President Biden is asking Congress for $33bn (£27bn) in military, economic and humanitarian assistance to support Ukraine – although he insisted that the US was not “attacking Russia”. Mr Biden said it was “critical” for US lawmakers to approve the deal, which he said would help Ukraine defend itself. The proposal includes more than $20bn in military aid, $8.5bn in economic aid and $3bn in humanitarian aid. “It’s not cheap,” Mr Biden said on Thursday. “But caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen.” Although the US has already announced help for Ukraine, the proposals are a significant ramping up of aid.  

President Biden said US military support to Ukraine has so far amounted to 10 anti-tank weapons for every tank that Russia has deployed to Ukraine. But despite his strong rhetoric, he said the US was not attacking Russia. “We are helping Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression,” he insisted. On Thursday, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Western military support for Ukraine threatens “the security of the continent”.(BBC)…[+]

Executions in Iran rose alarmingly by 25% last year and surged after hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi was elected president, two campaign groups say. At least 333 people were put to death, according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and France’s Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM). The number of executions for drug-related offences – 126 – was five times higher than in 2020, their report says. The figures are based both on official announcements and sources inside Iran. In October, a UN human rights expert warned that almost all executions in Iran were “an arbitrary deprivation of life” and urged the country to end the imposition of the death penalty where it is in violation of international law. Under Iran’s penal code, people can be executed for crimes that are not considered among “the most serious” under international law, such as drug trafficking.(BBC)…[+]

The leader of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has been arrested for alleged drug smuggling and money laundering in the US. Premier Andrew Fahie was detained in Miami by US agents posing as cocaine traffickers from a Mexican drug cartel. He agreed a $700,000 (£560,000) payment to allow traffickers to use BVI ports with an undercover informant, charges filed in the US said. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said she was “appalled” by the allegations. Mr Fahie, the elected head of government of the British overseas territory, was arrested by US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials in Florida, alongside senior BVI port official Oleanvine Maynard.

A third person, Kadeem Maynard – Ms Maynard’s son – was also arrested on Thursday in connection with the undercover DEA case. The arrests were made after DEA agents pretended to be cocaine traffickers from Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel – said to be the largest supplier of illegal drugs to the US market and formerly run by now-imprisoned drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán.(BBC)…[+]

Kenya’s former president, Mwai Kibaki, has died at the age of 90, President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced. His 2002 election ended 40 years of one-party rule since independence. However, his 2007 re-election sparked months of nationwide violence and led to 1,200 deaths. President Kenyatta, defeated by Mr Kibaki in 2002, led the tribute to his former rival, saying he had “led the charge to keep the ruling party accountable”. Mr Kibaki had “earned the abiding respect and affection” of this nation, the president continued. Mr Kenyatta declared a mourning period until Mr Kibaki’s burial, with flags flying at half-mast. He will be given a state funeral with full military honours, President Kenyatta said.(BBC)…[+]

A bomb attack on a Sunni mosque in the city of Kunduz in Afghanistan has killed at least 36 people and injured more than 40, officials say. The attack on the Mawlawi Sekandar Mosque is the second in as many days in the northern city. It follows four attacks across Afghanistan on Thursday – all claimed by the Islamic State group (IS). The Taliban say they have defeated IS but the group remains a key security challenge to Afghanistan’s new rulers. No-one has admitted carrying out Friday’s attack in Kunduz, which came as worshippers gathered to pray. The explosion was similar to Thursday’s bomb which tore through a Shia Muslim mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, killing at least 31 people and wounding 87.Admitting Thursday’s attacks, IS said it was part of an ongoing global campaign to “avenge” the deaths of its former leader and spokesman.(BBC)…[+]

Former heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson punched a fellow airline passenger after the person “threw a water bottle at him,” Tyson’s spokesperson has said. Video taken on the plane shows Tyson leaning over his seat as he lands repeated punches an unidentified man. A spokesperson for the boxing Hall of Famer confirmed Tyson had an “incident with an aggressive passenger” who was “harassing him”. Police were dispatched and temporarily detained two individuals. One person was treated at San Francisco International Airport for non-life threatening injuries. “That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to co-operate further with the police investigation,” a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department told US media. Both people were released “pending further investigation”. The department did not identify either of the individuals involved.(BBC)…[+]

Kenyan police have launched a manhunt after the body of a female athlete was found with stab wounds in the town of Iten, famous for its centre for long-distance runners. Police say they are looking for the Ethiopian boyfriend of Damaris Muthee Mutua, 28, who was born in Kenya but competed for Bahrain. She is the second female athlete to be killed in Iten in a year. Last year, Kenyans were shocked by the killing of Olympic runner Agnes Tirop. Her husband remains in custody and denies murder. Police say Mutua’s body was found in “a state of decomposition” in the Rift Valley town of Iten, local police chief Tom Makori told the AFP news agency.(BBC)…[+]

An early-morning hot air balloon ride over Melbourne was more eventful than expected on Wednesday, when it crash landed on an apartment rooftop. No one was injured during the incident, which was filmed by passenger Jayde Magookin as he and 12 other people were bounced over roofs and treetops. Pilot Nick Brau said the balloon was brand new, but would not fly properly. Mr Magookin, 34, said the crash landing was “terrifying” but he and the other passengers could laugh about it now.The balloon – which was on its maiden flight in the Australian city – ended up draped over two rooftops in the southern suburb of Elwood, and pictures showed the basket lying in a carpark. Mr Brau, who is the director of Liberty Balloon Flights, managed to avoid light poles and overhead cables, but some buildings were damaged as he struggled to maintain altitude. The pilot told the BBC he was not sure what went wrong, and was shaken by the accident as it is “not very pleasant when these things happen.(BBC)…[+]

Four days before France votes on its next president, the two remaining candidates are going head to head in their only televised debate. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has fallen behind Emmanuel Macron in the opinion polls but millions of voters are still undecided. It did not take long for the two-and-a-half hour clash to burst into life. The two candidates confronted each other’s record and policies on the cost of living and relations with Russia. Spiralling prices of energy and at the shops have dominated the campaign and immediately took centre stage in the debate, broadcast on the two biggest TV networks as well as the big news channels. As the encounter began, Ms Le Pen said 70% of the French people believed their standard of living had fallen over the past five years and she would be the president of civil peace and national brotherhood.(BBC)…[+]

Dramatic pictures – and a credible video – showing the Russian warship Moskva before it sank last week have appeared online. The video and images match the shape and design of the missile cruiser. Russia says a fire onboard caused ammunitions to explode and the vessel sank as it was being towed in a storm. Ukraine says it hit it with missiles. The new images do not immediately back the claims of either side – but there is no sign of a storm at the time. The images were allegedly taken on 14 April, a day after Ukraine claimed to have struck the warship. The three-second video clip – likely taken from a rescue boat – shows the Moskva in the distance listing heavily on her port side. A tug, likely a Russian Shakhter, is on its right. Smoke can be seen billowing out of the ship, with a section of the freeboard heavily damaged. Holes are also visible in other parts of the freeboard in one picture, suggesting the warship had taken in a substantial amount of water. It also appears all of the vessel’s lifeboats had been deployed.(BBC)…[+]