexed Crimea.

Germany's Cabinet Okays Bill Legalising Recreational Marijuana Use

 

The legislation, which still has to pass parliament, would allow adults to possess up to 25 grams of the drug, grow a maximum of three plants, or acquire weed at cannabis clubs. 

Germany's cabinet on Wednesday passed a contentious bill to legalize recreational marijuana use and cultivation, potentially giving further momentum to a worldwide trend to liberalize cannabis laws.

The legislation, which still has to pass parliament, would allow adults to possess up to 25 grams of the drug, grow a maximum of three plants, or acquire weed at cannabis clubs.

The centre-left government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes the law will curb the black market, protect consumers against contaminated marijuana and lessen the workload for the justice system.

how to download Genshin game

Genshin Impact is an action role-playing game developed by miHoYo, and published by miHoYo in mainland China and by Cognosphere, d/b/a HoYoverse worldwide. It was released for Android, iOS, PlayStation 4, and Windows in 2020, on PlayStation 5 in 2021, and is set for release on Nintendo Switch 

Special Counsel Obtained Trump’s Direct Messages on Twitter

 The federal prosecutors who charged former President Donald J. Trump this month with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election got access this winter to a trove of so-called direct messages that Mr. Trump sent others privately through his Twitter account, according to court papers unsealed on Tuesday.

While it remained unclear what sorts of information the messages contained and who exactly may have written them, it was a revelation that there were private messages associated with the Twitter account of Mr. Trump, who has famously been cautious about using written forms of communications in his dealings with aides and allies.

The court papers disclosing that prosecutors in the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, obtained direct messages from Mr. Trump’s Twitter account emerged from a fight with Twitter over the legality of executing a warrant on the former president’s social media. Days after the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the platform shut down his account.

The papers included transcripts of hearings in Federal District Court in Washington in February during which Judge Beryl A. Howell asserted that Mr. Smith’s office had sought Mr. Trump’s direct messages — or DMs — from Twitter as part of a search warrant it executed on the account in January.

Co-host Australia takes on England for ticket to World Cup final

 

Australia's defense minister jokingly hands duties over to goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold

From CNN's George Ramsay

This is a huge semifinal between two age-old rivals, and Australia’s Minister for Defence Richard Marles (as a joke, of course) has announced that he's not up to the job.

In a video on X, formerly Twitter, Marles explained how it was his "solemn duty" to temporarily hand his duties to Matildas shot-stopper Mackenzie Arnold ahead of the game against England.

"Tonight, our country faces a grave threat and it comes from the old enemy," Marles said in the video.

"I know that I am unable to meet the moment, so this afternoon, it is my solemn duty to resign as Australia's Minister for Defence and I've handed my commission to Mackenzie Arnold.

"As Australia expects, I know that in this hour she will do us proud."

But tomorrow, Marles added, "Can you please give me back the keys?"

Burj Khalifa displays the Tricolour on India’s Independence Day, Pak flag flashed a day earlier

 

The Burj Khalifa, the world’s highest skyscraper, in Dubai lit up with India’s Tricolour to commemorate India’s 77th Independence Day. The official Instagram handle of Burj Khalifa shared a clip showing the skyscraper lit up in the colours of India’s Tricolour — saffron, white and green.

Messages like “Happy 77th Independence Day To Mother India” and “Long Live India and UAE Friendship” were also projected on the skyscraper along with a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi.

“Tonight, #BurjKhalifa commemorates the Republic of India on their Independence Day. Wishing the people of India a day filled with celebration and pride as you celebrate the rich history and diverse culture of your nation. May India continue to shine brightly with progress, unity and prosperity. Happy Independence Day!” said the caption of the video.

Ukrainian prisoners of war say they were tortured at Russian prison

 

Former Ukrainian captives say they were subjected to torture, including frequent beatings and electric shocks, while in custody at a detention facility in south-western Russia, in what would be serious violations of international humanitarian law.

In interviews with the BBC, a dozen ex-detainees released in prisoner exchanges alleged physical and psychological abuse by Russian officers and guards at the Pre-Trial Detention Facility Number Two, in the city of Taganrog.

The testimonies, gathered during a weeks-long investigation, describe a consistent pattern of extreme violence and ill-treatment at the facility, one of the locations where Ukrainian prisoners of war have been held in Russia.

Their allegations include:

• Men and women at the Taganrog site are repeatedly beaten, including in the kidneys and chest, and given electric shocks in daily inspections and interrogations
• Russian guards constantly threaten and intimidate detainees, some of whom have given false confessions which were allegedly used as evidence against them in trials
• Captives are constantly left under-nourished, and those who are injured are not given appropriate medical assistance, with reports of detainees dying at the facility

The BBC has been unable to independently verify the claims, but details of the accounts were shared with human rights groups and, when possible, corroborated by other detainees.

