- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
EU sanctions Putin oligarchs, spokesman over Ukraine
The European Union on Monday added top Kremlin-linked oligarchs and Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman to its sanctions blacklist as part of its latest round of punishment over the Ukraine invasion.
The bloc targeted some of the key moneymen accused of backing Putin's regime in response to his ordering Russian forces into Russia's pro-Western neighbour last week.
Among the high-profile names were close Putin allies Igor Sechin, head of state oil giant Rosneft, and Nikolay Tokarev, boss of pipeline mammoth Transneft.
Three men ranked within Russia's 10 top richest by Forbes were also added: metals magnate Alexei Mordashov, tycoon Alisher Usmanov, and businessman and Putin friend Gennady Timchenko.
In addition there were also top bankers Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven.
Plus there was Sergei Roldugin, a cellist and long-time Putin confidante accused of "'shuffling' at least $2 billion through banks and offshore companies as a part of Putin's hidden financial network."
"With these additional sanctions, we are targeting all who are having a significant economic role in supporting Putin's regime, and benefit financially from the system," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
"These sanctions will expose the wealth of Putin's elite. Those who enable the invasion of Ukraine will pay a price for their action."
Beyond the top businessmen, the EU said it was also targeting key propagandists.
Most prominently these included Putin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov, a central figure in what the West sees as the Kremlin's disinformation machine.
Also on the list were the ministers for housing, tourism and transport as well as senior military commanders accused of involvement in the Ukraine campaign.
Putin himself and his foreign minister were also recently subjected to asset freezes as the EU batters the Kremlin with sanctions.
More wide-sweeping measures, including prohibiting transactions with Russia's central bank, have helped send the Russian economy into turmoil.
- Oligarch denies political role -
In a statement released by Mordashov's metals and mining conglomerate Severstal, the tycoon said he had nothing to do with the politics around Ukraine.
“What is happening in Ukraine is a tragedy for two fraternal nations," he said.
"I have never been close to politics," he said.
"I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tension and I do not understand why the EU has imposed sanctions on me."
In Washington, officials were also planning more sanctions on Russian tycoons.
US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said the US sanctions list would not be identical with those from the EU and Britain, but that they "will ultimately be symmetrical and mutually reinforcing."
"We are going to identify, we are going to hunt down and freeze the assets of Russian companies and oligarchs. We are going to hunt down their yachts. We are going to hunt down their mansions, any other ill-gotten gains that we can find in freeze under the law," Price said.
He added that the United States would also target "their ability to send their children to boarding schools around the world."
P.Mira--PC