The biggest US companies are badly trailing their Chinese counterparts when it comes to generating income from solar,

Venezuela dispatched some of its top officials to China to seek energy investments to boost the economy ahead

Ukraine has broken the "stalemate" on the frontline and is making progress in its counteroffensive against Russia, a senior Kyiv official claimed. The embattled nation began its long-awaited counteroffensive in June this year against the Russian invaders. But progress has been slower than anticipated as Ukrainian forces try and take heavily fortified Russian positions, surrounded by landmines. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar brushed aside any suggestion that Kyiv's progress was too slow and said Ukraine had military doctrine by attacking an enemy that has a numerical advantage in manpower and weaponry. Ms Mailar said: "It's incorrect to measure this advance by metres or kilometres. "What's important is the very fact that despite everything, we're moving forward even though we have fewer people and fewer weapons." Her claims were also backed up by the US as White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing on Tuesday: "We have been clear all along that this battlefield is very dynamic."We are seeing it (Ukraine) continue to take territory on a methodical, systematic basis." Read More Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away? Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said to be recruiting Wagner 'strongmen' for Africa On the ground in Ukraine, the desperate fight to protect a key city from 100,000 of ‘Putin’s thugs’

The critic shared that the movie gives out subtle hints about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's relationship

Tamieka White, 46, was declared dead on the spot after Indianapolis policemen had arrived at her residence on the city's east side after the brutal dog attack

The specter of UFOs and little green men visited Mexico City as lawmakers heard testimony from researchers suggesting the possibility that extraterrestrials might exist

A man in his 50s has died after his e-scooter was struck by a van in County Sligo.

By Jamie McGeever A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.

Eve Hewson - the daughter of U2 frontman Bono - has to conquer her "fear of singing" for her part in the movie 'Flora and Son'.

President Vladimir Putin recruited a former aide of late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to oversee mercenary fighter units in Ukraine. The Russian president met Andrei Troshev, who is known by his nom de guerre "Sedoi" or "grey hair", along with deputy defence minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov on Thursday night, the Kremlin said in a statement. Mr Putin reportedly said that they had spoken about how "volunteer units that can perform various combat tasks, above all, of course, in the zone of the special military operation". "You yourself have been fighting in such a unit for more than a year," the president said. "You know what it is, how it is done, you know about the issues that need to be resolved in advance so that the combat work goes in the best and most successful way." The meeting appeared to be the Kremlin's attempt to show that Mr Putin had regained control over the mercenary group since Prigozhin's death in a plane crash in August following a failed mutiny against Moscow. Prigozhin had claimed that the mutiny, which was aborted before reaching Moscow, was not aimed at toppling Mr Putin but at settling scores with defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov. The president in recent months ordered the Wagner mercenaries to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state – a step Prigozhin had opposed. Mr Troshev “betrayed” Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny against Moscow after earning Mr Putin’s favour by transferring inside information to the Russian defence ministry, investigative outlet Gulagu.net claimed in July. It is believed that Wagner will now be overseen by Mr Troshev and M Yrevkurov, who have travelled to several countries in recent months where the mercenaries worked. Mr Troshev was born in Leningrad – the Soviet-era name for Mr Putin's home town St Petersburg – and has earlier been pictured with the president. He fought in Afghanistan during the Soviet Union's decade-long war. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he served in the North Caucasus with the Russian army and then in SOBR, a quick reaction special forces unit of the Russian interior ministry. He was a commander in the unit. For his service in Afghanistan, Mr Troshev was awarded the military decoration Order of the Red Star twice. He was awarded Russia's highest medal – Hero of Russia – in 2016 for the storming of Palmyra in Syria against Islamic State militants. Several hundred fighters of the Wagner group have returned to the battlefield in Ukraine to fight for Russia, Kyiv claimed. “We have recorded the presence of a maximum of several hundred fighters of the former Wagner PMC (private military company),” spokesperson for the eastern military command Serhiy Cherevatyi said. These Wagner fighters were scattered in different places and were not part of a single unit, and had no significant impact, he said. “They do not constitute any integral, systematic, organised force,” the spokesperson said. “As they say – game over. These are pathetic remnants, nothing good awaits them here.” Read More Ukraine war - live: Kyiv ‘strikes power substation in Russia’ as Putin meets ‘Grey Hair’ commander Ukraine says hundreds of Wagner fighters back on battlefield months after failed coup A month after Prigozhin’s suspicious death, the Kremlin is silent on his plane crash and legacy The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

The bot has been likened to a “completely drunk comedian."

Hideki Matsuyama won his first PGA Tour title at the Memorial in 2014