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Vladimir Putin has said that the Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had a “complicated fate” in his first remarks about the plane crash said to have killed him. In a televised speech, the Russian president offered his condolences to the families of the 10 people who died in the crash on Wednesday evening, while appearing to eulogise Prigozhin, 62, as a “talented businessman”. Putin said that the Wagner chief had made “serious mistakes in his life” – seemingly a reference to the attempted mutiny led by Prigozhin in June that was the most significant challenge to the Russian leader's authority during his 20 years in power. It was that armed uprising, ended after 24 hours by a deal between the Kremlin and Prigozhin with Wagner fighters 125 miles from Moscow, that led many to believe that Prigozhin would face retribution from Putin. The episode was an embarrassment for the Russian leader of the kind he has repeatedly – and severely – punished over the years. “I have known Prigozhin for a long time, since the 1990s. He made some serious mistakes in life, but he also achieved the necessary results for himself but also for the greater good when I asked him. He was a talented man, a talented businessman,” Putin said from the Kremlin, speaking about Prigozhin in the past tense. Speculation over the fate of the Wagner chief has been swirling for more than 24 hours, after the Russian civil aviation authority said that Prigozhin was on the plane that went down between Moscow to St Petersburg, leaving no survivors of the seven passengers and three crew on board. The passenger manifest included Prigozhin and his second-in-command, Dmitry Utkin, who baptised the group with his nom de guerre, as well as Wagner's logistics chief, a fighter wounded by US airstrikes in Syria, and at least one possible bodyguard. US officials, speaking to The New York Times, have suggested that an explosion on the plane was the likely cause for the crash, but cautioned that no definitive conclusions had been drawn. One official also told the Associated Press that an explosion fell in line with Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics”. In Russia, the Baza news outlet, which has sources among law enforcement agencies, suggested that Russian investigators looking into the crash were considering a theory that a bomb had been planted on board. While the Kremlin would see the benefit of such a line of inquiry, leaders of a number of nations have already suggested that nothing this big could occur in Russia without Putin being aware. Ukraine's President Zelensky, whose nation Putin's forces invaded in February last year, suggested as much in announcing that his nation had nothing to do with the plane coming down. "We have nothing to do with this. Everyone understands who does," he said. Prigozhin's Wagner forces have been involved in some of the bloodiest fighting in eastern Ukraine, particularly around the city of Bakhmut, and have faced accusations of war crimes. “I can’t say anything good about these subhumans,” Mr Zelensky added, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. “It’s either a judgment at the Hague, or God’s judgement.” Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, said: “It is no coincidence that the whole world immediately looks at the Kremlin when a disgraced ex-confidant of Putin suddenly falls from the sky, two months after he attempted an uprising.” Putin said that those on the plane had “made a significant contribution” to the fighting in Ukraine. “We remember this, we know, and we will not forget,” the president said, with Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed leader of Ukraine's partially occupied Donetsk region, also present. The Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet crashed near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver region north of Moscow. On Thursday, men were carrying away black body bags on stretchers. Part of the plane's tail and other fragments lay on the ground near a wooded area where forensic investigators had erected a tent. Kuzhenkino resident Anastasia Bukharova, 27, told the Associated Press that she was walking with her children Wednesday when she saw the jet, “and then – boom! – it exploded in the sky and began to fall down”. She said she was scared it would hit houses in the village and ran with the children, but it ended up crashing into a field. Russian authorities said on Thursday that the investigation into the crash would be led by Ivan Sibul, a veteran investigator who has previously examined other high-profile plane crashes. Prigozhin long railed against how Russian generals were waging the war in Ukraine. For a long time, Putin appeared content to allow such infighting – and Prigozhin seemed to have the unusual latitude to speak his mind. In the deal that ended his revolt, Prigozhin was due to head to Belarus with some of his fighters to settle. Thousands of fighters have set up in Belarus, including training Belarusian troops near the Polish border, but Prigozhin has been photographed back in Russia. Poland is sending up to 10,000 of its troops to its border with Belarus, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki believing that their threat will only grow. “The Wagner Group comes under Putin's leadership. Let everyone answer the question for themselves – will the threat be bigger or smaller? For me, that's a rhetorical question,” he said on Thursday. Putin said he was told that Prigozhin had returned from Africa – where Wagner has an extensive presence – earlier on Wednesday, shortly before his apparent death, and had held meetings with officials in Moscow. Seemingly referring to Wagner's extensive – and lucrative – deployment in Africa, which is essentially an extension of Russian power in the region, Putin said that Prigozhin had “worked not only in our country, and achieved results, but also abroad, particularly in Africa. He was involved there with oil, gas, precious metals and stones”. An informal memorial to Progozhin in St Petersburg attracted plenty of flowers on Thursday, and Putin’s remarks on Wagner's service may be aimed at calming some of the vitriol that has come Moscow's way in the wake of the crash. “Prigozhin died as the result of the actions of Russia’s traitors,” wrote the Grey Zone, a social media outlet close to Wagner. “But even in hell, he’ll be the best! Glory to Russia!” Other Wagner-affiliated sources suggested they would seek to avenge Prigozhin’s death, with one video purportedly showing Wagner fighters carrying the message that Moscow should “expect us”. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More Ukraine war - live: Putin breaks silence on Prigozhin’s death as Wagner fighters warn Moscow ‘expect us’ Wagner Group: Timeline of Yevgeny Progozhin’s private army as leader ‘killed in plane crash’ Prigozhin's purported demise seems intended to send a clear message to potential Kremlin foes The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Kourtney Kardashian and husband Travis Barker held up the filming of their Hulu reality show while they went off for a sex session. The mid-production 20-minute romp caused filming of the family’s show The Kardashians and left sister Khloe and the rest of the crew waiting. Kardashian and Blink 182’s drummer Barker got married last year, having three separate celebrations to mark their nuptials – in Las Vegas, Palm Springs and Portofino, Italy. The couple has opened up about how they decided to quit IVF and let nature do its own thing. In the first episode of the show’s newest series, Kourtney confided in sister Khloe that she was “ovulating” and needed to go and do the deed with her husband. Kourtney said: “If you give us five minutes to go do something really fast…” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Her sister Khloe responded, asking if she was seriously ovulating. Kourtney replied, “Yes, I am” before going off with her husband Barker. Khloe proceeded to start a timer on her phone and joked, “Well, let’s see if it takes five minutes” and asked her sister to guess the time on the stopwatch when she returned from her escapade. When Kourtney complained of feeling tired later in the day, Khloe suggested: “Probably from having your 20-minute sex session downstairs.” The sisters spoke candidly about their sex lives, with Kournety replying: “Well, we had one this morning for like, an hour and a half, and I had one last night and the day before.” When Khloe asked how they had sex for an hour and a half, Kourtney simply stated: “You know, we’re just living our best lives.” In another part of the show, Kourtney, who has three children with former partner Scott Disick, revealed Barker “would love a baby more than anything but I just really believe in what God has in store for us”. 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.

