Newborn baby girl killed alongside parents and brother as Putin’s troops bombard Kherson village
An entire family including a newborn baby girl and her 12-year-old brother were among seven people killed during intense Russian shelling in a village in southern Kherson on Sunday. Russian shells hit the village of Shiroka Balka, on the banks of the Dnieper River, and killed a family that included a husband, wife, 12-year-old boy and 23-day-old baby girl, Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry said. Another resident was also killed, as well as two men in the neighbouring village of Stanislav. Ukraine’s interior minister Igor Klymenko said the shells hit the family’s home in Shiroka Balka, adding: "Terrorists must be stopped. They must be stopped by force. They don't understand anything else." A photo shared by Mr Klymenko on Telegram showed plumes of smoke rising from the family's home in the aftermath of the attack. Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year. But the Ukrainian forces are said to be making gains against the Russian invaders. Ukrainian military officials this weekend claimed that Kyiv's forces had made progress in the south, with some success near a key village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and capturing other unspecified territories. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s forces are trying to pierce Russian lines in the western parts of the Donetsk region, where waves of Ukrainian fighters were used to gain a foothold to the east of the town of Staromaiorske, according to a Russian-installed official in parts of Zaporizhzhia controlled by Moscow. The official, Vladimir Rogov, also claimed there had been intense fighting south of Velyka Novosilka as Ukrainian troops try to pierce Russian lines to push down to the coast on the Sea of Azov. Mr Rogov said: "The enemy managed to enter and gain a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine after two weeks of the heaviest and bloodiest battles for this settlement." He added that Russian soldiers still controlled the southern part of Urozhaine and that Ukrainian forces were clearly aiming to take control of the town of Staromlynivka further south. Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June, attempting to retake swathes of territory captured by Russia in the south and east of the country. It has so far recaptured several villages in the south and some territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east. Meanwhile, a Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards. This is the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month. Russia in July halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea and Moscow cautioned that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons. Russia said in a statement that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. Russia said the vessel was making its way towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail. Refinitiv shipping data showed the ship was currently near the coast of Bulgaria and heading towards the Romanian port of Sulina. "To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons," the Russian defence ministry said, adding that its forces boarded the vessel with the help of a Ka-29 helicopter. "After the inspection group completed its work on board, the Sukru Okan continued on its way to the port of Izmail," the defence ministry said. A Turkish defence ministry official said he had heard an incident had taken place involving a ship heading for Romania. A spokesman for Ukraine's defence ministry said officials had no details about the incident yet but that it was "clearly another hostile act" by Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff claimed that panic is growing among the Russian forces amid a growing number of desertions, the Kyiv Post reported. It claimed Moscow military officials conducting house-to-house searches for deserters in Hornostaivka in the Kherson region. Drinking and drug use among newly-conscripted troops has also increased with individuals leaving their positions and hiding in abandoned buildings, it said. Read More Russia fires warning shots at ‘Ukraine-bound’ international cargo ship in Black Sea 7 killed in Ukraine's Kherson region, including a 23-day-old baby girl Yes, inflation is down. No, the Inflation Reduction Act doesn't deserve the credit The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
1970-01-01 08:00
Déjà Vu: American golfer Lilia Vu captures 2nd major in 2023 at Women's British Open
American golfer Lilia Vu has won the Women’s British Open to claim her second major title of 2023
1970-01-01 08:00
American Vu wins second major at Women's British Open
American Lilia Vu sealed her second major title of the year with a dominant six-shot victory over Charley Hull at the...
1970-01-01 08:00
College football rankings 2023: Power ranking all 10 FBS conferences
College football rankings of all 10 FBS conferences for the 2023 season.We are just under two weeks away from the start of college football.The 2023 college football season figures to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. Hanging over all of it, though, is the specter of conference r...
