Despite serving as a visiting fellow and honorary professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Biden asserted he had taught political theory there

Russia is plotting a “large-scale provocation” at a nuclear power station it occupies in the south-east of Ukraine to disrupt an imminent counteroffensive, Kyiv’s military intelligence has claimed. A statement from the intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s defence ministry claimed Russian forces will strike the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe. It will then report a radioactive leak in order to trigger an international probe that would pause the hostilities and give them the respite they need to regroup. In order to make that happen, Russia “disrupted the rotation of personnel of the permanent monitoring mission” of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that was scheduled for Saturday, the statement said. It did not offer evidence to back up any of the claims. The IAEA said it did not have any immediate comment on the allegations and Russian officials did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian claims. The White House said it is watching the situation closely and has seen no indication radioactive material has been leaked. It comes as Moscow’s military in Ukraine braces for a looming counteroffensive by Kyiv’s forces, which has not started yet but could begin “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week”, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, told the BBC. He said the government in Kyiv had “no right to make a mistake” on the decision because this is a “historic opportunity” that “we cannot lose”. The Zaporizhzhia station is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world. It is in the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region in south-eastern Ukraine. The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features. Fighting near it repeatedly disrupted power supplies and has fuelled fears of a potential catastrophe like the one at Chernobyl, in northern Ukraine, where a reactor exploded in 1986 and spewed deadly radiation, contaminating a vast area. In other developments on Saturday, Russia reported more attacks on its territory, with drones crashing in its western regions and areas on the border with Ukraine coming under shelling. Two drones attacked an administrative building of an oil company in Russia’s western Pskov region that borders Belarus, Latvia and Estonia, Pskov governor Mikhail Vedernikov reported on Saturday. The building was damaged as the result of an explosion, Mr Vedernikov said. Another drone went down in the Tver region about 90 miles north of Moscow, local authorities said. Russia’s Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine came under multiple rounds of shelling on Saturday, killing one person, according to its governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. In the neighbouring Kursk region, which also borders Ukraine, one person was killed by cross-border mortar fire, its governor Roman Starovoit said. And a 60-year-old man was killed by Russian shelling in the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, about 20 miles from the Russian border, Ukraine’s national police said. Meanwhile, Russia’s ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin warned his country was yet to “act very seriously” in the conflict. Mr Kelin told the BBC that Moscow had “enormous resources” and the country was “16 times bigger than Ukraine.” He said: “Sooner or later, of course, this escalation may get a new dimension which we do not need and we do not want. We can make peace tomorrow.” In addition, the British military said on Saturday that Russia’s private military force, Wagner, is withdrawing from areas around the eastern city of Bakhmut that Moscow claims to have captured earlier this month. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin earlier this week announced the pullout, saying Wagner would hand control over the ruined city over to the Russian military. Some were sceptical, however. Mr Prigozhin is known for making unverifiable, headline-grabbing statements on which he later backtracks. But Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a series of tweets on Saturday that Wagner fighters “have likely started to withdraw from some of their positions” around Bakhmut. “The Ukrainian deputy defence minister also corroborated the rotation out of Wagner forces in the outskirts of the town,” it added. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Ukraine-Russia war – latest: Putin ‘plans nuclear radioactive leak to postpone counteroffensive’ Ukraine claims Russia is plotting 'a provocation' at nuclear plant, offers no evidence Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine facade is crumbling – this week proves it The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia powered the team to a Game 1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series. Take a listen to every call of the home run.

Victoria’s Secret & Co. will bring its fashion show back as a feature-length film this fall after a

