List of All Articles with Tag 'r'

(Reuters) -Catalent beat Wall Street's estimates for first-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as the contract drug manufacturer showed signs of improvement

U.S. wholesale prices fell sharply last month as inflationary pressure continued to ease in the face of a year and a half of higher interest rates

By Clara Denina and Pratima Desai LONDON (Reuters) -Glencore's deal to buy Teck Resources' steelmaking coal unit shows how cheap

Americans cut back on retail spending in October, ending six straight months of gains, though the decline was partly driven by falling prices for both gasoline and cars

WASHINGTON U.S. retail sales fell in October, though by less than expected, after months of strong gains, pointing

One of five men convicted of killing a Russian journalist critical of the Kremlin has been pardoned halfway through his 20-year sentence after a stint fighting in the “special military operation” in Ukraine. Sergei Khadzhikurbanov was sentenced in 2014 for his role as an accomplice in the killing of Anna Politkovskaya, 48, in 2006. The journalist worked for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and wrote stories critical of Kremlin policies during the early years of president Vladimir Putin’s term, the war in Chechnya and human rights. She was shot and killed in the elevator of her Moscow apartment block, triggering outrage at home and in the West. Her death on 7 October, which is Putin’s birthday, led to suggestions the shooting was done to please the president. It emphasised the dangers faced by independent journalists in Russia, though the Kremlin has always denied any involvement in the killing. Khadzhikurbanov, a former police detective, was released last year to fight in Ukraine and then signed a contract with the Russian defence ministry to continue serving after his pardon, according to his lawyer Alexei Mikhalchik. It is the most high profile case of Russia’s defence ministry hiring prisoners to fight in Ukraine on the promise of a presidential pardon. The tactic was widely employed by Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin last year. Footage from several prisons showed the warlord encouraging prisoners convicted of murder and sexual assault to join his mercenary group to atone for their crimes. They would be offered six-month contracts to fight in Ukraine, after which they would be pardoned. One of the first instances of pardoned mercenaries was published in January this year. Reports later emerged suggesting Russian civilians were anxious to be living among ex-convicts, many of whom were culpable of the most serious crimes and had also spent six months in frontline combat. Following the removal of Wagner from Ukraine and the subsequent death of Prigozhin on August 24, which was itself widely regarded as suspicious, the Russian defence ministry began more substantially recruiting from penal colonies. The prisoners are often said to be used as cannon fodder in what has become known as “human wave attacks” popularised by the Wagner Group; it involves using dozens of the convicts in a first line charge on Ukrainian positions ostensibly to soak up enemy fire, allowing soldiers behind to advance under less heavy resistance. But Khadzhikurbanov was offered a command position in the military, according to his lawyer Mikhalchik, because he was in the “special forces” in the late 1990s and was in “almost all the hot spots”, including in Chechnya. Following the pardon, Ms Politkovskaya children, Ilya and Vera Politkovsky, issued a joint statement with their mother’s former paper Novaya Gazeta in which they claimed they had “not been informed about the killer’s pardon”. Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, said the pardon was “not evidence of atonement and repentance of the killer” but a “monstrous fact of injustice”. “It is an outrage to the memory of a person killed for her beliefs and professional duty,” he said. Russian human rights advocate Alena Popova, who has been critical of previous pardons, including that of a man who murdered his girlfriend before fighting in Ukraine, also issued a statement decrying Khadzhikurbanov’s release. “How many more murderers and rapists will the war free?” she asked. Bill Browder, formerly one of the largest foreign investors in Russia before being removed by Vladimir Putin, described the pardon as a “cynical slap in the face of justice”. He added that the presidential pardon was doubly sinister given it was Putin who “ordered her killing”. “The pardoning of Anna Politkovskaya’s killer is a cynical slap in the face of justice and her family,” he told The Independent. “But we should not forget that the person who ordered her killing has remained free since her murder and sits as the head of state in Russia ordering many more murders and misery inside of Russia, in Ukraine and all over the world.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month that convicts recruited to fight in Ukraine are worthy of pardons. “Those sentenced, even on grave charges, shed their blood on the battlefield to atone for their crimes,” he said. “They redeem themselves by shedding blood in assault brigades, under bullet fire and shelling.” Read More European Commission lowers growth outlook and says economy has lost momentum during a difficult year UK inflation falls sharply to 4.6%, lowest level in 2 years China and the US pledge to step up climate efforts ahead of Biden-Xi summit and UN meeting Ukraine declares major breakthrough in southern counteroffensive ‘against all odds’ State-sponsored online spies likely to target Australian submarine program, spy agency says Biden aims for improved military relations with China when he meets with Xi

Will Smith's team has shut down claims that the actor is gay and was caught in a sex act with fellow Fresh Prince actor Duane Martin years back. The reps called the rumour "unequivocally false". Brother Bilaal claimed to be his former friend of 40 years to the star. He recently sat down with Tasha K with a string of claims aimed at Smith. At one point, he explicitly described what he allegedly saw in Martin's dressing room while working on a Hollywood set. Brother Bilaal said he was asked to keep his eye on Smith, but he was nowhere to be found. He said he had the keys to Martin's dressing room, where he allegedly discovered the pair in the act. "I see Duane having anal sex with Will," he claimed. "There was a couch and Will was bent over the couch and Duane was standing up killing him, murdering him. It was murder in there." "This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false," Smith's rep told TMZ and that legal action is being considered against Bilaal. Brother Bilaal also went on to pass comment about Smith's manhood, calling it a "pinky toe". It comes after Jada Pinkett Smith dropped a bombshell that she and Will have not been together for seven years. They simply never divorced. Jada told Hoda Kotb on Today that she "made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce" and that the pair will "work through whatever". "I just haven't been able to break that promise," she said. She went on to confirm that the pair also live separately, and when asked how the two maintained the arrangement, she responded: "I think just not being ready yet." How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Israel is limiting use of the fuel to aid lorries and not hospitals, the UN says.

An auction of rare Gucci handbags disappointed at Christie’s, a sign that robust demand for high-end purses is

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co said on Wednesday longtime CEO Richard Kramer has decided to retire next year

By Walter Bianchi and Jorge Otaola BUENOS AIRES Argentina's central bank allowed the peso to weaken slightly on

How Manchester United can get their season back on track once the international break is over after a disappointing start to the campaign.