1970-01-01 08:00
Democratic congressman continues to be a thorn in Biden’s side over 2024 primary
Joe Biden continues to face prominent calls to step aside from voices in his own party, as the 80-year-old president vows that he will win reelection in 2024. In a normal election year, any incumbent president would coast to victory in their party’s nominating contests, and next year is likely to be no exception. But Mr Biden is facing more criticism than most as many Democrats openly fret whether the oldest-ever president to be sworn into office will be able to be an effective standard-bearer for his party next year. One of those Democrats sounding the alarm bells is Rep Dean Phillips, a congressman from Minnesota who has been the only elected member of his party in the House or Senate to openly call for Mr Biden to face a serious primary challenge. As of now, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is not planning to host debates for the 2024 primary season, meaning that the president will never face any of his challengers onstage. Mr Phillips pointed out, in a Sunday interview with Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press, that while Mr Biden is generally leading nationally against opponents like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, he trails those same candidates or ties them statistically in some polling of key swing states, such as Arizona and Michigan. The “majority” of Americans, he said, want Mr Biden to “pass the torch” and let other Democrats have a real competition for the 2024 primary — even as he attempted to back away from the idea that he himself would mount a bid. The congressman suggested that the candidate to take on Republicans next year should be a governor from the midwest or the Rust Belt, nodding as Mr Todd named Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and his own home state’s Tim Walz. He also named JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois. “Some people have asked me that I not use their names, because of this institutional fear that it might impact you down the road,” he noted. “[But] this is the time to meet the moment.” The mention of Mr Pritzker as a potential candidate by Mr Phillips is significant, given that the governor has been spotted in early primary states and is viewed by many Democrats and political analysts alike as a politician with both national aspirations and the credibility to mount a real bid. The billionaire governor has won many fans in the party with his record in the state and has the financial means to bankroll a national bid, which would put him at an immediate advantage over possible rivals. One figure that Mr Phillips is notably not putting his support behind is Senator Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who is rumoured to be considering exiting the Democratic Party entirely, following the footsteps (or coattails) of Sen Kyrsten Sinema. Mr Manchin is also known to be considering launching an independent bid for the presidency should he make the jump to leave the party, and would likely do so with the backing of No Labels, a group of rabblerousing centrists that have been threatening to support a third-party challenger for months. Mr Biden’s polling woes in key swing states have worried some Democrats who see a repeat of 2016 on the horizon; for months, Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump in national polling only to be undone in key swing states where her campaign had spent little to no effort to be competitive. Numerous surveys of the 2024 field have indicated that a slight majority of Democrats want Mr Biden to step aside and open up the field for younger competitors. But those same polls also indicate that he holds a massive lead over the only Democrats who have announced bids so far, author Marianne Williamson and Robert F Kennedy, known for his activism against medical authorities. Read More Ted Cruz rails against Hunter Biden special counsel appointment that he requested Biden and House Democrats hope to make curbing 'junk fees' a winning issue in 2024 ‘You know the answer’: Trump mocked for sarcastic response to 2020 election interference question
1970-01-01 08:00
Exclusive-SoftBank in talks to buy Vision Fund's 25% stake in Arm -sources
By Echo Wang and Anirban Sen NEW YORK (Reuters) -SoftBank Group Corp is in talks to acquire the 25% stake
1970-01-01 08:00
Colts: Shane Steichen takes blame for Anthony Richardson’s up-and-down debut
It is great to see Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen having rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson's back right after their first preseason game working together.Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson will need to lean on each other to help bring the downtrodden Indianapolis Colts ...
