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Russia was poised to default on its foreign debt for the first time since 1918, pushed into delinquency not for lack of money but because of punishing Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Russia was likely to miss payments on two foreign-currency bonds late Sunday, according to holders of the bonds who had yet to see funds deposited. The day marks the elapse of a 30-day grace period since the country was due to pay the equivalent of $100 million in dollars and euros to bondholders.

G7 leaders mocked Vladimir Putin as they sat down to lunch 'We have to show that we're tougher than Putin,' British PM Boris Johnson said Canadian PM Justin Trudeau then added: 'We're going to get the bare chested horseback riding display' Johnson can then be heard on footage saying: 'We've got to show them our pecs' Laughter came as Biden tries to hold allies firm in opposition to Putin Biden earlier slammed Russia for its bombing of Kyiv 'It's more of their barbarism,' he said Ursula von der Leyen's pecs?

Nike has decided to fully exit Russia three months after suspending operations in the country due to its invasion of Ukraine, the sportswear giant announced Thursday. The company has no announced plans to exit China due to that country’s gross human rights abuses and organized use of slave labor in making Nike products. Nike initially suspended operations in Russia on March 3, a week after Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces to invade Ukraine in an attempt to take over the neighboring nation. However, Nike seems to have been motivated to leave the country entirely by the prospect of new criminal...

BERLIN — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine seemed like an unexpected opportunity for environmentalists, who had struggled to focus the world’s attention on the kind of energy independence that renewable resources can offer. With the West trying to wean itself from Russian oil and gas, the argument for solar and wind power seemed stronger than ever. But four months into the war, the scramble to replace Russian fossil fuels has triggered the exact opposite. As the heads of the Group of 7 industrialized nations gather in the Bavarian Alps for a meeting that was supposed to cement their commitment to the...

President Joe Biden accused the Russian military of torturing Ukrainians using electrocution and other methods in an official statement Sunday. Biden's statement marked the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. In it Biden accused several nations of using torture on either their own people or the people of nations they were attacking. Biden has in the past called for Russia and Putin to be put on trial for war crimes. "Any instance of torture is one too many, and yet every year countless victims suffer this brutal violation of their human rights and dignity," Biden wrote. "This year...

As Russian troops press ahead with a grinding campaign to seize eastern Ukraine, the nation’s ability to resist the onslaught depends more than ever on help from the United States and its allies — including a stealthy network of commandos and spies rushing to provide weapons, intelligence and training, according to U.S. and European officials. But even as the Biden administration has declared it will not deploy American troops to Ukraine, some C.I.A. personnel have continued to operate in the country secretly, mostly in the capital, Kyiv, directing much of the vast amounts of intelligence the United States is sharing...

Smoke billows from a residential building following explosions in Kyiv on June 26. Several explosions rocked the west of the Ukrainian capital in the early hours, with at least two residential buildings struck, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. A suspected Russian missile attack on a residential neighborhood in the Ukrainian capital injured at least five people early on June 26, trapping some residents under the rubble and sparking a fire in a nine-story apartment building. The bombardment of Kyiv came as Ukraine's defense forces battled to regroup after the loss of a strategic town to Russian forces on the...

(Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday said Ukraine would win back all the cities it had lost to Russia, including Sievierodonetsk, and admitted the war was becoming tough to handle emotionally.In a late-night video address, he also said Ukraine had been hit by 45 Russian missiles and rockets over the previous 24 hours, which he described as a cynical but doomed attempt to break his people's spirits."Therefore all our cities - Sievierodonetsk, Donetsk, Luhansk - we'll get them all back," he said.It was the only time in the address that he mentioned Sievierodonetsk, which finally fell to Moscow's forces...

Grammy award winner Halsey has had her concert descend into utter chaos with flash flooding and tornado warnings barrelling down on her US gig. The ‘Bad At Love’ singer was scheduled to perform at Merriweather Post Pavilion, an outdoor venue in Columbia, Maryland, before unexpected torrential rain fell from the sky. The amphitheatre proceeded to flood with ankle-deep water, seeing concertgoers trudge through the murky depths. Videos posted online depicted utter chaos as the venue was inundated with water, and the concert was eventually called off for safety reasons. However, floodwaters weren't the only shocking thing all concertgoers got to...

