Will Smith has apologised to Chris Rock after he slapped him at the Oscars, saying his behaviour was “unacceptable and inexcusable”. “I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris,” he said in a statement. “I was out of line and I was wrong.” It comes after the Oscars film academy condemned Smith over the incident and announced a formal review. The star slapped Rock in the face on stage after the comic made a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock had taken aim at Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, a result of the hair-loss condition alopecia. Shortly after, Smith picked up the first Oscar of his career for playing the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard.(BBC)…[+]

Official White House logs from 6 January, 2021 – the day the US Capitol was breached by a mob of Donald Trump’s supporters – show a seven hour and 37-minute gap in presidential phone activity while the assault was at its height. The bipartisan congressional committee investigating the attack had fought a lengthy legal battle to obtain the presidential records, which could shed light on the activity of the president and his closest aides on the day. The logs show the president contacting at least eight people in the morning – including former White House advisor Steve Bannon and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who were both organising attempts to overturn Mr Trump’s presidential defeat, according to records obtained by CBS News, the BBC’s US media partner, and the Washington Post.

It also records calls with 11 people in the evening. But they document no contacts from 11:17 am to 18:45 pm local time (16:17 to 23:45 BST). This runs counter to accounts from several Republican members of Congress – including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama – that they spoke with the president by phone that afternoon.(BBC)…[+]

At least 19 people have been killed in an armed attack in the state of Michoacán, in western Mexico, officials say. Gunmen swooped down on an illegal cockfighting pit in the community of Las Tinajas and opened fire, local media report. The motive behind the attack is not yet clear but a number of criminal gangs operate in the region. Bloody attacks on gatherings of rivals have become increasingly common. In recent months, gunmen in various regions of Mexico have targeted funerals and wakes as well as bars and clubs in their attempt to take out as many of their rivals at one time as they can. At least 19 people have been killed in an armed attack in the state of Michoacán, in western Mexico, officials say. Gunmen swooped down on an illegal cockfighting pit in the community of Las Tinajas and opened fire, local media report. The motive behind the attack is not yet clear but a number of criminal gangs operate in the region. Bloody attacks on gatherings of rivals have become increasingly common. In recent months, gunmen in various regions of Mexico have targeted funerals and wakes as well as bars and clubs in their attempt to take out as many of their rivals at one time as they can.(BBC)…[+]

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face on stage at the Oscars after the comic made a joke about the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. “Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2,” he said, in an apparent reference to her shaved hairdo – a result of the hair loss condition alopecia. Smith walked on stage and struck Rock before returning to his seat and shouting: “Keep my wife’s name out of your [expletive] mouth.” He later apologised on stage. “I want to apologise to the Academy. I want to apologise to my all my fellow nominees,” he said during a tearful acceptance speech for best actor. The star picked up the first Oscar of his career for playing the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard.(BBC)…[+]

Ukraine has accused Russia of forcibly relocating thousands of civilians from Mariupol, the strategic port city devastated by Russian shelling. Russia is housing an estimated 5,000 at a temporary camp in Bezimenne, east of Mariupol, seen in satellite images. Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said 40,000 had been moved from Ukraine to Russian-held territory without any coordination with Kyiv. A Mariupol refugee, now in Russia, said: “All of us were taken forcibly”. Some Ukrainian officials describe Russia’s actions as “deportations” to “filtration camps” – an echo of Russia’s war in Chechnya, when thousands of Chechens were brutally interrogated in makeshift camps and many disappeared.(BBC)…[+]

Private Caribbean islands owned by the deceased sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein are up for sale and could fetch up to $125m (£94.7m). A lawyer for Epstein’s estate confirmed to the BBC that the two islands – Little St James and Great St James – have been listed. Lawyer Daniel Weiner said some proceeds from the sale will be used to settle outstanding lawsuits. Epstein died in jail in 2019, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The financier bought the 90-acre Little St James – the more developed of the two – nearly 25 years ago for almost $8m (£6m). He then acquired the larger Great St James in 2016 for $22.5m and had drawn up plans to develop the 161-acre island by building homes, an amphitheatre, as well as an underwater office and pool. Epstein was accused by US Virgin Islands attorney general Denise George of sexually abusing girls as young as 12 years old on Little St James.(BBC)…[+]

Madeleine Albright, a Czech immigrant who went on to become the first female secretary of state in US history, has died aged 84. A long-time foreign policy veteran, Albright became America’s top diplomat in 1997 during the Clinton government. Often hailed as “a champion of democracy”, Albright was instrumental in efforts to end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. Her death from cancer was confirmed by her family in a statement. “She was surrounded by family and friends,” the statement said. “We lost a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend.” Among those to pay tribute to her after the announcement of her death were former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, who later followed in her footsteps as Secretary of State.(BBC)…[+]

A Russian journalist has been killed during shelling by Russian forces in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Oksana Baulina had been reporting from Kyiv and the western city of Lviv for investigative website The Insider, the outlet said in a statement. She died while filming damage in the city’s Podil district, it added. Baulina previously worked for Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation, and had left Russia. Last year the foundation was made illegal and branded extremist by the authorities, forcing many of its staff to flee abroad. One other person was reportedly killed and two injured in the shelling. Baulina had previously sent several reports from Kyiv and the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, The Insider said. The publication expressed its “deepest condolences” to the reporter’s family and friends. Investigative journalist Alexey Kovalyov paid tribute to Baulina.(BBC)...[+]

Ukrainian troops are counter-attacking Russian forces in some areas of the country, with reports that they have gained ground near the capital, Kyiv. Local authorities in the town of Makariv, west of Kyiv, said Ukrainian flags were flying there once more. A US defence spokesman said Ukrainians were also reversing momentum in some parts of the south. In the small southern town of Voznesensk, Russian forces were pushed back and an armoured convoy destroyed. And in Kherson, close to the Crimean peninsula and the first city to fall to Russia, Ukrainian forces are also trying to recapture territory. A UK defence analyst told the BBC the fightback could force Moscow to change its tactics.(BBC)…[+]