A Russian court on Wednesday began the trial of opposition politician Ilya Yashin who faces up to a decade in prison for denouncing President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine.. Standing in a defendant's cage in Moscow's Meshchansky district court on Wednesday, Yashin sought to put on a brave face, laughing, doing thumbs up and stretching, an AFP correspondent said.
A gunman killed at least six people at a Walmart store Tuesday just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the second mass shooting in the United States in four days.. Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, issued a statement early Wednesday saying: "We are shocked at this tragic event."
Ukraine's security service said Wednesday it had seized "pro-Russian literature", cash and interrogated dozens during raids of several Orthodox monasteries that spurred a backlash from the Kremlin.. The Ukrainian security service (SBU) said Tuesday it had conducted raids at locations including the 11th century Pechersk Lavra monastery in the capital Kyiv, a UNESCO Heritage site, over suspected links to Russian agents.
Turkey said Wednesday it was more determined than ever to secure its Syrian border from attacks by Kurdish forces, threatening a ground operation "at the most convenient time.". Kobane, a Kurdish-majority town near the Turkish border, was captured by IS in late 2014 before Syrian Kurdish forces drove them out early the following year.
Britain's highest court on Wednesday rejected a bid by the devolved Scottish government in Edinburgh to hold a new referendum on independence without London's consent.. Lawyers for the Scottish government wanted a ruling on the rights of the devolved parliament in Edinburgh if London continued to block an independence referendum.
Hundreds of loudspeakers have been installed in the Afghan capital to encourage worshippers to attend prayers, the Taliban's religious enforcers said Wednesday.. Local media also reported Wednesday that the vice ministry has ordered shops in certain parts of the capital to shut for Friday prayers, the most important of the week.
Britain is to send helicopters to Ukraine for the first time since Russia's invasion, the defence ministry in London said on Wednesday.. Ten crews of Ukrainian service personnel and engineers underwent a six-week training programme in the UK, as part of the "first helicopter capability the UK has donated to Ukraine", the ministry said.
Malaysia’s nonagenarian former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, one of the world's longest-serving politicians, said Wednesday he will focus on writing after he suffered his first electoral defeat in more than half a century.. He held the Guinness World Record for being the "world's oldest current prime minister" when he became premier for a second time in 2018 just two months shy of his 93rd birthday.
Russian strikes killed a newborn baby at a Ukrainian maternity ward and two other civilians elsewhere, officials said Wednesday as President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of "terror and murder".. The small town of Vilniansk is around 45 kilometres from the front line and last week was targeted in Russian strikes that killed 10 people, officials have said.
Violent protests have broken out around Foxconn's vast iPhone factory in central China, as workers clashed with security personnel over Covid restrictions at the plant.. Since then, the huge facility of about 200,000 workers -- dubbed "iPhone City" -- has been operating in a "closed loop" bubble.
