What is the Wagner Group?

By Victoria Kim from NYT World https://ift.tt/OA2Gi9a
via IFTTT The private Russian military force, which has close ties to President Vladimir Putin and has been used in war zones across the world, is expanding its presence in Ukraine.

Faced with foreign pressure, Russians rally around Putin, poll shows.

By Ivan Nechepurenko from NYT World https://ift.tt/7CqrYH2
via IFTTT Eighty-three percent of Russians said they approved of Mr. Putin’s actions, up from 69 percent in January, according to an independent pollster in Moscow.

Moscow calls U.S. intelligence on Putin’s military advice a ‘complete misunderstanding.’

By Anton Troianovski from NYT World https://ift.tt/6s8bvBz
via IFTTT The Kremlin spokesman also played down the prospect of an April meeting between Presidents Vladimir V. Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Sanctioned Oligarch’s Presence Adds Intrigue to Ukraine-Russia Talks

By Valerie Hopkins from NYT World https://ift.tt/6lPB7cq
via IFTTT Roman Abramovich, sanctioned owner of the Chelsea Football Club, mysteriously showed up at the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, and is said to be playing an unofficial role.

U.S. intelligence suggests that Putin’s advisers misinformed him on Ukraine.

By Julian E. Barnes, Lara Jakes and John Ismay from NYT World https://ift.tt/ZtTGwvJ
via IFTTT One American official said that there “is now persistent tension” between the Russian president and his Defense Ministry.

In Kyiv Suburb, Ukrainian Military Claims a Big Prize

By Andrew E. Kramer and Daniel Berehulak from NYT World https://ift.tt/n51UI9l
via IFTTT Ukrainian soldiers have essentially retaken, for now, the town of Irpin, the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks. Its success shows the steep challenges Russia faces in trying to capture Ukraine’s capital.

Family’s Balcony Death in Switzerland Appears to Be Suicide, Police Say

By Emma Bubola from NYT World https://ift.tt/Klzj5bQ
via IFTTT The investigation suggests that the victims jumped from the seventh-floor balcony “one after the other,” the police said.

Prince Andrew, Banished From Royal Duties, Escorts Queen to Memorial

By Mark Landler from NYT World https://ift.tt/JOE3IB1
via IFTTT The prince’s conspicuous public appearance at the service for his father, Prince Philip, who died last year, sent an unmistakable message of support by a 95-year-old mother for her disgraced son.

Reports of sexual violence involving Russian soldiers are multiplying, Ukrainian officials say.

By Cora Engelbrecht from NYT World https://ift.tt/AgSXnzT
via IFTTT A Ukrainian woman’s account of being repeatedly raped was published in The Times of London, and a member of Ukraine’s Parliament said there were “many more” such assaults.

Shanghai’s Lockdown Tests Covid-Zero Policy, and People’s Limits

By John Liu and Paul Mozur from NYT World https://ift.tt/t0UjOdq
via IFTTT A staggered lockdown on China’s commercial capital of 26 million people has sent beleaguered residents scrambling and raised fears of broader damage to the economy.

Zelensky Gives Interview to Russian Journalists. Moscow Orders It Quashed.

By Anton Troianovski and Ivan Nechepurenko from NYT World https://ift.tt/cn8321D
via IFTTT The remarkable interview was still published by journalists outside of Russia, an episode that laid bare the extraordinary, and partly successful, efforts at censorship by Moscow.

The Making of Vladimir Putin

By Roger Cohen from NYT World https://ift.tt/C2yc6Rd
via IFTTT The 22-year arc of the Russian president’s exercise of power is a study in audacity.

Biden denounces Russian invasion, casting it as part of a decades-long attempt to crush democracies.

By Michael D. Shear and Zolan Kanno-Youngs from NYT World https://ift.tt/DBgNZqK
via IFTTT Speaking in Warsaw, President Biden described Vladimir V. Putin as a tyrant with “a craving for absolute power and control.”

Gaffes and Miscues Mar a Royal Tour of a Republic-Minded Caribbean

By Mark Landler from NYT World https://ift.tt/ADNQXq6
via IFTTT The trip by Prince William and his wife, Catherine, the duchess of Cambridge, dramatized how rapidly Queen Elizabeth II is losing her grip on distant dominions where she is still head of state.

Russia Signals Redefined Goals in Ukraine War as Its Advances Stall

By Anton Troianovski, Michael D. Shear and Michael Levenson from NYT World https://ift.tt/AmbgE8y
via IFTTT The Russian Defense Ministry suggested its forces would concentrate on securing the eastern part of Ukraine, where Kremlin-backed separatists have long been fighting.

Putin Goes Into Battle on a Second Front: Culture

By Anton Troianovski and Javier C. Hernández from NYT World https://ift.tt/EVnfqKC
via IFTTT In a blast against “cancel culture,” he said the West is “canceling” Russia by going after “an entire thousand-year-old country, our people.”

China and Solomon Islands Draft Secret Security Pact, Raising Alarm in the Pacific

By Damien Cave from NYT World https://ift.tt/6EA3VNt
via IFTTT The leaked agreement, if signed, could help the Chinese Navy block shipping routes that played a vital role in World War II.

