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Two people were killed and their teenaged daughter wounded in an attack on the Crimean Bridge – connecting the Russian mainland to the peninsula. The bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, is a major artery for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and a prestige project personally opened by President Vladimir Putin. The bridge had had only recently returned to full operation after suffering severe damage in a similar attack last October. Traffic along the 19km-long road and rail bridge was halted for six hours, following reports of multiple explosions at around 3am this morning. Here’s everything we know about today’s attack on the Crimean Bridge and its importance to Moscow: Where is the Crimean Bridge? Europe’s longest bridge connects the Russian city of Krasnodar in the east to Kerch in Crimea, which was illegally annexed from Ukraine by Moscow in 2014. The Crimean Bridge runs over the Kerch Strait and is the only direct road link between Russia and the annexed peninsula. It consists of a separate roadway and railway – fortified by concrete stilts – which give way to a wider span held by steel arches at the point where ships pass between the Black Sea and the smaller Azov Sea. The bridge was a prestige project for Mr Putin, who opened it to road traffic by driving an orange Kamaz truck across it in 2018. At the inauguration ceremony, Mr Putin thanked the construction workers for the “miraculous” completion of the bridge. He said: “In different historical epochs, even under the tsar priests, people dreamed of building this bridge. Then they returned to this [idea] in the 1930s, the 40s, the 50s. And finally, thanks to your work and your talent, the miracle has happened.” The £2.7bn ($3.6bn) bridge was built by Stroygazmontazh, a firm previously owned by Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, who is known as an ally of the Russian premier. In 2020, Mr Putin awarded his former judo sparring partner, Mr Rotenberg, the title of “Hero of Labor” for constructing the controversial bridge. Mr Rotenberg is said to have sold his shares in the company in 2019. After its construction began in 2016, the United States imposed a series of sanctions on the seven companies involved in the project, including Stroygazmontazh. Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the bridge has served as a crucial supply route for Moscow, sending forces from Crimea to seize most of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region and some of the adjoining Zaporizhzhia province. What happened in the attack? Traffic on the Crimean Bridge was stopped early on Monday as reports emerged that two people had died in an attack that Russian-placed Crimean officials blamed on Ukraine. The parents of a girl were killed and their daughter was injured in a passenger car, according to Russian-installed officials. “The girl was injured,” Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, said in a message on the Telegram messaging app. “The hardest thing is that her parents died, dad and mum. Three Ukrainian media outlets quoted unnamed sources as saying Ukraine’s domestic security agency and navy were behind Monday’s incident on the Crimean Bridge, and that they had used sea-borne drones to attack it. Ukraine’s government did not comment on the incident and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the navy declined to say whether they were involved, although some Ukrainian officials portrayed the bridge as a legitimate military target. Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, online publication Ukrainska Pravda and The New Voice of Ukraine media outlet cited one or more sources saying the navy and the SBU were behind the incident Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence department, declined to comment Monday on the incident but said: “The peninsula is used by the Russians as a large logistical hub for moving forces and assets deep into the territory of Ukraine. Of course, any logistical problems are additional complications for the occupiers.” In a statement, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed “terrorist” Kyiv of carrying out Monday’s attack. Maria Zakharova on Monday said: “Today’s attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out by the Kyiv regime. This regime is terrorist and has all the hallmarks of an international organised crime group. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Kyiv was behind the attack and opened a terrorism case. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but unverified videos appeared to show a section of road on the bridge had split and was sloping to one side. Rail traffic resumed later on Monday morning. The Crimean Bridge explosions occurred amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Moscow, on the same day Moscow was set to extend the Black Sea deal, which allowed Ukraine to resume shipping food from its southern ports despite the war and expires today. “There can be no grain deal after another terrorist attack,” senior Russian politician, Sergei Mironov said on Telegram on Monday, urging Moscow to respond by destroying Ukrainian infrastruture. “That is what we need to do, and not discuss a grain deal that helps Kyiv’s rulers and their Western masters line their pockets. There can be no grain deal after another terrorist attack,” he commented on the Kerch Bridge attack. The Kremlin has yet to comment on the Crimean Bridge incident. In the wake of the attack, Russia said it would not be extending the grain deal, but said the attack on the bridge was not a factor. Past attacks on the Crimean Bridge In October last year, the Crimea Bridge was damaged by a truck bomb. At the time, Mr Putin claimed the blast a “terrorist attack” masterminded by Ukrainian security forces, and ordered retaliatory strikes on Ukraininan cities, including the capital Kyiv. Ukraine declined to comment on who was behind the attack at the time. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy months later claimed only indirectly that his country was responsible for the attack, listing the bridge as one of his army’s “successes” in 2022. The bridge was repaired and reopened to traffic earlirt this year, and has built up to normal levels since. The rail bridge is said to have fully reopened in July. Ten days prior to the latest attack, Russian-installed authorities in the Crimean peninsula said a cruise missile was shot down near the city of Kerch, as traffic on the flyover was briefly suspended. Additional reporting on wires. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Met Office gives update on whether UK will hit 40C as Europe swelters under heatwave Wimbledon 2023 LIVE: Reaction after Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic in final for the ages CEO praised for refusing to leave airline seat to let mother sit next to her children

