US authorities seized three artworks allegedly looted by the Nazis and which are being sought by the heirs of a Jewish art collector who died...

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing knew its latest driver would be controversial, so much so that the team social media manager turned off the ability to comment on posts announcing the hiring

Vladimir Putin’s forces have launched the “largest-scale offensive action” in eastern Ukraine’s Avdiivka town since the start of Russia’s invasion. The major push on the battlefield comes after Avdiivka witnessed two days of intense fighting as Russian tanks and equipment were seen moving towards Ukrainian lines. Major attacks, including hundreds of rocket and artillery strikes on the town, have been underway since Tuesday. “This is the largest-scale offensive action in our sector since the full-fledged war began,” said Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka administration. Russia is pouring in a large number of troops and equipment in the region as they look to wrest the town from Kyiv, Ukrainian military officials said. The flare-up comes as drone attacks killed three people, including a child, in Russia’s Belgorod region and injured another two, regional officials said. The Russian defence ministry blamed Ukraine for carrying out the attack. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said debris from a drone downed by Russia’s anti-aircraft units damaged several houses and cars in the region. Mr Barabash said while the situation in Avdiivka on Wednesday was not quite as heated as the day before, battles have continued. Nearly two dozen attacks were made on the town’s old district and others in the city centre. A group of up to three Russian battalions with tanks and armoured vehicles support intensified operations near Avdiivka, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said. It said 10 enemy attacks on the town had been repelled. Russian accounts of the situation in Avdiivka also suggested fighting had intensified, but claimed its forces had “improved their position in the immediate outskirts around Avdiivka”. Avdiivka was retaken by Ukraine last month in a successful counteroffensive push in the east, but is facing the same fate as Bakhmut as it remains under siege for months now. Most of the town has been reduced to rubble. Russia’s gains around Avdiivka have been limited to the southwest of the town and its troops have not managed to complete an operational encirclement of the settlement, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. Mr Putin’s forces will likely struggle to encircle the town if that is their intent, said the US-based think-tank monitoring the war. It said Avdiivka is “notoriously well-fortified and defended Ukrainian stronghold, which will likely complicate Russian forces’ ability to closely approach or fully capture the settlement”. Any hypothetical capture of the town will not offer Russia new routes to the rest of the Donetsk oblast as Russian forces already control critical segments of the nearby highway and routes, it said. The territorial control of the region, however, could be a bonus for Ukraine. “Russian forces likely intend attacks in the Avdiivka area to fix Ukrainian forces and prevent them from redeploying to other areas of the front. However, Ukrainian officials have already identified the Avdiivka push as a Russian fixing operation, and they are unlikely to unduly commit Ukrainian manpower to this axis,” the ISW said in its latest assessment. Ukrainian gains elsewhere along the frontline and on the battlefield continued on Wednesday as the General Staff said its forces were successful in the east of Klishchiivka and Andriivka near Bakhmut. The tactical positions held by Ukrainian forces were improved in the west of Robotyne, another critical battlefield zone in Zaporizhzhia oblast, the Ukrainian general staff and Tavriisk group commander Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said. In southern Ukraine, Russian forces were pushing their attacks “sometimes using infantry and in some areas deploying quite a lot of vehicles into battle”, said Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern group of forces. Now in its fifth month, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has two major battle zones as Kyiv’s troops look to secure areas around Bakhmut. They aim to retake the town and recapture villages in the south in a drive towards the Sea of Azov to sever a Russian land bridge between positions Moscow holds in the south and east. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Missile strike kills four in Ukrainian school, say Kyiv officials Could Putin be arrested? President to leave Russia for first time since international arrest warrant issued Russia loses vote to rejoin UN’s top human rights body despite Putin’s charm offensive with stolen grain Russia claims it could play unlikely role of peacemaker in Israel and is ‘speaking to both sides’

Survivors hope a new inquiry will give a definitive explanation of why the ship went down in 1994.

By David Randall NEW YORKAs U.S. stocks sit on hefty gains at the close of a rollercoaster year,

More than 700 users reported issues with Wells Fargo's banking system Thursday, according to Downdetector, with problems ranging from transferring funds to declining ATM cards.

The federal effort to expand internet access to every U.S. home has taken a major step forward with the announcement of $930 million in grants to shore up connections in dozens of places where significant connectivity gaps persist

Ancient clay tablets unearthed from ancient ruins in Turkey by archaeologists have revealed a language lost to the passages of time. The new language was discovered in the ancient capital of the Hittite Empire at Hattusa (known as Boğazköy-Hattusha). The well-preserved tablets are among many incredible artworks found at the site - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over the past four decades, researchers have dusted off nearly 30,000 unique tablets - with most written in Hittite. New research, however, shows that some of the tablet haul shows that they are written in a language previously unknown to modern man. Of course, the meaning and words of this language have not been deciphered, but it appears from early inspection to branch off from languages used within the Hittite Empire - and is being referred to as Kalašma. archaeologist Interestingly though, researchers from the Istanbul Department of the German Archaeological Institute have noted that the new language is found within a recitation in a 'cultic ritual text'. While that's usually the basis of a middling horror movie, we're certain that there's nothing to worry about - it stems from an ancient Hittite practice. Professor Daniel Schwemer explains that the discovery wasn't unexpected. "The Hittites were uniquely interested in recording rituals in foreign languages," he said. These ritual texts provide insight into little-known languages, and thanks to this discovery, one more has been added to the list. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Facebook has tried to compete with Twitter in numerous ways over the years, including copying signature Twitter features such as hashtags and trending topics. But now Facebook's parent company is taking perhaps its biggest swipe at Twitter yet.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is becoming adept at rallying to the defense of his teammates and coaches

Best Buy sales and profits slid in the second quarter as the nation’s largest consumer electronics chain continues to wrestle with a pullback in spending on gadgets after Americans splurged during the pandemic

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has accused China of using “economic coercion” against Japan by banning imports of Japanese seafood in response to the release of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, while Chinese boats continue to fish off Japan’s coasts