Chelsea have completed the signing of Moises Caicedo from Brighton for an initial £100million, possibly rising to £115m after add-ons. A deal for the midfielder was finally agreed late on Sunday night after a lengthy saga that saw Brighton knock back three bids for the 21-year-old. He underwent a medical and agreed personal terms on Monday and has signed an eight-year contract with the club. Caicedo said: “I am so happy to join Chelsea! I am so excited to be here at this big club and I didn’t have to think twice when Chelsea called me, I just knew I wanted to sign for the club. “It’s a dream come true to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the team.” It is understood Chelsea have won the race to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton after the midfielder picked Stamford Bridge over a move to Liverpool. Though a fee is yet to be agreed, the 19-year-old has indicated his desire to join Mauricio Pochettino’s side and negotiations will now take place over personal terms, with the deal likely to be worth in excess of £50million. It is the second time in less than 24 hours that the club have beaten Liverpool to a key transfer target following Caicedo’s capture. Belgium international Lavia has played just 29 Premier League games since joining Southampton from Manchester City last summer but was a standout performer last season despite Saints’ relegation to the Championship. Liverpool had reportedly agreed a deal worth £60m to sign Lavia as Klopp looks to reinforce his midfield following a clutch of departures, but look set to miss out again in an echo of their failure to lure Caicedo, for whom a £111m fee had been agreed before Chelsea stepped in. Read More How does Moises Caicedo’s Chelsea transfer compare to previous big-money deals? Last season is a long time ago – Mauricio Pochettino looks forward with Chelsea Key talking points as the new Premier League season gets under way

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Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes displayed their very own secret celebration handshake as the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday (October 22). The Anti-Hero singer was spotted supporting Travis Kelce amid their budding romance from in the Mahomes' suite at Arrowhead Stadium alongside Brittany Mahomes the wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the pair were photographed cheering the football players on. Both Kelce and Mahomes connected for a touchdown in the second quarter, and that's when Swift and Brittany debuted their celebratory handshake. It began with the pair slapping their hands together (front and back) five times, they then clutched each other's hand before ending the routine with a hip bump. They also displayed an alternative version, where they finished their handshake with a jumping chest bump. The NFL managed to catch the bonding moment and posted a clip to Twitter/X, meanwhile both Swift and Brittany could also be seen dancing together while Brittany held her 11-month-old son Patrick "Bronze" Lavon Mahomes III and later her 2-year-old daughter Sterling Skye during some moments in the match. It's not the first time Swift and Brittany have hung out together after they were photographed having dinner in New York alongside the popstar's friends Blake Lively and Sophie Turner. The following day, the group were seen cheering on the Chiefs as the side played the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Then at the Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos game (October 13), Brittany joined Swift alongside Kelce's parents Donna and Ed to watch the match from the Kelce suite. Elsewhere, Swift and Kelce made surprise cameos on Saturday Night Live''s season premiere last weekend. Sign up to 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.

MANILA The threat of China invading Taiwan is something U.S. military ally the Philippines is monitoring on a

Former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is entering the 2024 Indiana governor’s race nearly three years after his reelection bid was derailed by allegations that he drunkenly groped four women during a party

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