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Gripped by heavy economic sanctions and increasingly isolated from Western suppliers, Russia worked on Thursday to keep its factories and businesses running and stave off a return to Soviet-era scarcity.As the central bank slashed interest rates again in an effort to prop up the economy, its chairwoman, Elvira Nabiullina, warned that the coming months would be “difficult for both companies and citizens” as the fallout on the Russian economy deepens […]

Depeche Mode’s keyboardist Andy Fletcher has died at the age of 60, the band has announced. Fletcher, nicknamed “Fletch”, founded the group in Basildon in 1980 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years ago. In a statement, Depeche Mode said: “We are shocked and filled with overwhelming sadness with the untimely passing of our dear friend, family member and bandmate. “Fletch had a true […]

LONDON — “Tomb of Sand,” a novel about an 80-year-old Indian woman’s sudden decision to travel to Pakistan, was named on Thursday as the winner of the International Booker Prize, the prestigious award for fiction translated into English.Geetanjali Shree, the book’s author, and Daisy Rockwell, who translated the 739-page novel from its original Hindi, will split the prize of 50,000 British pounds, about $63,000, which they received at a ceremony […]

Good morning. We’re covering growing frustrations about the police response to the Texas school shooting, questions about the end of Russia’s war in Ukraine and a change in U.S. policy toward China.Where were the police in Uvalde?Parents and witnesses to the massacre at an elementary school in southwestern Texas are asking: Why didn’t armed personnel stop the shooter?The gunman walked into the school unobstructed, a state police official said on […]

The Duchess of Sussex has laid flowers at a memorial for the 19 children and two teachers killed in a school shooting in Texas. Meghan was on Thursday pictured placing a bouquet of white roses tied with a purple ribbon at one of the crosses put up in honour of the victims near the site of the massacre. A spokesperson for the duchess said she took the trip in a […]

John Williams delighted fans with the first ever live performance of the Obi-Wan Kenobi theme music and a medley of his other hits on the opening day of Disney’s Star Wars Celebration. The legendary composer, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, was joined on stage by a full orchestra, and thanked audiences for “putting magic” into the event. Williams is the mastermind behind world-famous scores including Star Wars, Jurassic Park […]

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall can be seen celebrating amongst the residents of Albert Square in a teaser clip for an upcoming EastEnders special. The episode will see Charles and Camilla surprise the residents at a street party held to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. In the clip shown after Thursday’s episode of the BBC soap opera, partygoers are told “you have got to see this mystery […]

Harrison Ford has confirmed that the fifth instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise will hit cinemas in June 2023. The veteran actor delivered the news following a live performance to the film’s world-famous theme tune by veteran composer John Williams at Disney’s Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California. Joining Williams onstage in a surprise appearance, Ford congratulated him on his recent 90th birthday and told him the music to the […]

Airline easyJet has apologised to customers after a software failure forced it to cancel around 200 flights. The company initially announced that the flights affected would be those departing between 1pm and 3pm UK time on Thursday, but later said the disruption could last longer. In an updated statement, the airline said: “easyJet can confirm that the earlier IT systems issues have now been rectified. “Unfortunately, they resulted in some […]