The W.H.O. says the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron is driving most cases around the world.

By Alyssa Lukpat from NYT World https://ift.tt/cNijWv5
via IFTTT Globally, BA.2 made up about 86 percent of cases reported to the W.H.O. between Feb. 16 and March 17, the agency said in a report on Tuesday.

Russian crew aboard a superyacht possibly linked to Putin have left their jobs, workers say.

By Gaia Pianigiani from NYT World https://ift.tt/laXBqhx
via IFTTT U.S. officials have said the Scheherezade, which is dry-docked in Italy, could be owned by the Russian leader.

4 Die After Falling From Balcony in Swiss Resort Town

By Emma Bubola from NYT World https://ift.tt/aLbXq8U
via IFTTT The police, who are investigating the cause, said the people were most likely members of the same family, including an 8-year-old girl, her parents and aunt. A boy, 15, was in the hospital in critical condition.

Russia’s combat force has shrunk, a Pentagon official says, reflecting casualties and other struggles.

By John Ismay from NYT World https://ift.tt/ohB2LXI
via IFTTT The official said that Russian forces were “struggling on many fronts,” and that there were indications that some troops had been evacuated with frostbite.

As Russia Stalls in Ukraine, Dissent Brews Over Putin’s Leadership

By Anton Troianovski and Michael Schwirtz from NYT World https://ift.tt/SWuao7m
via IFTTT Military losses have mounted, progress has slowed, and a blame game has begun among some Russian supporters of the war.

No Survivors Found in China Eastern Crash, Officials Say

By Chris Buckley and Keith Bradsher from NYT World https://ift.tt/495Nb6f
via IFTTT Workers recovered identity cards, cellphones and purses from the crash site. But the plane’s steep plunge suggested there was a “minuscule” chance of any survivors, an expert said.

What We Know About the Crash of China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735

By Austin Ramzy and Niraj Chokshi from NYT World https://ift.tt/N9dTruL
via IFTTT The crash of the Boeing plane, with more than 130 people on board, is China’s worst air disaster in more than a decade.

How Ukraine’s Outgunned Air Force Is Fighting Back Against Russian Jets

By Maria Varenikova and Andrew E. Kramer from NYT World https://ift.tt/Q97lecO
via IFTTT Aerial dogfights. Top Gun-style duels. Ukraine’s fighter pilots are badly outnumbered but have so far kept Russia from controlling the skies.

Russians Pound Ukrainian Cities, as Biden Rallies Anti-Kremlin Alliance

By Neil MacFarquhar and Andrew E. Kramer from NYT World https://ift.tt/uYdBF1k
via IFTTT A powerful explosion ruined a shopping mall in Kyiv and claimed several lives, while Ukraine refused a Russian demand to surrender the devastated city of Mariupol.

The China Eastern plane descended more than 20,000 feet in just over a minute.

By Austin Ramzy from NYT World https://ift.tt/YH84bLj
via IFTTT An hour after it took off, the flight turned horribly wrong, according to data from Flightradar24.

Truth Is Another Front in Putin’s War

By Steven Lee Myers and Stuart A. Thompson from NYT World https://ift.tt/nzUBhgi
via IFTTT The Kremlin has used a barrage of increasingly outlandish falsehoods to prop up its overarching claim that the invasion of Ukraine is justified.

Russia Is Losing Tens of Thousands of Outward-Looking Young Professionals

By Jane Arraf from NYT World https://ift.tt/wgWy58v
via IFTTT Many of them have been streaming into Armenia, where they can work I.T. jobs remotely, at least for a while. At cafes in the capital, Yerevan, the exiles try to plot out new lives from their laptops.

Russian Soldiers Took Their City, Then Their Homes

By Brenna Smith and Masha Froliak from NYT World https://ift.tt/z1TNWBC
via IFTTT As Russian forces pushed toward Kyiv, they stormed an apartment complex in a nearby suburb and held residents hostage. Some of it was caught on camera.

Ukraine War Threatens to Cause a Global Food Crisis

By Jack Nicas from NYT World https://ift.tt/knJqZmK
via IFTTT A critical share of the world’s food and fertilizer is stuck in Russia and Ukraine, sending global prices soaring and foreshadowing a rise in world hunger.

As Omicron Surges and Economy Suffers, China Tweaks ‘Zero Covid’

By Amy Qin and Amy Chang Chien from NYT World https://ift.tt/YeRgoFZ
via IFTTT Beijing is fine-tuning its virus response playbook to try to limit the cost of restrictions. But its goal of eliminating all infections could make that difficult.

A ‘Killing Stone’ Broke in Japan. Is a Demon on the Loose?

By Mike Ives and Makiko Inoue from NYT World https://ift.tt/12vparf
via IFTTT The rock appears in a famous legend starring a nine-tailed fox spirit. The question now is whether the fracture was a good or bad omen.

Russia Targets Western Ukraine as Biden Warns Xi Not to Aid Moscow

By Michael Levenson, Megan Specia and Edward Wong from NYT World https://ift.tt/3W5mGaF
via IFTTT A scramble of diplomatic efforts bears little fruit as Russia intensifies its attacks, including with a bombardment into a relatively unscathed part of western Ukraine.