The Russian government has not allowed any outside bodies, including the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to visit the facility which before the war was used exclusively to hold Russian prisoners.

Russia's defence ministry did not respond to several requests to comment on the allegations. It has previously denied torturing or mistreating captives.

The prisoner swaps between Ukraine and Russia are a rare diplomatic achievement in the war and more than 2,500 Ukrainians have been released since the start of the conflict. Up to 10,000 captives are believed to remain in Russian custody, according to human rights groups.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman and one of the officials involved in exchange negotiations with Moscow, said nine in every 10 former detainees claimed they had been tortured while in Russian captivity. "This is the biggest challenge for me now: how to protect our people on the Russian side," Lubinets said. "Nobody knows how we can do it."

Harrison Ford has a new Peruvian snake species named after him

Unlike his Indiana Jones character, Ford says he likes snakes and called the discovery "humbling".

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Who are the 18 others charged alongside Donald Trump in Georgia?

From Kanye West's former publicist to an ex-chief of staff - here's who else was charged in Georgia.

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Crooked House owners' links to previous major fire

A huge fire broke out at a Buckinghamshire landfill site five years before the Black Country blaze.

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Texas woman awarded $1.2bn in revenge porn case

The woman sued her ex-boyfriend for posting intimate photos of her online to "publicly shame" her.

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Rudy Giuliani jailed mobsters with a charge he now faces

The "Rico" Act helped earn Rudy Giuliani a reputation as a "mob buster". Now he's facing a Rico charge.

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At least 27 die in inferno at petrol station in Dagestan southern Russia

 At least 27 people have been killed in an explosion and fire at a petrol station in Dagestan in southern Russia.

The blast occurred in the regional capital Makhachkala, which sits on the coast of the Caspian Sea, at 21:40 local time (18:40 GMT).

Dozens of other people were injured in the incident, the exact cause of which is not yet clear.

Pictures showed a large fire lighting up the night sky and a number of fire engines at the scene.

Some 260 emergency workers have been deployed, as has an aircraft to evacuate the seriously injured to Moscow, the emergencies ministry said.

Russia's Interfax news agency quoted doctors as saying three children were among the dead.

It added that the fire had spread over an area of 600 sq m (6,460 sq ft) and that there was a danger of further explosions.

An unnamed witness quoted by Russian newspaper Izvestia said the fire had started on a car lot opposite the petrol station.

"After the explosion, everything fell on our heads. We couldn't see anything anymore," the witness said.

Russia's Investigative Committee said the fire had broken out during some car maintenance work and had been "followed by a bang".

A criminal case has been opened to establish the circumstances leading up to the incident, the Committee said.

The Republic of Dagestan is one of 83 constituent parts of the Russian Federation and is the southernmost part of the country. Makhachkala sits around 1,600 km (1,000 miles) from Moscow.

SC pulls up News Broadcasters Association over lack of self-regulation by TV channels

 

Pointing out that self-regulation of television channels has proven to be “ineffective”, the Supreme Court Monday said that it would issue guidelines to strengthen such regulation.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud along with Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra said that unless rules were made stringent, there was no compulsion on television channels to comply with the same, Bar and Bench reported. The bench further sought suggestions on the present penalty of Rs 1 lakh imposed on news channels for violation of News Broadcasters Association (NBA) guidelines.

CJI Chandrachud questioned, “You say TV channels practice self restraint. I don’t know how many in court would agree with you. Everybody went berserk whether it was a murder etc. You preempt the investigation. What is the fine you impose? ₹1 lakh! How much does a channel earn in one day. Unless you make the rules stringent no TV channel has no compulsion to comply. For any violation if there is a lakh penalty then what stops them?”

How to watch 2023-24 Premier League live streams from anywhere

The Premier League gets back underway this weekend and we have the perfect solution of how to watch every game this season, wherever in the world you may be.

With the top flight looking more competitive than ever at the top of the table, you won’t want to miss any of the action.

Unfortunately, depending on your location, you will be limited in the Premier League matches you will be able to watch. If you live in the UK, for example, no Saturday 3pm matches are shown live due to blackout laws.

A stunning possible fourth indictment looms over Trump and the 2024 election

 Yet another likely criminal indictment is looming over Donald Trump this week, which would deepen his already extreme legal quagmire and further divert an unparalleled election season from the campaign trail into multiple courtrooms.

Atlanta-area prosecutor Fani Willis, a Democrat, has called at least two key witnesses to appear before a grand jury on Tuesday in a sign that her probe into the ex-president’s bid to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia, a vital swing state, is nearing its end game. Willis is expected to seek charges against more than a dozen people. Trump believes he will be among them and is already fundraising off of the possibility of more criminal charges, casting them as Democratic efforts to interfere in the 2024 election.

