- '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
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
Hundreds arrive for Navalny funeral despite Kremlin warning
Hundreds of mourners gathered near a church in southern Moscow on Friday, braving the prospect of arrests to pay their respects to late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The ceremony comes two weeks after Navalny died in an Arctic prison. His supporters accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin of murdering his top critic.
The Kremlin, which has denied involvement in Navalny's death, on Friday warned against "unauthorised" protests around the funeral.
Under grey skies, hundreds of mourners still queued near the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church in Maryino, where the service is scheduled to start at 2:00 pm (1100 GMT).
"People like him shouldn't be dying: honest and principled, willing to sacrifice themselves," said Anna Stepanova, who came to pay homage.
The French and German ambassadors were also in the crowd.
Fences had been put up around the church, but the passage was left open despite a heavy law enforcement presence and anti-riot police trucks.
"What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?" Stepanova said.
"They are so afraid themselves," she said. "The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn't either."
- Kremlin warning -
The opposition leader's team said the coffin was on its way to the church, where it will be displayed in an open casket in line with Orthodox practices.
Two hours later, the burial is set to take place at the Borisovo cemetery, a short walk from the banks of the Moskva River.
"Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said according to TASS.
Some 400 mourners have been detained at memorials for Navalny since his death, rights organisation OVD-Info has said.
The dissident's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, earlier said she feared the funeral could be disrupted by further arrests.
"I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband," Navalnaya told the European Parliament this week.
She has directly blamed Putin for his death.
Western governments have been quick to hold the Kremlin responsible but have stopped short of making direct accusations of involvement.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has criticised the accusations made by her and some Western leaders as "vulgar".
- 'Abused his body' -
Navalny had shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin's administration.
He was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack.
"Alexei was tortured for three years," Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels.
"He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters."
"And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body," she said.
His body was held in a morgue for eight days before being returned to the family, which Navalny's team believed to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death.
- 'Idea will live on' -
His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent a dignified public burial, fearing it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.
Navalny's team said local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a "secret" funeral.
Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a place that would agree to hold a funeral ceremony, as well as hearse drivers.
And a civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body -- common in Russia -- has not been allowed.
Navalnaya has vowed to continue his life's work and urged to "fight more desperately, more fiercely than before."
"A person has died, but his idea will live on thanks to those who have gathered here," said Alyona, a 22-year-old archaeologist who came to pay her respects.
P.Silva--AMWN