Russian forces have fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa and shelled the eastern Donetsk region killing at least six people and damaging dozens of homes Moscow has recently stepped up aerial strikes in their nearly 16-month war. Kyiv’s armed forces, meanwhile, have reported limited gains in the early stages of a counteroffensive to take back the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine's territory that is under Russian control. The grinding Ukrainian advance is pressing slowly ahead, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said. Western analysts and military officials say the effort to dislodge entrenched, powerfully armed and large numbers of Russian troops could take years. Ukrainian troops have advanced 200m to 500m (650ft to 1,600ft) at various sections of the front line around the Donetsk city of Bakhmut and 300m to 350m (980ft to 1,150ft) in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Ms Maliar claimed. Ukrainian forces have managed to make gains despite the Russian edge in artillery and air power, she said. Ukrainian forces can expect to make slow progress in what will be a "hugely difficult" fight as the counteroffensive gains traction, according to a Western official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence. "Intense fighting is now ongoing in nearly all sectors of the front," the official said "This is much more than probing. These are full-scale movements of armor and heavy equipment into the Russian security zone." The official described the Ukrainian attacks as methodical and said that, broadly speaking, "Russian forces have put up a good defense." In Odesa, three food warehouse employees were killed in a strike that also damaged homes, shops and cafes in the city's downtown, the regional administration said on Facebook. An additional 13 people were injured. Search teams were looking for possible survivors under the rubble of the warehouse, it said. The attack on the port city, launched from the Black Sea, was the second in a week and involved four Kalibr cruise missiles, three of which were intercepted by air defenses, the administration said. In eastern Ukraine, Donetsk province governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, wrote on Telegram that at least three people died after shelling destroyed seven homes and damaged dozens more in the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka. Ten towns and villages along the front line in Donetsk were struck as Kyiv's troops slowly advance, according to Ukraine's presidential office. A missile hit the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kramatorsk, where Kyiv's forces are headquartered, killing two civilians and wounding two others while damaging 29 homes, the presidential office said. Russian shelling of Kostiantynivka killed one civilian, with 57 houses damaged, it added. Andriy Kovalov, a spokesperson for the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, said the Russian military increased missile and aerial strikes as Kyiv's forces intensify attacks along the war's 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line and claim some modest gains at the beginning of their counteroffensive. In a briefing, he said strikes on the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kirovohrad regions, in addition to the Odesa region, involved Kh-22 cruise missiles, sea-launched Kalibr cruise missiles, and Iranian-made Shahed drones. Nine were intercepted. Mr Kovalov said Ukrainian forces had made advances in several sections and fighting was continuing in or near at least two Donetsk province communities. The UK's Defense MInistry, which has regularly issued updates on the conflict, wrote on Twitter that southern Ukraine "has often been more permissible for Russian air operations" compared with other parts of the front. Separately, the mayor of the central city of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, said the death toll from a Russian strike that hit an apartment building a day earlier had risen to 12. Ukrainian authorities continued to rescue people from the flooded areas of southern Ukraine's partially Russian-occupied Kherson region following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam last week. A total of 28 settlements on the Ukrainian-held western bank of the Dnieper River remain under water, and nearly 2,800 people have been taken to safety so far, the presidential office said, adding that the rescue effort was taking place under relentless Russian shelling. A visit by Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Wednesday was postponed for security reasons. He met with Mr Zelensky on Tuesday to discuss the perils facing the nuclear plant, which grew more serious after the Kakhovka Dam burst last week. The plant has been in the crossfire repeatedly since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe faces "a relatively dangerous situation," the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog told journalists in Kyiv on Tuesday. The Ukrainian-controlled areas of the Kherson region came under artillery fire 57 times over the past 24 hours, the presidential office said. Rumors swirled Wednesday about a relative and close associate of the Kremlin-backed, strongman leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. The reports said that MP Adam Delimkhanov had been wounded in Ukraine. After Russian state TV reported that the lawmaker had been wounded and Ukrainian Telegram channels suggested that he had been killed, Mr Kadyrov published a photo showing Mr Delimkhanov. In a photo caption, Mr Kadyrov said that Mr Delimkhanov was "alive and well" — adding that he knew this "from the very beginning," despite earlier requesting Ukrainian intelligence to provide information on what positions were hit so that he could locate his "dear brother." Associated Press Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary FIFA official Fatma Samoura leaving after 7 years as pioneering woman in soccer In blow to Russian LGBTQ+ community, lawmakers weigh a bill banning gender transitioning procedures Recruiting criminals for Putin’s forces backed by Russian parliament – live

The Valorant Champions Tour 2023 is the professional esports circuit for Valorant. There are numerous regions in it, so here is how fans can watch the matches.

VIDEO: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s car caught on fire with him inside it.

A look at three possible trades Jerry Jones could make to improve the Dallas Cowboys.

A new law in Texas requires convicted drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a child's parent or guardian, according to House Bill 393.

