Reuters

The United States and NATO have called the pipeline attacks "an act of sabotage," while Russia has blamed the West and called for an independent investigation. Neither side has provided evidence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has branded the saboteurs as "terrorists" and urged his security services to bolster defences along the frontier.

Britain's government will announce on Tuesday plans for a new law barring those entering the country through unofficial routes from claiming asylum, in a bid to stop tens of thousands of migrants arriving on its shores in small boats.

Election observers from the European Union, the Commonwealth and other bodies reported a range of problems, among them failures in systems designed to prevent vote manipulation.

Crypto-focused bank Silvergate said late on Friday it had made a "risk-based decision" to discontinue the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) effective immediately.

Ukraine's top military commanders have vowed to keep defending the besieged city of Bakhmut, where Russia is hoping to make its first major wartime gain in more than half a year, and will strengthen their defences, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

The Tutsi minority has long faced discrimination in Democratic Republic of Congo due to their ethnic link to Rwanda's Tutsi community.

Sixteen states in Nigeria had brought the case to the court, arguing that Most Nigerians were stuck with old notes and needed more time beyond the Feb. 10 date

Wearing a t-shirt with the slogan 'Rwanda Is Killing,' activist Tonny Djoli said France was turning its attention to Central Africa because of a breakdown in relations with former West African colonies.

The Silvergate Exchange Network, one of the bank's most popular offerings, enabled round-the-clock transfers between investors and crypto exchanges, unlike traditional bank wires, which can often take days to settle.

The U.S. and allies have been flooding Ukraine with weapons from Javelin missiles to HIMARS rocket launchers, but sophisticated jets and the largest armed drones have not been pledged to Ukraine by Western allies.

Last week, the European Union adopted the tenth package of sanctions targeting Russia, but did not include its nuclear energy sector because of opposition from some EU member states.

The main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who came second with 29% of the vote, also said later in the day that he would challenge the result in court as fraudulent.

Ukraine accused Russia of staging a false "provocation", but also appeared to imply some form of operation had indeed been carried out by Russian anti-government partisans.

Russia's failed attempt to swiftly capture the capital left at least 1,370 dead civilians before the Ukrainian army pushed them back, according to Ukrainian officials.

In a statement, Binance said that "a lot of misinformation has been spread about our company" but that "we appreciate the senators' request" and that it will provide information to help them better understand the firm.

Coinbase and Galaxy Digital also said they had minimal exposure to Silvergate, which has been plunged into a crisis stemming from a bank run after the collapse of major crypto exchange FTX in November spooked investors.

When pressed by Wiles as to whether the SEC believed that the Voyager sale violated U.S. securities laws, SEC attorney William Uptegrove did not have a definite answer.

Russian forces have been attacking Bakhmut in Donetsk province for months, sometimes in waves and the site has become one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

The multi-day, table top exercises have been carried out at a war-gaming facility at a U.S. Army base in Wiesbaden, Germany, where the top U.S. military officer, Army General Mark Milley, visited on Thursday.

The backlash has worsened the LGBT community's already precarious status in Uganda, where same-sex relations are punishable by up to life in prison.

Spain uses circular migration programmes to curb illegal migration while plugging labour shortages in its key agriculture sector, another government source said.

On the same day, New York's chief financial regulator said in a consumer alert that it had ordered Paxos to stop creating the token.

An offensive by the M23 rebel group has displaced over 600,000 people since last year and plunged the turbulent region into a fresh crisis that has fuelled local frustration at the mission's perceived ineffectiveness.

The United States began its annual counter-terrorism training program for African forces in Ghana on Wednesday, aiming to strengthen border defences in the fight against Islamist insurgents who are spreading south into new territories.

Nigeria's president-elect Bola Tinubu has promised to tackle a litany of problems, including escalating violence, double-digit inflation and industrial-scale oil theft.

Russian forces carried out relentless attacks on Bakhmut on Wednesday, trying to encircle and storm the eastern Ukrainian city and claim their first major prize for more than half a year after some of the bloodiest fighting of the war.

Democratic countries worldwide should make Russia pay war reparations to Ukraine and cut all financial and economic ties with Moscow, Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa said on Wednesday.

Macron announced the withdrawal of French troops from Mali a year ago after its junta began working with Russian mercenaries, while Burkina Faso last month ended a military deal with France.