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An elderly Slidell man has "significant" injuries after being attacked by a "vicious" squirrel Tuesday, police said. It's the second reported squirrel attack this year in Slidell, according to authorities. The 78-year-old man told authorities he was walking outside his home when the squirrel came from the direction of his roof and attacked him unprovoked. The squirrel "was eating his hand," according to a written statement from Slidell police about the 911 call. "The man was attempting to choke the squirrel, but was unable to obtain a good grip," police said. The man was still struggling with the animal when...

Two police officers were caught off-guard when they were attacked by a pet squirrel as they tried to arrest his owner on Monday. According to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, two deputies were wrapping up a traffic stop east of Baton Rouge, Louisiana Monday night when they went to arrest an unidentified tow-truck driver. But when they searched the vehicle, a 'pet feral squirrel' leaped onto the back of one of the deputies, the Sheriff's Office wrote. As he ran in circles trying to get the squirrel off his back, jumping and grabbing at the rodent, his partner could be...

Most New Yorkers may consider them rats with fluffy tails, but, elsewhere, squirrel has become a chic new menu item. As part of a growing ethical dining trend, chefs have begun serving up dishes made with the North American gray squirrel, an invasive species. “My original starting point with gray squirrel was taste. But it’s also great for the environment,” renowned Scottish chef Paul Wedgwood told the Guardian of the inspiration for adding gray squirrel to the menu of his Edinburgh restaurant Royal Mile in 2008. “It’s mellow, nutty and a bit gamey. It’s just a really nice flavor, and...

When January and the rest of winter roll in, I automatically begin pondering wintertime squirrel hunting, which is a highly underutilized outdoor pastime. I thoroughly enjoy every opportunity to go squirrel hunting and have my favorite spots on both private and public land, not only in my home Thumb area, but elsewhere in the state, such as the oak-filled hardwoods on public land in the Baldwin area, one of my favorite locations for this pastime. A beauty about squirrel hunting is that you don’t have to travel far to find ample opportunities anywhere in our great state of Michigan. And...

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Mr. President, this council was convened today to discuss the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, a goal that we all share, despite Russia’s persistent violations. These agreements, which were negotiated in 2014 and 2015 and signed by Russia, remain the basis for the peace process to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Former CIA Director John Brennan briefed former President Obama on Hillary Clinton’s “plan” to tie the Trump campaign to Russia as a means of distracting the public from her private email server scandal before the 2016 election, according to newly declassified documents. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Tuesday declassified Brennan’s handwritten notes along with a CIA memo showing that officials referred the alleged scheme to the FBI for potential investigation. “Today, at the direction of President Trump, I declassified additional documents relevant to ongoing Congressional oversight and investigative activities,” Ratcliffe said in a statement. Brennan’s notes, which were...

Last week, over a two-day period, people in a small town in North Wales began to experience unprovoked attacks by a grey squirrel. The animal was eventually captured and put down, but not before 18 people were injured as a result of its wild biting spree, reports say. According to the BBC, the grey squirrel started attacking people in Buckley, Flintshire, last week. Prior to that, Corinne Reynolds, 65, had been feeding it since March. She said it was a “frequent and friendly visitor” to her garden. The squirrel initially came “to steal bird food” Reynolds said: “All those months...

UK residents were left reeling after a crazed gray squirrel went on a wild Christmas rampage in Buckley, Wales, injuring a staggering 18 people in two days. “Warning, vicious squirrel that attacks,” wrote Nicola Crowther in the Buckley Residents Facebook Group on Dec. 26 along with a grainy photo of the furry culprit on a fencepost. “Has bitten me, attacked my friend … and multiple other people.” Another bite recipient, Sheree Davidson, told SWNS that she was taking out the recycling when the “psycho” squirrel jumped out at her from behind the bins and chomped her on the hand. The...

Here is a video of a Grey squirrel, or as my friend Carlos likes to call them, "A rat with a better pr campaign", breaking into a vending machine to get a candy bar. If you have trouble reaching the video by clicking on the image of the squirrel, then follow this link to see the, Squirrel Breaking Into Candy Machine

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday, charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions from the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The indictment is a first. No one has ever been prosecuted before for contempt of Congress when executive privilege was asserted. The past cases involved defendants whose testimony was sought regarding their government service. Bannon, by contrast, left his White House job in 2017, well before the period of interest to the House committee. If convicted, Bannon could face up to a year behind bars and a...