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By Jamie McGeever A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.

The Biden administration has warned that more turmoil is possible in Russia after a short-lived coup instigated by a mercenary group once loyal to Putin. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the prediction on Sunday in the first comments from a senior administration official on Russia’s future after a whirlwind 48 hours which left the leader of the Wagner Group exiled after his troops marched on Moscow. "This is an unfolding story, and I think we're in the midst of a moving picture," Mr Blinken said on CBS show Face the Nation. "We haven't seen the last act. We're watching it very closely." He went on to say that the rebellion showed “real cracks” in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s power structure, and raised “profound questions” about his ability to hold on to that power. His comments came after the Kremlin announced that Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, would accept a deal requiring him to leave Russia for Belarus in exchange for immunity for members of Wagner which has been on the front lines of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for months. In that time, Mr Prigozhin has been increasingly vocal about supposed failures in Russia’s command, and accused the nation’s generals of mismanaging the war. A senior administration official noted as much to The Washington Post in a report which revealed that US intelligence agencies have known about the mercenary group’s impending attack for several weeks. The secretary’s comments are in line with many commentators in the US and Europe who have predicted that Mr Putin’s control over Russia and his country’s military will continue to slip as further victories are won by Ukraine’s military against their invading foes. “This is the biggest crisis of his time in power since [Putin] became president in 2000,” Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, added on MSNBC in an interview with Jen Psaki. Mr Prigozhin’s exile is at the very least a black eye for Mr Putin given that just a day ago the Russian leader was denouncing the advancing forces as traitors and vowing retribution; as it stands, none of those involved will see any consequences for their actions. The secretary of State added in his interview Sunday that he expected the public would learn more in the coming days what concessions (if any) Mr Prigozhin was able to secure in his deal with the Russian president. "We still don't have finality in terms of what was actually agreed between Prigozhin and Putin," he told CBS News. "I suspect that we're going to learn more in the days and weeks ahead about what deal they struck." Read More Russia-Ukraine war live: Wagner rebellion shows Putin’s power is finally cracking, US says Putin is weakened – but the endgame could be a dangerous one Ukraine says Wagner’s mutiny proves Putin’s fragility – but this war ends on the battlefield The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and ended the enshrined right to seek an abortion, Christian conservatives convened in Washington DC to size up the GOP’s leading 2024 candidates. The Faith and Freedom Coalition held its Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton over the weekend, where every major Republican 2024 candidate appeared to try to win over the crucial evangelical wing of the party. Former president Donald Trump closed out the event on Saturday evening; former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former vice president Mike Pence; former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, Sen Tim Scott (R-SC), Florida Gov Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy also made their case to social conservatives. Last year’s Dobbs v Jackson decision has caused a split among Republicans. Some have said that the Supreme Court’s decision likely cost Republicans the opportunity to win the majority in the Senate as the GOP failed to flip a single seat, and Republicans only won a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. An NBC News poll showed that 61 per cent of Americans disapprove of the Dobbs decision, with 80 per cent of women between the ages of 18 and 49 and two-thirds of suburban women saying that they disapproved of it. But Republican candidates did not reflect any anxiety about the decision in their remarks to the crowd of Christian conservatives who consider abortion to be murder. “We have to start with tomorrow’s anniversary and thank God Almighty for the Dobbs decision,” Mr Scott said in his speech. “We are creating a culture of life in America, and that’s a really good thing.” Mr Pence, an ardent social conservative, said Dobbs was only the beginning. “Now some you will hear from at this very podium will say that the Supreme Court returned to the issue of abortion only to the states and nothing could be done at the federal level,” he said. He also criticised Republicans for saying some abortion legislation was “too harsh.” “Some have even gone on to blame the overturning of Roe v Wade for election losses in ‘22,” he said. “But let me say from my heart, the cause of life is the calling of our time and we must not rest and must not relent until we restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law in every state in this country.” In turn, Mr Pence called for passing a national 15-week abortion ban. But many attendees said they preferred to leave abortion to the states. “It’s a state issue, I think it ought to stay a state issue,” Gay Dillard told The Independent. Ms Haley called herself “unapologetically pro-life,” but said that people needed to not “demonise” the issue.” Ms Haley said she thought there was a place for a federal law restricting abortion, but noted it would require a House majority and 60 Senate seats to overcome a filibuster. As a result, she talked about reducing late-term abortions, focusing on adoption and foster care. “We have one goal: To save as many babies as possible and protect as many mothers as possible,” she said, something Ms Dillard repeated. “We need to just make sure we have enough support, emotionally, physically, financially, to support women who do choose,” she said. “So it’s not just about having, not having an abortion, it’s about if they keep their baby. We have to embrace them and help and help surround them.” Max Fisher, a candidate for state legislature in Virginia, said that the focus should be on increasing options. “So make sure that adoption is an option on the table and make sure that people have the information that they need to make sure that they’re not doing, like, you go to a bar and get drunk and then you make bad decisions,” he said. “It’s the same reason why you can’t get a tattoo when you’re drinking. Make sure that you have all of the information that you have available in order to make a well-educated choice for yourself from whether that’s adoption, whether or not as another decision, but that’s entirely up to the individual.” Despite the fact that Mr Trump nominated three of the Supreme Court justices in the majority on Dobbs, the former president has at times not fully embraced the anti-abortion decision. The “too harsh” criticism that Mr Pence cited was how Mr Trump characterised Mr DeSantis’s six-week abortion ban in Florida. In fact, Mr Trump refrained from supporting any new abortion restrictions during his closing address to the conference, but instead focused on attacking Democrats. “I will continue to stand proudly for pro-life policies just as I did for four strong years,” he said. “They are the radical extremists.” Ken Cuccinelli, who runs the Never Back Down Super PAC that supports Mr DeSantis, said the Florida governor is more sufficiently pro-life. “Well, for one, he has a central core belief system that supports faith and, and you can see it reflected in policies like his pro-life stance,” he told The Independent, noting how Mr DeSantis supported abortion restrictions as a member of Congress and implemented them as governor. “He signed the heartbeat bill, while the resident is condemning it. And that’s still the biggest issue here to these voters. And then the cultural battle that these voters care about.” But Mr Trump mentioned that his actions with judges will give Republicans more power. “You have tremendous negotiating power now,” he said. “We've now given pro-life people tremendous power to negotiate something that will be happy, that will be good for everybody and you have power for the first time.” Read More Trump news – live: Trump’s legal team handed over tapes to Jack Smith as MAGA loyalists turn on each other Trump takes credit for overturning of Roe v Wade while raising questions about DeSantis’ six-week ban Chris Christie defiant as conservative crowd boos Trump criticism Trump quietly changes political fundraising site to funnel funds toward legal woes Trump celebrates anniversary of anti-abortion ruling as he tells religious crowd ‘I’m getting indicted for you’ The religious right used to be uneasy about Trump – but his dominance is now complete

