- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
Russian bloggers bid tearful farewell to Instagram
Russians were relishing their final moments scrolling through Instagram on Sunday, while bloggers and small businesses that rely heavily on the platform scrambled to lure followers elsewhere online.
Moscow announced this week that access to the social network would cease, accusing Instagram's parent company Meta of turning a blind eye to calls for violence against Russians.
In a farewell post, reality TV star Olga Buzova -- who has racked up the second-largest audience in Russia with 23 million followers -- was in dispair and disbelief.
"Right now, I'm writing this post and crying," she wrote, annotating the text with a crying emoji. "I hope this isn't true."
Fashion blogger Karina Nigay, who meanwhile boasts nearly three million followers, was still processing the fact of the looming ban.
"I'm in a state of resentment and nowhere near a state of acceptance," she said.
The move comes as part of long-running efforts by President Vladimir Putin to rein in control of what Russians can and cannot access on the internet.
These efforts have quickened to a dizzying pace since he announced Russia's sweeping military incursion in Ukraine and as authorities work to control how the conflict is seen at home.
Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor said this week that Instgram was being taken down for allowing posts urging violence against Russians.
But the official website Gosuslugi, which hosts government services, said Instagram would be pulled beginning March 14 citing Russians' "psychological health" and efforts to protect children from "bullying and insults".
Gosuslugi also recommended that Russians return to homegrown platforms that were abandoned as Instagram and Faceook's popularity ballooned.
- 'We'll live without it' -
Many bloggers said on Instagram they would pivot to VK, Russia's equivalent of Facebook.
It is closest among Russian social media platforms to Instagram in its features but has also been accused of cosying up to authorities.
Russians have also been turning to Telegram, a network already hugely popular in Russia and across former Soviet countries, which Moscow several years ago tried -- and ultimately failed -- to block.
The app was created to be a messaging service but also hosts channels where users can post photos and videos with accompanying texts.
Forty-one-year-old painter Alexei Garkusha told AFP in Saint Petersburg that he would be among those turning to Telegram.
It's "more interesting," he said, sounding less concerned about Instagram's fate.
"If they shut it down, they shut it down!" Garkusha shrugged.
In farewell posts, bloggers lamented the need to rebuild their following and businesses, at a time when the economy is struggling under Western sanctions.
"Many, ironically, say that bloggers will finally get over their dependancy on easy money," said Alexandra Mitroshina, a popular user known for instructing others how to monetise their following.
"But don't forget that half of our small and medium businesses are linked to Instagram and Whatsapp," she told her two million followers.
For many small Russian businesses, Instagram was a primary platform for advertising, processing sales and communicating with clients.
But former reality TV star, Buzova, was among those optimistic her work could continue on other platforms and urged followers to join her on VK.
"Of course it will be difficult and unusual but we are strong together," she wrote.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has said the platform has 80 million users in Russia.
On the streets of Russia's former, imperial capital, Saint Petersburg, some people said the ban was a pity, but was not the end of the world.
"I don't think anything globally catastrophic will happen," said Yelena Teleginskaya, 31.
Others were pleased to see the back of it, like engineer Nikolay Yeremenko, 45.
"If they closed it, it's for the best. We'll live without it,"
M.Thompson--AMWN