Defying China’s Censors to Urge Beijing to Denounce Russia’s War

By Chris Buckley from NYT World https://ift.tt/Ohvjgie
via IFTTT A persistent minority of Chinese scholars, journalists and citizens is warning Beijing against the risks of supporting the invasion of Ukraine.

Why Vladimir Putin Invokes Nazis to Justify His Invasion of Ukraine

By Anton Troianovski from NYT World https://ift.tt/swYNmjH
via IFTTT The language of Russia’s invasion has been dominated by the word “Nazi” — a puzzling assertion about a country whose leader is Jewish.

Russian Court Extends Brittney Griner’s Detention

By Amanda Holpuch from NYT World https://ift.tt/5Pd9UDa
via IFTTT Griner, one of the world’s best basketball players, was detained on accusations that she had hashish oil in her luggage at an airport outside of Moscow a week before Russia invaded Ukraine.

‘Finish Them Off’: Aid Workers, Found on Battlefield, Executed by Soldiers

By Simon Marks and Declan Walsh from NYT World https://ift.tt/MJPWsGj
via IFTTT Three employees of Doctors Without Borders set out to rescue the wounded in a war zone in northern Ethiopia. Their fate shows the treacherous path for many aid workers in conflict zones.

Why Arnold Schwarzenegger taped an impassioned video to Russia, telling Putin: ‘Stop this war.’

By Shawn Hubler from NYT World https://ift.tt/xc6gCsN
via IFTTT The movie star and former governor of California addressed Russians and Russian soldiers, saying, “ “your lives, your limbs, your futures are being sacrificed for a senseless war.”

It Could’ve Been the World’s Largest Potato, if Only It Were a Potato

By Natasha Frost from NYT World https://ift.tt/dkJfqSa
via IFTTT A couple in New Zealand found a giant growth in their garden, named it Doug and applied to the Guinness Book of World Records. Then the results of a DNA analysis came in.

Ukrainian Forces Strike Back at Russia as Biden Sends More Firepower

By Michael Schwirtz, Valerie Hopkins and Carlotta Gall from NYT World https://ift.tt/q0bafcU
via IFTTT The attacks in Kyiv and Kherson were aimed at inflicting “maximum losses” against Russia but not regaining territory, while the U.S. pledged $800 million more in military aid.

As Russia Digs In, What’s the Risk of Nuclear War? ‘It’s Not Zero.’

By Max Fisher from NYT World https://ift.tt/fQLdoKB
via IFTTT A series of shifts in Russian statements about using nuclear weapons has led some analysts to believe that the Kremlin sees a nuclear exchange as a viable strategy.

Ukrainian Forces Strike Back at Russia, as Biden Sends More Firepower

By Michael Schwirtz, Valerie Hopkins and Carlotta Gall from NYT World https://ift.tt/P12QRyH
via IFTTT The attacks in Kyiv and Kherson were aimed at inflicting “maximum losses” against Russia but not regaining territory, while the U.S. pledged $800 million more in military aid.

Diplomacy Quickens to Halt Ukraine War or Stop Its Expansion

By Mark Landler and David E. Sanger from NYT World https://ift.tt/bBxo90T
via IFTTT Ukraine and Russia held a new round of talks and agreed to resume them on Tuesday, as the United States warned China about helping an increasingly isolated Kremlin and expanding the conflict.

A protester storms a live broadcast on Russia’s most-watched news show, yelling ‘Stop the war!’

By Anton Troianovski from NYT World https://ift.tt/08wqzma
via IFTTT The intervention by a state TV employee underscored how dissent is seeping into the public sphere in Russia, despite the Kremlin’s crackdown on anyone who challenges its official narrative of the invasion.

A pregnant woman photographed after a Russian strike on a maternity hospital has died, The A.P. reports.

By Austin Ramzy from NYT World https://ift.tt/TuPRIcq
via IFTTT Her baby also died, the news organization said. The photo captured last week has become one of the defining images of human suffering in the war.

Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China

By Keith Bradsher from NYT World https://ift.tt/M8FKmyz
via IFTTT After two years of largely containing coronavirus outbreaks, China’s “Covid zero” policies are being tested by the highly transmissible variant.

China Sees at Least One Winner Emerging From Ukraine War: China

By Steven Lee Myers and Chris Buckley from NYT World https://ift.tt/aDfcAdi
via IFTTT The country’s leaders think it can shield itself from economic and diplomatic fallout and eventually be seen as a pillar of stability.

‘Things Will Only Get Worse.’ Putin’s War Sends Russians Into Exile.

By Anton Troianovski and Patrick Kingsley from NYT World https://ift.tt/8grzH6K
via IFTTT Thousands of Russians saw their comfortable, middle-class lives fade overnight with the invasion ordered by President Vladimir V. Putin.

Saudi Arabia Puts 81 to Death, Despite Promises to Curb Executions

By Vivian Yee from NYT World https://ift.tt/RLZOQ8B
via IFTTT It was the kingdom’s largest mass execution in years. In many cases, the charges involved “not a drop of blood,” a rights activist said.