(SAQQARA, Egypt) — Egypt announced on Thursday the discovery of five ancient tombs in Saqqara, marking the latest in a series of discoveries in the vast necropolis south of Cairo.
The stony tombs date back to the Old Kingdom (c.2700–2200 BC) and First Intermediate (c.2181–2055 BC) eras, Egypt’s antiquities ministry said.
They were excavated northeast of the Pyramid of Merenre, a 52.5 meters-tall structure that was built during the Sixth Dynasty. The tombs, which are engraved with colorful shapes, belong to “top officials,” the ministry added.
Mostafa El-Waziri, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Antiquities Council, said the first tomb belongs to an official named IRY.
“The tomb consists of a deep burial shaft leading to a chamber decorated with funerary scenes depicting offering tables, the seven oils and the façade of the palace. A limestone sarcophagus was also uncovered inside the tomb,” he said in a statement.
“The second tomb belongs to a woman that could be the wife of a man named Yaret and it has a rectangular burial shaft while the third tomb belongs to Pepi Nefhany, who was the supervisor of the great house, a priest, and the purifier of the house. It has a six meters deep burial shaft.”
El-Waziri said the fourth, also a six-meter deep burial shaft, belongs to a woman named Petty. She was the priest of Hathor, the goddess of fertility and love.
“The fifth is for a man named Henu, the overseer and the supervisor of the royal house. It consists of a rectangular seven meters deep burial shaft,” El-Waziri added.
“More work and studies will be carried out to reveal more secrets of these tombs,” he said.
Egypt has carried out extensive digging operations in Saqqara in recent years, which resulted in a string of discoveries, including the unearthing of a 4,400-year-old tomb of royal priest Wahtye in 2018 and the discovery of hundreds of mummified animals and statues a year later.
Last year, Egypt unearthed 52 burial shafts in Saqqara with more than 50 wooden coffins found inside. They date back 3,000 years, the oldest sarcophagi found in the ancient burial ground.
They also discovered the funerary temple of Queen Nearit, the wife of King Teti — the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt.
Egypt is hoping the discoveries, along with the expected opening of a new mega museum near the Giza Pyramids later this year, will revive its vital tourism industry.
Tourism was badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the last couple of years and could take a fresh battering because of Russia’s attempted invasion of Ukraine, with citizens of both countries comprising a big chunk of visitors to Egypt.
Up to 20,000 Ukrainians were stranded in Egypt’s Red Sea resorts when Russia started its offensive against Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to the Ukrainian embassy in Egypt.
Lil Baby‘s album My Turn came out in 2020, but it’s still hanging around on the Billboard chart — and setting records in the process.
My Turn has now spent 85 weeks in the top 10 of Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. That’s the longest any album has stayed in that top tier of the chart since it began back in 1965.
My Turn breaks the previous record set by Post Malone‘s album Hollywood’s Bleeding, which lasted 84 weeks in the top 10 between 2019 and 2021.
Overall, My Turn has been on the chart for 106 weeks, six of them at number one, and has spun off five top-10 hits on the Hot &RB/Hip-Hop Songs chart, including “Woah,” “Heatin Up,” featuring Gunna, and “The Bigger Picture.”
Currently, My Turn is at number eight on the chart.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance. Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol. Russia also bombed western cities for the first time this week, targeting Lviv and a military base near the Poland border.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 18, 6:48 am
Russian foreign minister threatens countries arming Ukraine
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that any foreign supplies to Ukraine containing military equipment will be considered “legitimate targets” for Russian strikes.
“We clearly said that any cargo moving into the Ukrainian territory which we would believe is carrying weapons would be fair game. This is clear because we are implementing the operation the goal of which is to remove any threat to the Russian Federation coming from the Ukrainian soil,” Lavrov said in an English-language interview with the RT television channel.
Mar 18, 6:29 am
Putin says Ukraine ‘seeking to drag out’ negotiations
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call with Germany’s leader Olaf Scholz accused Ukraine of “seeking to drag out” negotiations with Russia to end the war by putting forward “new unrealistic proposals.”
Putin told Scholz Russia was “nonetheless ready to continue the search for a solution within the bounds of its well-known principled approaches,” the Kremlin said in a readout of the call.
It’s a negative sign for the ongoing talks with Ukraine that both sides have suggested have made some progress this week.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 18, 4:41 am
Lviv struck by missiles for the first time
Russian missiles have hit the western Ukrainian city of Lviv for the first time Friday, a key location that had been spared from the assault until now.
The missiles struck the area around the city’s airport, according to the mayor, Andriy Sadovyi, around 6:30 a.m. local time, hitting an aircraft repair facility and destroying the building.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attack, according to the mayor.
Preliminary data indicated that six cruise missiles were fired from the Black Sea, according to the country’s western military command. Two were destroyed by anti-aircraft missile systems.
-ABC News’ Martha Raddatz
Mar 17, 8:34 pm
White House ‘focused’ on ways to help growing Ukrainian refugee crisis
The Biden administration is “focused” on ways to help Ukrainian refugees, as the number of people displaced by the war continues to grow, according to U.S. officials.
