The largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S. has joined other civil rights organizations in issuing a travel advisory for Florida

World champion Max Verstappen claimed the 18th win of his record-breaking season, with victory in a thrilling Las Vegas...

Tupac Shakur's rap career began with Digital Underground in 1990, leading to a solo debut, '2Pacalypse Now'

Phil Jones will leave Manchester United when his contract expires in the summer after making just 13 appearances in his last four seasons of an injury-hit dozen years at Old Trafford. The defender, who Sir Alex Ferguson infamously said could become United’s greatest-ever player, made 229 appearances for the club in total, scoring six goals. He has missed the whole of this season, when he was omitted from United’s 25-man Premier League squad by manager Erik ten Hag, just as he did not play in 2020-21. Jones said: “It’s been very difficult, the last couple of years. There’s no denying that. There is no hiding away from that. My family have been absolutely instrumental in keeping me on the straight and narrow and keeping me focused, to try to get fit and try to play more.” The 31-year-old joined from Blackburn in 2011 for £16m and showed his versatility by playing as a centre-back, a right-back and a midfielder in his early years at Old Trafford, when Sir Bobby Charlton compared him to the Busby Babe Duncan Edwards. Jones made 41 appearances in his first year at Old Trafford and helped United win the Premier League title in 2012-13. He has won 27 England caps, being part of the squads for two World Cups and one European Championships. Read More Football rumours: Arsenal preparing £90million swoop for West Ham’s Declan Rice Newcastle may have Saudi riches, but Howe’s team is built on bargains Julen Lopetegui thrilled with Wolves progress since his first clash with Everton

Samuel L Jackson was nominated in the Best Featured Actor in a Play category at the Annual Tony Awards for 'The Piano Lesson'

Ukraine’s first lady has warned that Russia winning the war it started is “the worst-case scenario for all humanity”, in a heartfelt plea for the world not to lose interest in her country as its soldiers are fighting for “the democratic balance of the world”. Speaking exclusively to Independent TV, Olena Zelenska said Ukraine is deeply concerned that the world is underestimating the wider threat from Moscow as the conflict grinds into its 18th month. Read the full interview here The Ukrainian military has been fighting one of Europe’s bloodiest conflicts since the Second World War after Russian president Vladimir Putin launched his invasion last February. “If the aggressor wins now, it will be the worst-case scenario for all of humanity,” Ms Zelenska said from the heavily guarded presidential palace in Kyiv. “This will mean that global deterrents aren’t working. This will mean that anyone with power, strength and sufficient financial capacity can do whatever they want.” She said that her country desperately needs “faster” support to be able to combat the better-equipped Russian troops; pledges of long-term military and humanitarian aid will not help win the war if delivery is too slow, she warned. “We keep hearing from our Western partners that they will be with us as long as it takes. ‘Long’ is not the word we should use. We should use the word ‘faster’,” she said. “Ukrainians are paying for this war with the lives of our compatriots. The rest of the world pays with its resources. These are incomparable things, so we urge you to speed up this help,” she added. Ms Zelenska, a comedy screenwriter and childhood sweetheart of Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky, initially shunned the public spotlight, advising her husband against running for president four years ago. But as soon as Mr Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, she gave up her day job to become an ambassador for Ukraine, rallying international support and becoming one of the key architects trying to rebuild the country even as the fighting rages on. In a wide-ranging interview, Ms Zelenska opened up about the concerns she has for Ukraine and her family, with her and her husband being forced to live separately for security reasons – so the president rarely gets the chance to see their children. “I want to be together again. We really hope that somehow all this will change and we will be able to live a more or less normal family life,” she said. Her message to nations around the globe? “Please don’t get fatigued, because we as Ukrainians have no right to get tired. “Ukraine defends not only its interests, not only its life. We are trying to maintain the whole democratic balance in the world.” Russia’s invasion has left an untold number of the population dead. Civilians have also been subjected to rape, torture, and abductions. In recent weeks, the Russian army has cynically targeted farms, ports and food storage facilities, after President Putin pulled out of a United Nations-brokered grain deal which allowed the safe export of Ukraine’s grain and oil via the Black Sea. Moscow has also unleashed drones and missiles at the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes for grain. In the latest attack, on Wednesday, Odesa’s port infrastructure was struck again, damaging 40,000 tonnes of grain earmarked for Africa and the Middle East. This has sparked fears of famine-like conditions in vulnerable parts of the world that have long relied on Ukrainian produce. “We are no longer surprised by anything,” Ms Zelenska said about the Russian leader’s tactics and the resulting hunger, as her country has bounded from crisis to crisis. Watch the interview trailer below The full interview will be available to watch on The Independent’s website and on your smart TV from August 7. In June, the Russian bombing of the Kakhovka Dam unleashed the waters from one of Europe’s largest reservoirs over swathes of the south of the country, causing one of the worst ecological disasters. That followed massive missile attacks on energy and electricity infrastructure over winter, causing blackouts, cold and water shortages. “Ukrainians understand that our enemy is capable of inventing any challenges for us. Therefore, we are not surprised, people are waiting for news, for good news,” Ms Zelenska said. She also spoke about her work as first lady and with the Olena Zelenska Foundation, which she launched in September and is endorsed by the likes of Hillary Clinton and Matt Damon. The projects, which the first lady said “keeps her motivated”, range from reconstructing hospitals and prosthetic centres – providing rehabilitation for up to 20,000 amputees across the country – to combat post-traumatic stress disorder and offering aid to those suffering mental damage in her war-ravaged country. In September, she will host a summit welcoming other partners of leaders from around the world as part of a drive to redefine the roles of presidential partners from “decorative” accessories to a broader collective running humanitarian projects together. Ms Zelenska is acutely aware of the daily struggles many Ukrainian families face. “Can Ukraine endure? We have no other way out, because the longer we endure it, the longer we live,” she said. “It is a matter of survival.” The full interview will be available to watch on independent.tv and your smart TV from August 7. To find out more about our Independent TV smart TV app click here. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Biden delays plans to restock nation’s emergency oil reserve Brazil's Lula voices support for more countries joining BRICS group Iran's Revolutionary Guard runs drill on disputed islands as US military presence in region grows