1970-01-01 08:00
Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani to skip his next pitching start after feeling arm fatigue
Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani will skip his next scheduled pitching start Wednesday at Texas after telling manager Phil Nevin he was feeling some arm fatigue
1970-01-01 08:00
As Maui rescue continues, families and faith leaders cling to hope but tackle reality of loss
For scores of families still hoping to reunite with loved ones, it was not yet time to give up, even as Hawaii authorities predict that more remains would be found in the ashes left behind by a wildfire that gutted the once-bustling town of Lahaina
1970-01-01 08:00
Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham’s resilience following Harry Kane’s departure
Ange Postecoglou promised Tottenham would improve and praised the resilience of his squad for not allowing Harry Kane’s departure to distract them after they battled to a 2-2 Premier League draw at Brentford. Kane’s exit to Bayern Munich – coupled with four full debutants being used in their season opener – contributed to the start of a new dawn at Spurs and along with hosts Brentford, they produced an entertaining affair in west London. Cristian Romero headed Tottenham in front after 11 minutes before quick-fire efforts from Bees forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa turned around this season opener, but James Maddison – wearing the 10 shirt in Kane’s absence – set up Emerson Royal to level matters on the stroke of half-time. It stayed 2-2 despite the visitors having 69 per cent possession and 18 shots, which pleased Postecoglou to an extent but the Australian was also aware they must get better in the final third, especially following the £100million sale of their record goal-scorer. “Football clubs move on pretty quickly,” Postecoglou reflected when asked if he had discussed Kane’s departure with the squad. “I haven’t needed to address it, I haven’t needed to give them a warm fuzzy cuddle just to see how they are. We had a game to prepare for and they knew that. “I think that was the important thing for us. If it felt like we were distracted, I was distracted or anyone else, I think you would have seen evidence of it today, particularly after that first half and the way it went. “We showed a real resilience that we’re going to need because it’s going to be a challenging year for sure. “It was a good starting point for us today, but we need to improve and we have to improve and we will. “I think that 2-1 down, having conceded a penalty and an own goal, it would have been very easy for us to drop our heads but I never sensed that in the group.” After Romero had combined with fellow vice-captain Maddison to open the scoring, he was forced off following an earlier clash of heads with Mbeumo. The Argentina international wanted to stay on, but Postecoglou had no doubt over the substitution, although was critical over how a pedantic minor error by Spurs’ backroom staff penalised them when it came to further substitutes. Postecoglou added: “They were pretty sure we needed – for his own benefit – to get him off and obviously what we know about head injuries, for me it is not even an issue. We will always err on the side of caution. “Disappointed that we apparently filled out the wrong slip and it was not a concussion sub. “In this day and age, where what we know about head injuries, if we are going to worry about what form we fill out, I thought it was pretty clear what happened – but hopefully he’ll be OK.” Despite no longer having Kane to call on and with other experienced members of the squad in Hugo Lloris and Eric Dier not involved, Postecoglou was happy to give the away fans reasons for optimism. “I thought our supporters were outstanding today,” he said. “It is fair to say we have put them through a fair bit this pre-season and all we can try and do is give them some hope and belief. “Hopefully they leave the ground, maybe disappointed we weren’t able to get the win, but at least seeing the players are fully committed to us trying to be a football team that makes an impact.” While a lot of the pre-match focus centred on Tottenham being without Kane, Brentford are missing last season’s top goal-scorer Ivan Toney until January due to his ban for repeated betting breaches. Bees boss Thomas Frank maintained there was no need for them to sign a new forward and was pleased to be validated in their opening fixture with Mbeumo and Wissa on target. He said: “There have been quite a few questions from you guys at the end of last season and the start of this about ‘will we buy a striker?’ And I’ve said no, no, no, no and no because we believe the forward players we have will provide enough goals. “Bryan and Wissa showed it last season and I am so glad they showed it again today. “Do I want Ivan in the team? Yes, but I know he is not there before January so I am not focused too much on that, only on the players we have now.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Arsenal defender William Saliba ‘really happy’ to be back after injury Two assists for James Maddison as Tottenham move on without Harry Kane with draw Kylian Mbappe returns to PSG squad after ‘constructive and positive’ talks
1970-01-01 08:00
Florida football: Billy Napier picks his QB1, now holds his breath
Florida football head coach Billy Napier made the final decision on his starting quarterback.Speculation no more. Florida football head coach Billy Napier has finally announced his starting quarterback, three weeks before the season is set to begin. And the award goes to...After much thought...
1970-01-01 08:00
Spurs showed there is hope after Kane, says Postecoglou
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said his side gave supporters reason to believe despite the departure of Harry Kane after his first taste of Premier League action ended...
1970-01-01 08:00
