The country's birth rate has fallen 28% since Russia invaded, official statistics indicate.

A Virginia sheriff is facing federal fraud and conspiracy charges as the US Justice Department claims he handed out deputy sheriff badges in exchange for money to help fund his reelection campaign, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

European delegates staged a walkout at an international cooperation forum hosted by China – as Vladimir Putin was set to begin speaking. The Russian president arrived in China as a guest at Beijing’s third installment of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – Beijing’s multibillion-dollar infrastructure project aimed at increasing the country’s global standing by connecting China to other parts of the world through road, train, and port project investments. Chinese president Xi Jinping opened the ceremony in the presence of several world leaders and more than 1,000 delegates at the Great Hall of the People, west of Tiananmen Square, and shared the stage with Mr Putin who made the rare trip outside Russia despite his nation’s . But he was boycotted by some European delegates, including former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, underscoring the growing geopolitical divide in Europe and the West. Videos from the event showed Mr Raffarin and other delegates walking out from the halls as Mr Putin was set to deliver his remarks after Mr Xi. Other footage from the visit showed Mr Putin accompanied by his aides carrying the so-called nuclear briefcase which can be used to order a nuclear strike. Surrounded by security, Mr Putin was followed by two Russian naval officers in uniform each carrying a briefcase – known as Cheget – that can transmit nuclear strike launch orders to the central military command. Mr Putin and Mr Xi spoke out against the West in their speeches as the two leaders underscored their close relationship amid Russia’s international isolation over the Ukraine war. “Ideological confrontation, geopolitical rivalry and bloc politics are not the choice for us, but we stand against economic sanctions, economic coercions, and decoupling and supply chain disruptions,” Mr Xi said Mr Xi pushed against Western efforts to reduce dependence on the Chinese economy, saying that, "our lives will not be better and our development will not be faster if we view the development of others as a threat and economic interdependence as a risk”. Mr Putin, who attended the ceremony along with foreign leaders and key Chinese officials from the 25-member Politburo, praised Mr Xi for the success of BRI projects. "When we start something big, we expect that it will be successful. But undertsanding the global scale, it is hard to expect everything will be well," he said. "But our Chinese friends did it," he said. The Kremlin leader called Mr Xi his “dear friend” as he spoke on his only second known trip outside the former Soviet Union since the Ukraine war. He insisted that Moscow can play a key role in China‘s modern-day revival of the ancient Silk Road and invited states to participate in the Northern Sea Route, which is ambitious Russian Arctic maritime transport artery running from of Russia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to Norway and to the Bering Strait near Alaska. "Starting next year, navigation for ice-class cargo ships along the entire length of the Northern Sea Route will become year-round,” he said. The two leaders held bilateral talks and touted “close political coordination” to safeguard international “justice”. "In the current difficult conditions, close foreign policy coordination is especially necessary - which is what we are doing, and today we will also discuss all of this," Mr Putin told Mr Xi. Mr Putin held several bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit, including with Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Pakistani leaders. He took part in an official family photo ceremony with heads of delegations at the summit. Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban held talks with Mr Putin and was pictured shaking hands with him – becoming the first western leader to share stage with him since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Mr Orban said the meeting was a bid to “save everything that is possible from our bilateral contacts” and that that Hungary “never wanted to confront Russia”. “We are interested in supporting this co-operation not only at the level of communication but also at the economic level,” Mr Orban said. Hungary, which is dependent on Moscow for it’s 80 per cent of gas trade, has faced criticism from the bloc members for aligning with Mr Putin’s interests, especially through his delays in imposing sanctions, refusal to provide military aid to Kyiv, and objections to its EU accession amid the war. Read More Putin arrives in China on rare trip abroad to meet ‘dear friend’ Xi Jinping Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s forces suffer blow as Kyiv fires US ATACMS missiles for first time Russia threatens US with ‘serious consequences’ after Ukraine fires first long-range ATACMS missiles The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker unveiled their Halloween costume, channeling Tim Burton's Beetlejuice

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country might approve Sweden’s membership in NATO if European Union nations “open the way” to Turkey’s bid to join the EU

Mikel Arteta reveals the Arsenal squad "won his heart" for giving Kai Havertz a penalty in the 4-0 win at Bournemouth.

Welcome to Aisle Style, a week-long series that features the most untraditional wedding fashion trends, bridal designers behind the coolest wedding looks, and brides who walk to the beat of their own “Canon In D.” Buck the tradition and say I do to personal style — the aisle is yours.

After hundreds of hours of negotiations and more than a dozen drafts, representatives of the world's richest nations faced a difficult choice late Friday evening: Accept watered-down language about Ukraine in a final G20 declaration, or have no declaration at all.

Voice actors around the globe are mobilizing against the unregulated use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate and clone human voices that they fear poses...

WWE superstar and current Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley has spoken out about the dangers of social media and the harassment aimed at her and her partner Buddy Matthews, who currently wrestles for AEW. Speaking to indy100 the 26-year-old Australian said that social media is "poisonous" and although she loves her loyal fans, others take it too far by constantly bringing up her real-life relationship with Matthews. "It's when people bring real life into the wrestling storyline," said Ripley. "That's when I'm like, you can't be mixing both of them. And I know that my partner, Buddy, has been getting a lot of slack online. Like every time I post something with Dominik [Mysterio], he gets tagged in it." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "So like that sort of stuff, that's crossing a line sometimes. Like he gets tagged in so much stuff and he gets such negativity thrown his way that if we weren't in a strong relationship and he wasn't the strong man that he is and mentally stable and confident within himself, like our relationship could suffer because of what the fans are saying. Because they're trying to get under your skin. "Some fans just, they really poke and prod and they want to get a rise out of you. So luckily for us, we're good, we're in a great place and we don't really look at it, but if it did affect him, then that's crossing a line in my books. You don't mix the both storyline and real life. You can't do it." ‘WWE brings Money In The Bank to The O2 in London on Saturday 1st July. For tickets visit: https://www.wwe.com/event/money-in-the-bank. Fans can tune in on the WWE Network.’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.

The reprieve is over

Brazil’s president has proposed the creation of a regional trade currency to rival the U.S. dollar as he hosts a regional summit in a bid to revive a bloc of South America’s 12 politically polarized countries