The UN's World Heritage Committee has placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of such sites that it considers to be in danger. The iconic Saint Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval center of the western city of Lviv, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites central to Ukraine's culture and history. The decision announced on Friday to put those two on the body's list of sites “in danger” has no enforcement mechanism, but could help deter Russian attacks. Neither site has been directly targeted since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Lviv has largely been spared from the fighting. But Russia has unleashed waves of strikes on Kyiv and other cities, hitting residential areas and critical infrastructure with Iranian-made attack drones. The decision was taken at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Saudi Arabia. The committee maintains UNESCO's World Heritage List and oversees conservation of the sites. The gold-domed Saint Sophia Cathedral, located in the heart of Kyiv, was built in the 11th century and designed to rival the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The monument to Byzantine art contains the biggest collection of mosaics and frescoes from that period, and is surrounded by monastic buildings dating back to the 17th century. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches — some underground — that were built from the 11th to the 19th century. Some of the churches are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 600 meters (2,000 feet). The two sites on the Dnipro River, a 15-minute drive from one another, are “a masterpiece of human creative genius," according to Unesco, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The other site is the historic center of Lviv, near the Polish border. A 5th-century castle overlooks streets and squares built between the 13th and 17th centuries. The site includes a synagogue as well as Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic religious buildings, reflecting the city's diversity. “In its urban fabric and its architecture, Lviv is an outstanding example of the fusion of the architectural and artistic traditions of Eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany,” Unesco said. “The political and commercial role of Lviv attracted to it a number of ethnic groups with different cultural and religious traditions.” Lviv is more than 500km from Kyiv and even further from any front lines, but it has not been spared. Russian cruise missiles slammed into an apartment block in the city in July, killing at least six people and wounding dozens. Unesco added Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa to its list of endangered heritage sites in January. Russian forces have launched multiple artillery attacks and airstrikes on the city, a cultural hub known for its 19th-century architecture. Russia says it only strikes military targets. Under the 1972 Unesco convention, ratified by both Ukraine and Russia, signatories undertake to “assist in the protection of the listed sites” and are “obliged to refrain from taking any deliberate measures” that might damage World Heritage sites. Inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger is meant to rally urgent international support for conservation efforts. The list includes more than 50 sites around the world. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: ‘Significant losses’ for Putin’s forces as Kyiv retakes village and attacks ships Ukraine recaptures another village from Putin’s forces – as it keeps up attacks on Russia’s ships Putin meets the leader of Belarus, who suggests joining Russia's move to boost ties with North Korea Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Ukraine has claimed fresh success in its counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s forces, with the recapture of another village – a liberation that the army says is “key to success in all further directions”. The announcement by the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said that Russian forces had faced “significant losses” in the battle. Kyiv’s forces are seeking to reclaim land occupied by Moscow across multiple areas of southern and eastern Ukraine. The village of Andriivka is about 10 kilometres south of the Donetsk town of Bakhmut, which Russia captured in May after some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. Meanwhile, Britain’s most senior military officer said Ukraine had taken the initiative over Russia with its offensive, even if gains are gradual. Sir Tony Radakin said: “In the north they are holding and fixing Russian forces there and in the south they are making progress between 10 and 20km.” His comments came as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky hailed Ukraine’s destruction of a Russian air defence system in the annexed Crimea peninsula. Read More Kim Jong Un stops to see a fighter jet factory as Russia and North Korea are warned off arms deals She danced with Putin at her wedding. Now the former Austrian foreign minister has moved to Russia What is a Storm Shadow cruise missile?

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Mexico extradited Ovidio Guzmán López, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, to the United States on Friday to face drug trafficking charges, US attorney general Merrick Garland said in a statement. “This action is the most recent step in the Justice Department’s effort to attack every aspect of the cartel’s operations,” Mr Garland said. The Mexican government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mexican security forces captured Mr Guzmán López, alias “the Mouse,” in January in Culiacan, capital of Sinaloa state, the cartel’s namesake. Three years earlier, the government had tried to capture him, but aborted the operation after his cartel allies set off a wave of violence in Culiacan. January’s arrest set off similar violence that killed 30 people in Culiacan, including 10 military personnel. The army used Black Hawk helicopter gunships against the cartel’s truck-mounted .50-caliber machine guns. Cartel gunmen hit two military aircraft forcing them to land and sent gunmen to the city’s airport where military and civilian aircraft were hit by gunfire. The capture came just days before US president Joe Biden visited Mexico for bilateral talks followed by the North American Leaders’ Summit. On Friday, Mr Garland recognized the law enforcement and military members who had given their lives in the US and Mexico. "The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable those responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic that has devastated too many communities across the country.” In April, US prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments against Mr Guzmán and his brothers, known collectively as the “Chapitos.” They laid out in detail how following their father’s extradition and eventual life sentence in the US, the brothers steered the cartel increasingly into synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl. The indictment unsealed in Manhattan said their goal was to produce huge quantities of fentanyl and sell it at the lowest price. Fentanyl is so cheap to make that the cartel reaps immense profits even wholesaling the drug at 50 cents per pill, prosecutors said. The brothers denied the allegations in a letter. The Chapitos became known for grotesque violence that appeared to surpass any notions of restraint shown by earlier generations of cartel leaders. Fentanyl has become a top priority in the bilateral security relationship. But Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has denied assertions by the US government and his own military about fentanyl production in Mexico, instead describing the country as a transit point for precursors coming from China and bound for the US. López Obrador blames a deterioration of family values in the US for the high levels of drug addiction in that country. An estimated 109,680 overdose deaths occurred last year in the United States, according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 75,000 of those were linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Inexpensive fentanyl is increasingly cut into other drugs, often without the buyers’ knowledge. Read More El Chapo’s son, three Sinaloa cartel leaders and two Mexican firms sanctioned for bringing fentanyl into US Case details Sinaloa cartel's fentanyl-fueled evolution Mexican capo's arrest a gesture to US, not signal of change Big week for US-Mexico ties going into North American summit Drug lord, trafficker, killer of wedding singers: How the ‘New Mouse’ followed in the bloody footsteps of his father El Chapo

