Putin recognizes independence of Ukraine breakaway regions, escalating conflict with West
CBSN
Kyiv, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized the independence of two Russian-backed breakaway republics in the east of Ukraine. The Biden administration warned last week that the move would violate international law and Ukraine's sovereignty, and would "necessitate a swift and firm response" from America and its allies. U.S. says Russia has list of Ukrainians to target post-invasion
The Russian leader's decision effectively signals that Moscow is no longer interested in negotiating with the West to find a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine crisis based on cease-fire deals hammered out eight years ago, which have been consistently pointed to by both sides as the only viable framework for an agreement.
Putin announced during an extraordinary public meeting of his security council in Moscow earlier on Monday that he would decide whether to formally recognize the independence of the self-declared "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk, in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.
An Israeli attack on Iran damaged facilities at a secretive military base southeast of the Iranian capital that experts in the past have linked to Tehran's onetime nuclear weapons program and at another base tied to its ballistic missile program, satellite photos analyzed Sunday by The Associated Press show.
Pope Francis' yearslong process to reform the Catholic Church closed Saturday with recommendations that fell short of giving women more equity as hoped but reflected the pope's aims for a church that at least listens more to its followers.
Israel's pre-dawn airstrikes on military targets in Iran in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic republic fired on Israel earlier this month were met with mixed reactions both at home and abroad.
Thieves with a nose for fine cheese have pulled off a massive cheddar ripoff in London.
Israel launched its long-awaited retaliatory strikes on Iran early Saturday local time, the Israeli military said. Israel had vowed payback for Iran's Oct. 1 attack, during which the Islamic republic launched about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.
A Northern Ireland man was sentenced Friday to a minimum of 20 years in prison after being found guilty by a U.K. court in what has been described as the biggest criminal "catfishing" case in the country. Alex McCartney, 26, had pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of manslaughter in a Northern Ireland court after a young American girl who was among the thousands of alleged victims he blackmailed online died by suicide.
London — There are almost 4,000 emojis to help people express themselves online, but a group of young design students in London says none of them feature Black or mixed-race hairstyles, and they're determined to change that.
Kazan, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday presided at the closing session of a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, praising its role as a counterbalance to what he called the West's "perverse methods." The three-day summit in the city of Kazan covered the deepening of financial cooperation, including the development of alternatives to Western-dominated payment systems, efforts to settle regional conflicts and expansion of the BRICS group of nations.
Turkey launched airstrikes late Wednesday in Kurdish-held parts of Syria and Iraq in retaliation for a deadly attack at a state-owned defense manufacturer in Ankara that saw at least two attackers kill four people and wound more than a dozen others.
Sri Lanka deployed troops and increased police patrols around a Jewish community center in a popular surfing town on Wednesday after the U.S. embassy warned American citizens of a possible attack on popular tourist sites in the area.
Gisele Pelicot, the woman at the center of the mass-rape trial that's shocked her own country of France and the world, told her husband in court on Wednesday that she still "did not understand why" he had drugged and raped her for nearly a decade, along with dozens of other men he invited into their home.