More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency, in Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II.
“As the numbers increase, as the burden increases for European partners, we will certainly do everything we can to help,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Thursday, adding it was “something we’re very focused on right now.”
Without offering specifics, Blinken confirmed the administration is “looking at things that we can do ourselves and do directly — for example, looking at steps we may be able to take on family reunification and other things.”
One limited option is fast-tracking the process to admit refugees to the U.S. itself, which is defined by law and requires a referral from the U.N.’s refugee agency and thorough vetting. A senior administration official told ABC News that the refugee program “is not an emergency response program, so our goal would be to provide humanitarian assistance to keep people safe where they are for now.”
As Blinken told reporters, the referral process to be granted refugee status “takes time.” Refugee resettlement is a yearslong process, and there are already 7,000 Ukrainian refugees in the pipeline, according to resettlement agency Church World Service.
The senior administration official also said U.S. embassies and consulates in the region are processing emergency visa applications, but that they are overwhelmed. “We are not able to process the volume of the people who are thinking about that as an option,” the official said.
Refugee resettlement agencies say the administration is considering using the Lautenberg program, which allows religious minorities — including Ukrainian Greek Catholics and Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Christians — to bring family members to the U.S. with a potentially expedited refugee status. One agency told ABC News there are thousands of Ukrainian applicants who the U.S. could swiftly admit.
The administration has already approved temporary protected status for any Ukrainians in the U.S. before March 1 — allowing them to stay and work in the U.S. for at least the next 18 months.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson, Sarah Kolinovsky and Conor Finnegan
(WASHINGTON) — The Pentagon has been providing daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Ukraine’s efforts to resist.
Here are highlights of what a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Thursday on Day 22:
U.S. drones heading to Ukraine effective against Russian vehicles and artillery
After the White House on Wednesday announced 100 “tactical unmanned aerial systems” would be part of a new $800 million weapon package for Ukraine, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News these would be small “Switchblade” drones.
Unlike long-range Predator drones, which look similar to small planes and fire missiles at targets, Switchblade drones are the missiles, using GPS to guide themselves straight into their targets to detonate their payloads.
The smallest version, the Switchblade 300, fits in a backpack, weighs only 5.5 pounds, and has a range of about six miles. It can be sent into flight from a small mortar tube, its wings extending into place as it exits the launcher. The larger Switchblade 600 weighs nine times more, but carries an anti-armor warhead and can hit targets up to 25 miles away, according to the manufacturer.
Both models have a “wave-off” feature so that human operators can abort an attack if civilians appear near the target or if the enemy leaves the area.
The U.S. official could not confirm which versions the U.S. is sending to Ukraine, but a senior U.S. defense official told reporters on Thursday that they would be effective against various targets.
“These tactical UAVs can be useful against Russian vehicles and artillery,” the senior U.S. defense official said.
Taking out Russian long-range artillery is especially important for Ukraine as Russian forces ramp up their bombardment of major cities.
No Russian progress on Kyiv in 7 days
The Russian forces nearest Kyiv are still about nine miles to the northwest of the city’s center, the senior U.S. defense official said. This is the same distance away they were estimated to be last Friday.
They haven’t been able to advance because Ukrainian forces “are very actively resisting any movement by the Russians,” the official said, but adding that Russia maintains an advantage with “long-range fires” — missiles and artillery.
Although those nearest troops have stalled, other forces are coming to join them from behind, bringing with them long-range artillery pieces.
“So, it appears that they continue to want to conduct a siege of Kyiv, that’s what you want to use artillery for,” the official said. “We haven’t seen that manifest itself, we’re just seeing them move them into place.”
The only notable advancement of Russian forces since Wednesday is to the southeast of Kharkiv, where the Pentagon assesses they have taken control of Izyum. The official said their intent is likely to push south toward Donetsk and Mariupol to seal off the Donbas area and prevent Ukrainian troops in the east from moving westward to defend other areas.
Russian warships near Odessa
The U.S. continues to see Russian naval activity “not far from Odessa” in the northern Black Sea, the official said. This includes about six surface-war vessels: at least two amphibious landing ships, frigates, and one mine-warfare ship. Despite this activity, there are still no indications of an imminent amphibious assault.
Unlike on Wednesday, there have been no signs of Russian ships shelling towns around Odessa, the official said.
Russian bombardment of cities continues, more civilians hit
Russia has now launched more than 1,000 missiles against Ukraine, according to the official. This is up from an estimate of 980 on Wednesday. These estimates count missile launches, not necessarily effective hits. The official said they could not offer an estimate of how many of these munitions end up being duds.
Again the official said Russians are relying more on “dumb” munitions, meaning unguided weapons.
The official said it’s not clear why, but said it could be an effort to conserve their precision weapons, or a sign they’re running low on them. At any rate, these less-discriminate weapons are seen as a greater threat to civilians.
“We have seen an increase of strikes on civilian infrastructure and civilian targets,” the official said, but could not quantify the damage or casualties.
S-300s for Ukraine
The official would not directly address questions about whether the U.S. would help facilitate Russian-made S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems for Ukraine.