St Sophia's Cathedral in Lviv is among the buildings the UN warns is at risk of destruction.

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Federal prosecutors are asking the judge overseeing a case targeting Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 presidential election to help stop his wave of “inflammatory” attacks. Following a grand jury’s indictment in the case, the former president has “repeatedly and widely disseminated public statements” attacking Washington DC residents as well as members of the court, prosecutors and prospective witnesses, according to a filing in US District Court on 15 September. His statements threaten “to undermine the integrity of these proceedings and prejudice the jury pool,” prosecutors warned. Prosecutors with US Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith have asked US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to take “immediate” steps to ensure a fair trial and an impartial jury, including drafting a “narrowly tailored order” that restricts “certain prejudicial extrajudicial statements” from Mr Trump. An unsparing assessment of Mr Trump’s remarks charts the former president’s ongoing and baseless narrative casting doubt on the integrity and veracity of US elections, his remarks targeting his perceived political opponents, including family members of the judges and prosecutors overseeing the criminal cases against him, and how his bullhorn dog-whistle statements are heard among his supporters who elevate those threats. “The defendant has an established practice of issuing inflammatory public statements targeted at individuals or institutions that present an obstacle or challenge to him,” including bogus statements surrounding US elections that have “engendered widespread mistrust in the administration of the election, and the individuals whom he targeted were subject to threats and harassment,” according to prosecutors. Mr Trump knows that “when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets,” according to the filing, and that he continues those attacks “precisely because he knows that in doing so, he is able to roil the public and marshal and prompt his supporters.” The filing includes several posts from Mr Trump’s Truth Social account, which the former president has used as a bully pulpit to his supporters to direct the narratives surrounding the criminal cases against him while casting himself as a victim of political prosecution. Mr Trump has “posted publicly about individuals whom he has reason to believe will be witnesses in this trial,” and his “relentless public posts marshaling anger and mistrust in the justice system, the Court, and prosecutors have already influenced the public,” according to prosecutors. The special counsel’s office has also faced “multiple threats,” according to the filing. In a separate filing on Friday, prosecutors have warned a judge that people connected to the case have faced “threats and harassment” fuelled by the former president’s “inflammatory public statements.” Judge Chutkan has allowed prosecutors to seal those names, according to the nine-page order on 15 September. Prosecutors asked to court to withhold the names and other identifying information of “certain individuals” targeted by Mr Trump with “inflammatory” statements, as well as excerpts from witness interview transcripts that describe the alleged threats and harassment they received, according to the filing. “The government seeks to establish that Defendant has publicly criticized his perceived adversaries and is aware that this criticism has led to their harassment,” the judge wrote. This is a developing story Read More Trump’s Twitter DMs handed over as special counsel asks for narrow gag order in Jan 6 case – latest

Prosecutors have responded to Alex Murdaugh’s allegations of jury tampering at his double murder trial stating that South Carolina investigators have found “significant factual disputes” with the claims. The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office filed the response on Friday moving to dismiss Murdaugh’s request for a new trial due to “procedural defect”. The filing, which came just under deadline on Friday afternoon, is the state’s first response to the allegations made in the defence’s bombshell motion last week. Murdaugh demanded a new trial after his legal team accused Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of pressuring jurors to return a guilty verdict. Prosecutors also said that they want Murdaugh’s defence team to show that they did not know about the alleged jury tampering during the murder trial. Ms Hill has not commented publicly on the allegations. The response from the state on Friday comes a day after a smiling Murdaugh appeared publicly for the first time since he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul, this time to face a string of financial fraud charges. At the status hearing in Beaufort County, Judge Clifton Newman set the trial date for 27 November. The case will focus on the millions of dollars he stole from the family of his dead housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, part of the 101 state charges in response to his alleged financial crimes. Two former friends and alleged co-conspirators in the case also appeared in court on Thursday, former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte and former attorney Cory Fleming, the latter sentenced to 10 years in prison. Read More Smiling Alex Murdaugh appears in court in shackles as trial date set in financial fraud case Alex Murdaugh’s demand for new trial over jury tampering claims awaiting response as deadline looms – live