YouTube star MrBeast said Sunday that he had been invited to join a submersible trip to the Titanic wreckage but declined.

The second season of FX's restaurant-set series "The Bear" returned last week and served viewers ten episodes of "thoughtful chaos," with an impressive lineup of guest stars.

A dozen people -- including seven children -- in Houston were taken to the hospital for chemical exposure due to an apparent over-chlorination of a lazy river pool, authorities said.

Chelsea are set to make Nicolas Jackson their second signing of the summer. Here are the shirt numbers available to him at Stamford Bridge.

Nicolas Jackson will join Chelsea for a fee in excess of €35m from Villarreal. Here are the different ways in which Mauricio Pochettino could use him.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker drummed up the reveal of their baby's sex in true "Kravis" fashion.

The Philadelphia Eagles have done plenty of talking despite losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl last February. Brandon Graham took a shot at Patrick Mahomes.The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in last season's Super Bowl. Y'all remember this, ...

Having struggled to reduce its trade reliance on China, New Zealand is now trying to diversify within it.

Despite trade rumors suggesting the opposite, the Suns will keep center DeAndre Ayton.According to Chris Haynes, the Suns are keeping Deandre Ayton. This comes after a Suns insider said that the team is unlikely to trade for Ayton due to the offers being extremely low.The Suns'...