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Russia Says Took Two More East Ukrainian Villages 

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 24 Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo fires a mortar towards Russian positions, at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, 17 February 2023. (EPA)
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 24 Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo fires a mortar towards Russian positions, at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, 17 February 2023. (EPA)
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Russia Says Took Two More East Ukrainian Villages 

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 24 Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo fires a mortar towards Russian positions, at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, 17 February 2023. (EPA)
A Ukrainian serviceman of the 24 Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo fires a mortar towards Russian positions, at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, 17 February 2023. (EPA)

Russia on Friday said it captured two more east Ukrainian villages in the Donetsk region, edging closer to the central Dnipropetrovsk region.

Moscow has pressed a small but steady advance in eastern Ukraine since last summer, bringing home some successes, with morale in Russia now emboldened by US President Donald Trump opening talks with the Kremlin and criticizing Ukraine.

The Russian defense ministry said it took the village of Nadezhdynka, some 10 kilometers (six miles) east of the regional border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

It also claimed Novosilka, further south, another village close to the neighboring region.

The Kremlin has set the goal of conquering the whole of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that it claimed to have annexed without fully controlling.

It has not made any formal territorial claims over the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Moscow is trying to capture more land as it launches talks with the United States on how to end the conflict.

When the Kremlin launched its offensive in February 2022 it tried to take the capital Kyiv before being pushed back by Ukrainian forces.

It has since appeared to scale down its territorial aims, instructing troops to take the four regions in the south and east.

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World

France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
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France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

World

Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
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Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."

World

UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
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UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.