'DWTS' Season 32 star Mauricio Umansky reflects on forgetting dance steps

New Zealand has won the toss and sent England into bat in a 2019 final rematch to open Cricket World Cup

Russian president Vladimir Putin has agreed to travel to North Korea on the invitation of leader Kim Jong-un for more talks on their “far-reaching plan” for a deeper partnership, state media reported. Increasingly isolated from the rest of the world, the two leaders held a summit on Wednesday in Russia’s far east where they agreed to help prop up each other’s regime. Mr Putin offered to support North Korea’s UN-sanctioned satellite launch programme, while Mr Kim suggested Russia had Pyongyang’s full backing in its “sacred” invasion of neighbour Ukraine. Mr Kim is continuing his visit to Russia, where he is scheduled to tour various defence equipment manufacturing facilities and view a display of Russian warships. His trip will end with a stop at a marine biology facility – or so it was described by Mr Putin – in the eastern city of Vladivostok, before he returns with his armoured train to North Korea. No timeline for their next meeting has been set, with Mr Putin accepting the invititation to travel to North Korea at “a convenient time”, according to state media. The two leaders exchanged gifts at the beginning of their meeting on Wednesday, according to North Korea’s KCNA news agency, and the North Korean leader – said to be a car enthusiast – had a go in Mr Putin’s Russian-made limousine. "At the end of the reception, Kim Jong-un courteously invited Putin to visit the DPRK at a convenient time," KCNA said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name. "Putin accepted the invitation with pleasure and reaffirmed his will to invariably carry forward the history and tradition of the Russia-DPRK friendship," it said. Mr Kim said their bilateral ties have reached a new level with their meeting, and expressed his willingness to foster stable, future-oriented relations for the next 100 years. The two leaders, both facing crippling sanctions from the international community, met for talks running over four hours as Mr Putin is believed to be seeking a deal for weapons and munitions, an area where North Korea has excelled, to feed his war machine in Ukraine. The possibility of Russia’s arms deal with North Korea has sparked concerns, with the US State Department saying that they “will not hesitate” to impose additional sanctions on Moscow and Pyongyang. It was "troubling" that Russia is discussing cooperation with North Korea on programs that would violate UN Security Council sanctions, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said after the summit. During a dinner hosted by Mr Putin for his North Korean counterpart, the two leaders praised each other and celebrated the 75 years of diplomatic relations between their countries. Mr Putin reminded Mr Kim of the cooperation between Soviet and Korean soldiers during the Korean War. Mr Kim said that the two leaders have come to “a satisfactory consensus” for further strengthening their strategic and tactical cooperation in their battle to secure guarantees for a lasting peace in the region and the world, according to the Kremlin. “We are confident that the Russian army and people will inevitably attain victory in the sacred struggle to punish the evil crowd, which claims the right to hegemony based on the illusion of expansionism, a struggle to create the stability needed for development,” Mr Kim added. Neighbouring South Korea expressed deep concerns over North Korea’s military cooperation and possible arms transactions between Pyongyang and Moscow South Korea‘s unification minister, Kim Young-ho, said the two countries were apparently continuing to pursue “some kind of” a military deal. “We once again urge Russia and North Korea to halt illicit acts that cause their isolation and regression, and follow international rules including the Security Council resolutions,” the minister told reporters. Russia is preparing for a longer war in Ukraine and it is unable to meet the necessary industrial capacity, said James Nixey, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House, a London-based think-tank. In return, Pyongyang is likely seeking to get food and missile technology from Moscow, “a relatively easy gift” for the Kremlin, Mr Nixey said. James O’Brien, head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the US State Department, said Russia was “scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for help because it’s having trouble sustaining its military”. A deal between the countries would violate existing sanctions, Mr O’Brien said, and would trigger the US to try to identify the individuals and the financial mechanisms used to “at least limit their ability to be effective”. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Isolated Putin and Kim posture over ‘sacred fight’ with West as they talk arms for Moscow’s war machine Weapons, spy satellites and nuclear ambitions: what we learned from Putin’s summit with Kim Jong-un in Russia Putin’s meeting with Kim is sign of Kremlin’s isolation, claims No 10 The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

At a high school in rural northern South Africa, more than 300 students and their teachers share three toilets

A federal judge will consider whether to issue a gag order against former President Donald Trump in a hearing in Washington, DC, Monday.

Tristan Tate gives examples of other fighters to assert that Jake Paul's stance is wrong when it comes to Dillon Danis' lawsuit