If Trump does face any fresh charges, they would follow three previous indictments. He’s already facing a March trial in Manhattan over business fraud charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to an adult film actress. He’s also facing federal charges from special counsel Jack Smith’s two probes – in Florida, into his mishandling of classified documents, and in Washington, DC, over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election. He’s pleaded not guilty in all the cases against him so far.

But there will be key differences between the potential case in Georgia and Trump’s previous indictments. While Trump’s 2024 campaign has predominantly become an extension of his legal defense, any possible trial and conviction in Georgia would be far harder for him to meddle with if he is elected to a second term since presidential powers that could help him interfere with federal cases do not extend to local matters.

“Not only would he not be able to pardon himself, but the pardon process in Georgia means Gov. (Brian) Kemp would not be able to pardon him either. There’s a pardon board. So it’s a more complicated process,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said on “CNN Newsroom” on Saturday. “He also would not be able to shut down the investigation in the same way.”

6 people die as migrant boat sinks in the English Channel

  

Six people died after a boat carrying migrants sank in the English Channel, authorities say, while two people could still be missing.

According to testimonies of survivors, 65 or 66 people were on board the boat which sank, local French authorities said. They added that more than 20 people were taken to Dover by British authorities.

Local mayor Franck Dhersin tweeted an image of some of the migrants who had been rescued aboard a rescue boat covered with gold aluminum blankets.

“Here is another catastrophe off the coast of Calais/Wissant with several drowned migrants. One day, we will have to stop simply recording the number of deaths in the Channel and the Mediterranean,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

All six people who drowned were Afghan men, according to Peymana Assad, a local councilor in the London Borough of Harrow.

“Afghans are running from Afghanistan because of the Taliban. They are on small boats because the UK government won’t open safe and legal routes for Afghans like they have for Ukrainians. Don’t even know what to say anymore,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Heavy rains bring deadly flash flood and landslide to northwest China

 

At least 21 people are dead and six others missing after a flash flood and landslide following torrential rains in the outskirts of northwestern China’s Xi’an city, local authorities said Sunday.

The natural disaster, which took place in a mountainside village on Friday, also caused blackouts affecting 900 households and damaged roads, bridges and communications infrastructure, according to the the Xi’an City Emergency Management Bureau.

Parts of China have seen record high temperatures and deadly flooding in recent weeks, with experts linking extreme weather around the world to climate change.

Nearly 1,000 rescue workers were deployed to Xi’an’s Weiziping village following the landslide and flash flood, with 186 people evacuated and relief efforts ongoing as of Sunday evening, authorities said. Two houses were also destroyed.

Zou Jingyi/AP

A restaurant owner in the village told state-run media outlet Cover News that a massive flow of mud and debris cascaded down the hillside in the late afternoon on Friday, sweeping away two buildings.

“Both houses were gone, and the people went missing too,” he was quoted as saying.

Christian Atsu: Partner 'hopes his name will never go away' after losing life in Turkey earthquakes

Christian Atsu's partner Marie-Claire Rupio says she "hopes his name will never go away", six months after his tragic death.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Rupio has spoken about the former Newcastle and Ghana midfielder losing his life in the earthquakes that devastated parts of Turkey and Syria.

They claimed more than 50,000 lives with Atsu, 31, found dead under the rubble of his home in Antakya on 18 February, almost two weeks after the quakes.

He and Rupio had three children together, aged nine, six and three at the time of his loss.

"For me, it's very important that his name is still there, especially for the children, that he was known, that he was loved by everybody," she says.

"I just hope that his name will never go away."

Speaking to media for the first time since his passing, Rubio describes the confusion over whether Atsu was safe, hearing about developments on the radio and the impact his death has had on her and their children.

Britain warns of possible terrorist attacks in Sweden

 

LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Britain on Sunday warned citizens going to Sweden of possible terrorist attacks following Koran burnings by anti-Islam activists that have outraged Muslims.

In updated travel advice, Britain's foreign ministry said Swedish authorities had successfully disrupted some planned attacks and made arrests.

"You should be vigilant at this time," it said, adding that "terrorists are very likely to try and carry out attacks in Sweden" with places visited by foreigners potential targets.

In a statement acknowledging Britain's changed travel advice, Sweden's National Security Advisor Henrik Landerholm reiterated the increased threats to Sweden since the burnings.

Landerholm said the storming of Sweden's embassy in Iraq on July 19, an attempted attack on its embassy in Lebanon on Aug. 9, and also the Aug. 1 shooting of an employee at a Swedish consulate in Turkey contributed to the risk assessment.