Russia’s military personnel losses in its invasion of Ukraine have crossed 300,000, showed estimates by the UK that also said thousands more have deserted the battlefield. James Heappey, minister of state for the armed forces, revealed the UK’s estimates of losses faced by Vladimir Putin since the start of the invasion in February last year. “We estimate that approximately 302,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already deserted since the start of the conflict,” he said on Tuesday in response to queries from John Healey, the shadow secretary of state for defence. The UK’s estimate of casualties is similar to the assessment made by Kyiv, that said Russia had lost a total 313,470 military personnel in combat as of Tuesday. It comes as two Russian state media agencies withdrew reports of military operations. The agencies – TASS and RIA Novosti – said that the Russian Ministry of Defence had announced relocations of troops to an unspecified “more advantageous positions” east of the Dnipro river. The potentially significant bulletins were available for about 10 minutes, after which two state news outlets withdrew them without any follow-up. Read More Why Russia retracted state media reports on its Ukraine frontline movements Giuliani ally in Ukraine charged with treason Russian convicted of Kremlin critic’s murder pardoned after fighting in Ukraine A man convicted in the 2006 killing of a Russian journalist wins a pardon after serving in Ukraine

A new season of "Black Mirror" is always something of an occasion, especially since Netflix opportunistically scooped up the sci-fi-ish anthology series in 2015. Coming four years after Season 5, the latest batch bats roughly two out of five in terms of memorable episodes in a run that tilts more heavily toward horror, and falls short of feeling like everything the acclaimed show is cracked up to be.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 20, 2023--

The world's oldest country has long struggled with how to provide for its ageing and declining population.

Here's what we expect to see in the next Nintendo Direct on June 21, 2023.

Former All Blacks centre Ryan Crotty on Wednesday rejoined Super Rugby champions Canterbury Crusaders for the 2024 season, after four...

The situation in northern Kosovo remained tense Tuesday as ethnic Serbs continued to gather in front of a town hall in Zvecan after violent clashes with...

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus criticised Texas governor Greg Abbott for deploying “cruel and inhumane” tactics like razor-tipped buoys as part of his controversial effort to lock down the US-Mexico border. “Today was eye-opening,” Rep Sylvia Garcia of Texas wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing a video of orange buoys used in the Rio Grande which are separated with blade saw-like barbed disks. “Seeing the barbaric, inhumane, and ungodly practices in my home state of Texas. This is beyond politics and crosses a line into human rights violations.” “Everyone needs to see what I saw in Eagle Pass today,” said Texas congressman Joaquin Castro in his own dispatch from the border. “Clothing stuck on razor wire where families got trapped. Chainsaw devices in the middle of buoys. Land seized from US citizens. Operation Lone Star is barbaric — and Governor Abbott is making border communities collateral damage.” The Texas governor has insisted that the buoys and razor wire he’s installed across the border between the state and Mexico will save lives by deterring migration. However, as The Independent has reported, advocates and Texas troopers are warning the tools are already putting people at risk. In July, a Texas state border medic named Nicholas Wingate went public with allegations that the border barriers were already causing severe injuries, and that he and his fellow troopers were ordered, as part of the governor’s Operation Lone Star, to push exhausted migrants back into the river and refuse to offer them water. (The state denies this order existed.) “I believe we have stepped over a line into the inhumane,” he told his superiors, in messages shared with media outlets. Last week, Mexican officials informed the state of Texas that two bodies were found in the Rio Grande: one ensnared in Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial floating border wall, and another in a nearby area. Critics allege the border build-up cause these deaths, though the cause of death for the two people found hasn’t been determined yet. Despite years of border security installations and billions invested across multiple state and federal administrations, migration continues to increase, hitting a record in December. “It’s been proven time after time that these so-called prevention through deterrence strategies don’t work,” Fernando García of the Border Network for Human Rights told The Independent last month. “They have not stopped immigration flows, but what they have done is they have put immigrants at risk.” “It’s very likely that with [the floating buoy wall] they are looking for more remote and isolated places to come across so that whenever they are in danger by heat exhaustion, by drowning, they will not have anybody to help them,” he added, saying he worries it could be a record year for migrant deaths in the Rio Grande. Members of Congress and human rights activists aren’t the only ones taking issue with the border barriers. Last month, a local kayak guide in Eagle Pass named Jessie Fuentes sued the state, arguing it doesn’t have authority to erect a floating border barrier in the Rio Grande. “You’ve taken a beautiful waterway and you’ve converted it into a war zone,” he toldThe Independent. The Department of Justice has also sued the state, arguing it violated federal waterways laws. Texas has insisted it has legal authority to carry out such measures, some of which it argues are allowed under a controversial reading of the US Constitution granting states war powers when theyr’e under invasion. Legal experts told The Independent this is a mistaken reading of the clause, which was intended to cover invasion by military forces, not regular immigration by civilians. “The theory that Abbott is relying on here is that the influx of undocumented individuals is an actual invasion. That also doesn’t pass muster,” Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center’s Liberty & National Security Program, told The Independent. Read More How governor Greg Abbott is using an obscure ‘invasion’ legal theory for a border power grab in Texas Republicans and Democrats agree: They want to kill migrants at the US-Mexico border Buoys, razor wire, and a Trump-y wall: How Greg Abbott turned the Rio Grande into an immigration ‘war zone’ After a glacial dam outburst destroyed homes in Alaska, a look at the risks of melting ice masses District attorney threatens to charge officials in California's capital over homelessness response Judge is asked to block Florida law making it a crime to drive people who are in the US illegally

The Atlanta Braves are one game away from elimination after a gut-wrenching loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in Citizens Bank Park.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, setting Wall Street on course to end a data- and earnings-heavy

Jude Bellingham has finished 18th in the 2023 Men's Ballon d'Or rankings, ahead of fellow England stars Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane.

Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney is giving no excuses for his pitiful Week 1 performance against the Lions.