Australia midfielder Massimo Luongo feels everyone in his country is now a Tottenham supporter following the remarkable start Ange Postecoglou has made to life in England. Spurs lead the Premier League on goal difference from north London rivals Arsenal going into the international break and are unbeaten in the league since the former Socceroos boss took charge. He is the first Australian to be appointed in England’s top flight and has caused a sensation in his home country by transforming the club’s playing style in just a few months. Luongo, who after helping Ipswich to second place in the Championship has been recalled to the national team for the first time since 2019 for Friday’s meeting with England at Wembley and next week’s game against New Zealand, was an unused member of Postecoglou’s squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He has featured in every one of his club’s league fixtures this campaign as Kieran McKenna’s side have won nine of their first 11 games to install themselves as early favourites to land consecutive promotions. It follows a period in the international wilderness during which he endured difficult spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough, with injuries contributing to a lack of playing time and a “difficult time mentally”. His last call-up was in October 2019, but he has impressed enough at Portman Road to earn a recall from boss Graham Arnold. Australia reached the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar under Arnold – their fifth consecutive finals – before being eliminated by eventual winners Argentina, their best performance at the tournament since 2006. And Luongo, who was long-listed for the Ballon d’Or in 2015 in part for his showing at the Socceroos’ victorious Asian Cup campaign, said that though there are comparisons to be made, the two coaches should be judged on their own merits. “They’re completely different, like most managers,” he said. “Ange has his ways, Arnie has his ways. (The 2014 World Cup) was definitely an enjoyable time. (Postecoglou) brought me from Swindon in League One and he gave me my chance. “What he’s doing now is incredible. Every Aussie is following him now, I think every Aussie is secretly a Tottenham supporter. It’s great to watch from afar. “Being in this country, I think he’s just a genuine person, you see that in his media interviews. He’s got so much passion for the game, he’s just hungry for success. And that’s what we have here (with Arnold).” Australia are ranked 27th in the world but were buoyed by their success in Qatar, knocking out Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark to progress from their group. They will be looking to replicate the result the last time they met England in London, running out 3-1 winners at West Ham’s Upton Park as Three Lions manager Sven-Goran Eriksson made 11 half-time substitutions. “England are one of the best in the world,” said Luongo. “But even at Ipswich we look at teams ahead of us who we want to replicate, (like) Man City, the best team in the world. “We’re alright, we’re doing well, we’re a good Australia team. People underestimate that. “No matter who you play I think Aussies have that DNA that you don’t just roll over and give up. That Argentina game (in Qatar), I watched it, if it goes on for another 30 minutes, we get an equaliser, easily an equaliser. It’s just the nature of football. When momentum is with you, you never know.” He added that there have been significant changes to the national team set-up since his last call-up. “(There are) a lot of young players,” he said. “The staff, there’s a lot more backing now. The set-up has (improved), there are no corners cut. Things you wouldn’t even think of are covered, more beds and physios, the food; everything. They’re trying to create an atmosphere that’s as top-level as you can get. “The expectation now is really high. The World Cup is a big evidence that we can beat top teams, especially European teams. “I think we’re definitely in a transition period of younger players coming through. At the moment you can’t really judge the team based on the first year of four years building up to a World Cup. “The manager’s got three more years to build a team and see where they get to. These games are a building process. I promise you the team now will look very different to the next World Cup team.” Read More Tommy Fury ‘could beat KSI after 15 pints of beer’ as he eyes world title Jarrod Bowen ‘in a good place’ on England return Rob Page against Wales games moving to Principality Stadium ahead of Euro 2028 Man City boss Gareth Taylor says communication key to improving officiating Dawid Malan thrilled to ‘keep silencing people’ with World Cup hundred FA chief Mark Bullingham: Critical the whole country feels involved in Euro 2028

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 19, 2023--

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has denied reports that his team have put in an offer to bring Lewis Hamilton to the team next season. A report this week stated Hamilton has received a £40m-a-year deal to join the Scuderia from 2024, with his Mercedes contract expiring at the end of the season. Yet Vasseur, speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix, firmly rebuked the report. “You know perfectly that at this stage of the season, you will have each week a different story,” he said. “And we are not sending an offer to Lewis Hamilton. We didn’t do it.” “We didn’t have discussions. I think every single team on the grid would like to have Hamilton at one stage. I think it would be bull**** to not say something like this. “If I discuss with Hamilton, I discuss the last 20 years, I discussed almost every single weekend with Hamilton. I don’t want to have to stop to discuss with them because you are chasing me.” Vasseur worked with Hamilton before the seven-time world champion was even in Formula 1, as Hamilton won the GP2 Championship in 2006. The Frenchman added that his current drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, have also been linked with moves in the past few weeks. “I could say that two weeks ago you send Sainz to Audi, one week ago you send Leclerc to Mercedes, now I’m alone!” he said. Read More F1 Monaco Grand Prix: Why is practice no longer on a Thursday? F1 news LIVE: Lewis Hamilton set to respond to Ferrari links at Monaco Grand Prix Bernie Ecclestone would be surprised if Lewis Hamilton wanted to leave Mercedes