- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
Russia's anti-war lobby goes online
The head of Russia's state-run RT television is in no doubt. If fellow citizens oppose President Vladimir Putin's action in Ukraine then they are no longer Russians.
Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the English language international news network, is never one to mince her words and is used to making cutting remarks on Twitter in defence of Putin who she refers to simply as "leader".
"If you are ashamed of being Russian now, don't worry, you are not Russian," was her summation of the anti-war movement at home.
Several thousand Russians demonstrated against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the police reaction was the usual one when it comes to Kremlin critics: hundreds of arrests.
So the anti-war movement has moved online, where it is beginning to make itself heard and to garner support, some of it high-profile.
Ukrainian flags adorn profile pictures and teary-eyed emojis are scattered liberally among the online statements. The hashtag #NoToTheWar was trending on Twitter on Saturday.
Since early Thursday, when the invasion of Ukraine began, various Russian celebrities, journalists and bloggers have expressed their horror and helplessness, pleading for an immediate end to the war.
The popular video blogger and documentary filmmaker Yuri Dud saw one of his online posts get a million "likes".
"I write these words for a reason. When my children grow up and discover this moment in history... and ask me 'Dad, what did you do?', I want to have written proof that I did not choose this regime and did not support its imperialist rage," he wrote.
- 'This must be stopped!' -
Elena Chernenko, a journalist with the Kommersant daily, said she was excluded from the pool of journalists covering Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov because she started an anti-war petition among her colleagues.
An open letter from the arts and cultural fields on Saturday had the support of more than 2,000 actors, directors and other creative figures.
They dismissed Putin's argument that the invasion is a "peacekeeping" operation to save Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
"Forcing peace through the use of force is absurd," the letter said.
Just as many doctors, nurses and paramedics have signed their own online missive.
"No matter how you seek to justify the use of lethal weapons, they are still lethal," they wrote.
And an anti-war petition on the change.org website has gathered more than 750,000 signatures in two days.
Among the celebrities making their voices heard, including regulars on loyal public television, is popular singer Valery Meladze.
"This must be stopped!" was her message on Instagram on the first day of the invasion.
- 'Shame added to suffering' -
Dmitry Muratov, the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, expressed his shame in an online video.
"We are suffering," said Muratov. "Our country, on the orders of President Putin, has started a war against Ukraine. And nobody can stop it. Therefore, to our suffering is added shame."
In a highly symbolic move, the founders of the "Immortal Regiment", an organisation dear to the Kremlin because it is responsible for preserving the memory of the dead of the Second World War, called on the Putin "to cease fire", describing the use of force as "inhuman".
Moscow's Garage museum of contemporary art, founded by Kremlin-linked oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, announced it would close on Saturday, refusing to "maintain the illusion of normality".
Also two communist MPs who voted for the recognition of the independence of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, have denounced the invasion of Russia's neighbour.
"I voted for peace, not for war. I voted for Russia to be a shield (for the separatists... not for Kiev to be bombed," wrote MP Mikhail Matveyev.
Addressing the celebrities and "thousands and thousands" of anonymous Russians denouncing the invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked them and asked them to stop those who "lie to the whole world".
Putin has described Zelensky and his government as "terrorists" and "a gang of drug addicts and neo-Nazis", urging the country's military to topple him.
A.Mahlangu--AMWN