- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- 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
Moscow marks Crimea annexation with patriotic rally
A sea of Russian flags, pro-Kremlin pop stars, and state television unexpectedly cutting President Vladimir Putin mid-speech: Moscow on Friday marked eight years since its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, as its troops advanced further into the country.
Tens of thousands took part in an ultra-patriotic rally at Moscow's main Luzhniki stadium. Many wore a ribbon with the letter Z, which has become a symbol of support for the Russian army in Ukraine.
The event was heavily anti-Western and filled with Soviet nostalgia, as Russian authorities ramp up patriotism in response to being hit by massive international sanctions for Putin's Ukraine campaign.
A stage at the centre of the stadium had a banner that read "For a world without Nazism" -- a reference to Putin saying he sent troops to Ukraine to "de-Nazify" the country.
The Russian leader took to the stage to chants of "Russia! Russia! Russia!".
He said Moscow did the right thing in 2014 by "pulling Crimea out of the humiliating state it was in when it was part of another state."
He claimed Russia had vastly improved the infrastructure of the peninsula -- which has been isolated since the annexation.
Russian troops have entered Ukraine from several directions since Putin sent them in last month, including from Crimea.
Putin said that Moscow now aimed to "rid people from their suffering and genocide".
He invoked the Bible as he praised Russian soldiers, which he said were "heroically" fighting "shoulder to shoulder" in Ukraine.
Then Russian TV cut Putin mid-sentence, switching to showing a clip of patriotic music.
The Kremlin later said it was a technical glitch, and state television proceeded to show Putin's speech in full and him walking off stage about ten minutes later.
Russian state television is tightly controlled and such interruptions are highly unusual.
- Pro-Kremlin pop stars -
Patriotic pop stars and the face of Russia's RT state television channel -- Margarita Simonyan -- took to the stage one by one to back Putin's actions in Ukraine.
"Mother Russia, take Donbas home," Simonyan told crowds, referring to the eastern Ukraine region taken over by separatists in 2014.
"This is for our boys who are fighting scum right now," Simonyan, whose channel has been banned in most Western countries after Putin sent troops to Ukraine, told cheering crowds.
Russia's outspoken foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, also took the stage.
"We are a country and nation that safeguards peace and fights evil," she said.
Some of Russia's leading pro-Kremlin pop stars performed well known patriotic hits in support of the Russian army.
Pop star Oleg Gazmanov sang his "Made in USSR" hit, with lyrics that include claiming that Kazakhstan and the Baltics are "part of my country".
Luzhniki -- which hosted the 2018 World Cup final -- has a capacity of 81,000. There were also crowds on the pitch of the stadium and outside it.
Putin sent thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in the early hours of February 24th, despite weeks of warnings that Russia would be hit with massive sanctions that would cripple its economy if he did so.
O.M.Souza--AMWN