- Pakistan at 23-1 after Brook triple hundred takes England to 823-7
- Zelensky meets Starmer, Rutte on whirlwind tour of Europe
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Kim Sei-young shoots 62 to take two-stroke lead at LPGA Shanghai
- The haircuts that help traumatised Ukrainian soldiers heal
- Sinner crushes Medvedev to set up potential Alcaraz Shanghai semi
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- England's Harry Brook blasts triple century against Pakistan
- Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
- Zelensky in London for whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3
- Football mourns Greek defender George Baldock's shock death at 31
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Home is far away for Madagascar in AFCON qualifying
- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
Russia declares Estonian PM 'wanted' in war memorials spat
Russia declared Estonian leader Kaja Kallas and several other European officials as "wanted" on Tuesday over their alleged involvement in the destruction of Soviet-era war memorials.
The monuments, some of which commemorate the Red Army, had long been controversial in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and seen by many as symbols of their time under Soviet occupation.
The three Baltic states began removing and demolishing some of them in response to Russia's full-scale assault on Ukraine in 2022, prompting outrage in Moscow.
Russia said it had added several people to its wanted list in response to the "destruction of monuments to Soviet soldiers".
"Crimes against the memory of the liberators of the world from Nazism and fascism must be punished. And this is just the beginning," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The Kremlin said those declared wanted had taken "hostile actions against historical memory" and Russia.
"These are the people who are responsible for decisions that are actually an abuse of historical memory," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Among those added were Estonian state secretary Taimar Peterkop, as well as Karol Nawrocki, the head of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance.
Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys, who was also added to the list, accused Russia of distorting facts.
"The regime is doing what it has always done: it is trying to stifle freedom... and to continue to create its own version that is at odds with facts or logic," he told AFP.
- 'Total Russophobia' -
The move marks a further worsening in relations between Russia and the Baltics, all of which are now members of the European Union and Western-led NATO military alliance.
Russia downgraded its diplomatic relations with Estonia in January 2023 and ordered the country's ambassador to leave Russia, accusing the Baltic country of "total Russophobia."
All three Baltic states -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- had already expelled Russian diplomats from their countries amid tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.
Their relations with Moscow have remained tense since they gained independence during the collapse of the Soviet Union, which they always viewed as an occupying power.
While the hundreds of monuments built during the Soviet era had long been a sensitive subject in the three countries, Russia's assault on Ukraine led to a full-scale push for their removal.
The conflict has also raised fears of a possible armed confrontation with Russia, with all three Baltic states boosting spending on their military and strengthening border defences.
The three countries are home to a sizeable Russian minority, which has become a flashpoint in tensions with Moscow.
Earlier in February, Moscow summoned diplomats from its three Baltic neighbours after accusing the states of trying to "sabotage" next month's Russian presidential election.
It accused the three states of ignoring Russian requests to provide security for voting stations at its embassies on their soil.
L.Harper--AMWN