- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
Russia steps up battle for eastern Ukraine
Russia pressed its onslaught on eastern Ukraine Saturday, saying it had captured the strategic town of Lyman and had succesfully tested hypersonic missiles in the Arctic.
Ukrainian forces down the road battled to repel Russian forces from the outskirts of the key city of Severodonetsk, a Ukrainian official said, however denying claims it had been surrounded.
Russia is waging all-out war for the eastern Donbas region -- Ukraine's industrial heartland where President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of carrying out a "genocide".
"The town of Krasny Liman has been entirely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists," the Russian defence ministry said, using the Russian name for Lyman and confirming an announcement a day earlier by pro-Moscow separatists.
Lyman lies on the road to the urban centres of Severodonetsk and Kramatorsk still in Moscow's sights.
Russian forces have been closing in on Severodonetsk and nearby Lysychansk in Lugansk province, with conflicting reports about the extent of their advance.
Regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said Russian shelling continued on Severodonetsk as Ukrainian soldiers fought to oust invading forces from a hotel on its edges, but rejected claims the city had been completely encircled.
"Severodonetsk has not been cut off... there is still the possibility to deliver humanitarian aid," he told Ukrainian television.
A Lugansk police official, cited by Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti, late Friday said Severodonetsk was "now surrounded" and Ukrainian troops could no longer leave the city.
But Zelensky late Friday said his country was doing everything to defend the Donbas from intense artillery fire, "missile strikes and aircraft attacks".
"We are protecting our land in the way that our current defence resources allow," he added.
"We are doing everything to increase them."
- Australian killed -
As the country faces an increasingly desperate humanitarian situation, an Australian man was on Saturday reported to have been killed this week while supplying aid.
Tasmania's Mercury newspaper identified the man as Michael Charles O'Neill, 47, with a tribute on Facebook saying he had been "driving the wounded and injured from the front line". An Australian official confirmed the death.
Three months after Russia launched its invasion on February 24, leaving thousands dead on both sides and forcing 6.6 million people out of the country, Moscow has gained control over swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, including port cities Kherson and Mariupol.
Russia Saturday announced the latest test of its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile, which it said had dashed across some 1,000 kilometres (625 miles) and "successfully hit" a target in the Arctic.
To further help Ukraine fight back, Washington was preparing to send advanced long-range rocket systems, according to US media reports.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby did not confirm the plans to deliver the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System, a highly mobile system capable of firing up to 300 kilometres (186 miles) that Kyiv has said it badly needs.
But he said Washington was "still committed to helping them succeed on the battlefield".
Mykhaylo Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelensky, said on Twitter that some of Ukraine's partners "avoid giving the necessary weapons because of fear of the escalation. Escalation, really?"
- Russian ship in Mariupol -
Seeking to increase international pressure on Russia, Zelensky will speak with EU leaders at an emergency summit Monday as they try to agree on an embargo on Russian oil, which is being held up by Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban has close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Rather than continue trading with (Russia), we need to act until they stop their policy of aggression," Zelensky told a think tank in Indonesia.
But in Moscow, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia expects to receive one trillion rubles ($15 billion) in additional oil and gas revenues this year, a windfall from the sharp rise in oil prices caused in part by its invasion of Ukraine.
As his navy blockades Ukrainian ports, Putin also rejected claims he was disrupting food supplies worldwide.
Russia and Ukraine supply about 30 percent of the wheat traded on global markets.
But a spokesman for the Russian-controlled port of Mariupol said a first ship had docked there on Saturday, barely a week after the last Ukrainian fighters surrendered and left the city.
"It will be loaded up with 2.7 tonnes of steel," he told Russian state news agency TASS.
A correspondent for staunchly pro-Kremlin Russian newspaper Izvestia said it was accompanied by two warships.
There was however no official announcement from either the Russian or separatist authorities.
Russian forces battered the port city for months before the last Ukrainian fighters at its sprawling steelworks finally laid down their weapons last week.
burs-ah/lc
S.F.Warren--AMWN