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An ad launched by Progress Action Fund launched, showing an elderly Republican congressman interrupting a couple in the bedroom, has now been banned on X, formerly known as Twitter. According to the Progress Action Fund, which aims to defeat Republicans in red states, the platform “has censored” its account as well as the ad, called “Keep Republicans Out Of Your Bedroom.” In addition, the platform has “placed a ‘Search Ban’ and a ‘Search Suggestion Ban’ on the account.” As of Wednesday afternoon, the account did not show up on the social media platform, yet the ad could still be seen on X through retweets from other accounts. The Progress Action Fund said it contacted the platform’s legal department and “appealed the decision, which was denied.” Joe Jacobson, Founder and Executive Director of Progress Action Fund, took a stab at X’s owner: “Elon Musk loves free speech, but only when it’s convenient for him and his far-right political agenda.” “Political speech is protected under law and Musk’s competitors clearly agree that our ad should not be censored,” he continued. “When releasing ads in the future, we’ll be taking them to other platforms, which many others are already doing given Elon Musk’s frantic and poor leadership at Twitter.” The Independent has reached out to X for comment. The ad features a scene in which a woman asks a man if he has a condom. He reaches for the condom in a bedside table drawer, and another suit-covered arm appears, reaching for it as well. “Sorry, you can’t use those,” says an older man, clad in a black suit and red tie, while standing beside the bed. When the woman asks who he is, he replies: “I’m your Republican congressman. Now that we’re in charge, we’re banning birth control.” The ad urges voters to “vote no” on 8 August, in reference to State Issue 1, which would require proposed amendments to Ohio’s constitution “receive the approval of at least 60 per cent of eligible voters voting on the proposed amendment,” rather than a simple majority. Since acquiring Twitter, Mr Musk, a self declared “free speech absolutist”, has touted free speech as a pillar of the platform. As part of this shift during the takeover, he reinstated Donald Trump’s account after a two-year ban, which was “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” after the January 6 Capitol riot. He also reinstated at least 11 accounts belonging to prominent far-right and anti-trans influencers. On 23 November, the platform announced it “is no longer enforcing the Covid-19 misleading information policy.” As recently as April, the platform claimed to strive to “promote and protect the public conversation. We believe Twitter users have the right to express their opinions and ideas without fear of censorship.” In May, he wrote: “I am adamant about defending free speech, even if it means losing money.” Read More Democratic PAC unveils ‘steamy and horrifying’ ad with GOP lawmaker interrupting couple in bedroom Elon Musk slammed for pushing anti-vax conspiracy in response to LeBron James’ son Bronny suffering cardiac arrest Elon Musk takes control of @X account from user who had held it for 16 years Elon Musk slammed for anti-vax rant in response to LeBron James’ son’s cardiac arrest Fox News promotes conspiracy theory linking Bronny James collapse to Covid vaccine Anti-vaxxers claim Bronny James’s cardiac arrest is suspicious. Here’s why it isn’t

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Two suspects who were involved in the Montgomery riverboat brawl have finally turned themselves in. Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, surrendered to the Montgomery Police Department, a spokesperson said late Wednesday, days after they were allegedly involved in a massive fight on a dock last weekend. Mr Todd and Mr Shipman are among three men facing one count of assault in the third degree, which is a misdemeanour, in connection with the incident. The fight began on Saturday when a deckhand on the Harriott II riverboat, Damian Pickett, confronted the owners of a pontoon boat so that the ship could dock. Viral video captured the owners, who are white, punching Mr Pickett, who is Black, before an all-out brawl ensued - largely along racial lines. On Tuesday, Police Chief Darryl Allen identified the three suspects, adding that one of them had already turned themselves in—that person appears to be Richard Roberts, 48. Police said they are seeking yet another man for further interviews: Reggie Gray. The police chief described him as “wielding that folding chair” in videos, as he picked up a chair and hit people over the head with it. A spokesperson for the Montgomery Police told The Independent on Thursday that Mr Gray has not yet been in contact with the police, but assured that the authorities will “certainly” find him. All three of the men are white, and all three were members of the pontoon boat, which was reportedly blocking the Harriott II—which was carrying 227 passengers—from docking. So the captain’s deckhand, Mr Pickett, was taken from the riverboat to the dock to try to reason with the members of the pontoon boat, asking them to move. They did not take it well. The next part went viral - as the owner of the pontoon boat started attacking Mr Pickett. On Wednesday, the captain of the Harriott II, Capt Jim Kittrell, said he believed the attack was driven by race. “The white guys that attacked my deckhand—and he was a senior deckhand first mate—I can’t think of any other reason they attacked him other than it being racially motivated,” he said. The brawl grew from there. However, he conceded that after the initial exchange, the fight did not appear to be “Black and white.” “It was just shipmates trying to help a shipmate,” the captain said. “They could’ve been little green men, for all they cared. When they attacked Damien, my crew was gonna jump out and do the best they could to help him out. It was my crew against the people who attacked their shipmate, that’s all it was.” Chief Albert explicitly said that the people aboard the pontoon boat were not local to Montgomery. “This is not indicative of who we are as a city. We are much better than that,” he said. Read More Alabama dockside brawl was racially motivated, riverboat captain says Riverfront brawl brings unwelcome attention to historic civil rights city in Alabama

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