“We are working with allies and partners to continue to provide security assistance to the Ukrainians on short-range and tactical systems as well as long-range systems, to include long-range air defense. And there’s a lot that goes into that, and some countries just have access to inventory that are more suitable for the Ukrainians than some of our systems because they’re trained on them — they operate them, they know them, they’re comfortable with them. And it’s a whole suite of things. And I’ve stayed away from naming individual systems and I think it’s just better if I continue to do that. But we are in active conversations with countries about all these kinds of capabilities to see what they can do to continue to provide support to Ukraine,” the official said.
Russian disinformation campaign
“In Russia, anecdotally, we see their narratives having more of an effect. But then again, they shut down independent media. The only thing available for most Russians now is state media, and so you would expect that those narratives would be more widely consumed and even more widely believed. But outside of Russia, there’s little to no evidence that their information ops are working. In fact, we’ve seen quite the opposite,” the official said.
Low Russian morale
The U.S. has anecdotal evidence of low morale in some Russian units, according to the official.
“Some of that is, we believe, a function of poor leadership, lack of information that the troops are getting about their mission and objectives, and I think disillusionment from being resisted as fiercely as they have been,” the official said.
The official also said it’s “noteworthy” that Russians are considering bringing in more troops and supplies only three weeks into the invasion. The Pentagon believes this is due to poor logistical planning and stronger-than-expected resistance.
(WASHINGTON) — As Ukrainians continue to flee their homes and find safety in neighboring countries, some cities are becoming overwhelmed with refugees and are unable to provide them with the resources they need.
“We’ll continue helping. We will accept as many Ukrainians as we need to,” Rafal Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, Poland, told ABC News Live on Thursday. “But we need assistance, we need international institutions in place. We need a relocation system in Europe and in the world, because we can’t do it alone.”
More than 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, with over half moving to Poland, according to the United Nations. Warsaw, the capital of Poland, has seen a 20% increase in its population in just a few weeks, according to Trzaskowski. He said the city has welcomed over 300,000 Ukrainians but are no longer able to improvise.
Trzaskowski is calling on the European Union and the United Nations to help set up a system, which would help move refugees in Warsaw to other cities that are less overwhelmed and can better provide the physical and psychological care that’s needed.
“I’m calling myself in the middle of the night, my friends from different cities in Poland and in Europe, and I ask them for assistance. We bus people to different places all over,” Trzaskowski told ABC News Live. “We cannot do it anymore. We need a workable system.”
Trzaskowski said it’s not just beds and food that people need, but that as time goes on, new refugees are coming in having seen more destruction and are in need of immediate mental health services.
“At the beginning, three weeks ago, people who were coming to Warsaw were taken care of by their families and by their friends. Now, people come traumatized by war. They escape rockets, they escape bullets, members of families have been killed, members of their families are stranded in basements,” he explained. “They not only need shelter, they need reassurance. They need a helping hand.”
The mayor said Poland has tried to provide a sense of normalcy for families. Earlier this week, a bill was passed in Polish Parliament to provide Ukrainian children with free education and schooling. The mayor told ABC News Live that more than 10,000 Ukrainian students are already learning in Warsaw classrooms.
“We welcome them and we treat them like citizens,” Trzaskowski said. “We provide any help we can, but there is only so much that we can coordinate.”
Trzaskowski said Warsaw and all of Poland have tried their best to help during this crisis. Polish families have stood at the border, inviting refugees into their homes, feeding people who have gone days without eating or drinking water while traveling and making them feel welcomed into the country while the war continues.
“Without volunteers, without non-governmental organizations, we wouldn’t go anywhere,” the mayor said.
He emphasized that though these efforts have been able to provide for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, more still needs to be done. And without a plan going forward, they will not be able to continue this effort, he said.
The mayor went on to thank the United States for providing support and said it’s made a significant impact throughout this crisis.
“I want to thank President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the whole Biden administration, and the U.S. Congress for being really tough on Russia, for imposing sanctions, for treating them seriously and for those words which are ringing in our ears, which say that the United States of America will defend every inch of NATO territory,” he told us. “And just because we can feel secure, all of us in Europe, because of that statement and because of the actions of the American government, we can do our job in a peaceful manner.”
Trzaskowski added that throughout this refugee crisis, he has looked to the bravery of leaders in Ukraine, which has given him courage to produce a plan that will give every refugee a place to call home while their nation is under attack.
“If President Zelenskyy in Kyiv is not panicking, we’re not going to either,” he said.
(WASHINGTON) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that he personally believes war crimes have been committed in Ukraine, a day after President Joe Biden labeled Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the first time since Putin launched his invasion.
“Yesterday, President Biden said that in his opinion, war crimes have been committed in Ukraine. Personally, I agree,” Blinken said. “Intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime. After all the destruction of the past few weeks, I find it difficult to conclude that the Russians are doing otherwise.”
Before the U.S. officially labels Putin’s actions as war crimes, Blinken said State Department experts from the Office of Global Criminal Justice are documenting and evaluating evidence for a formal determination and will share those findings with those responsible for accountability. But he acknowledged reports on intentional attacks from the bombing of a Drama Theater housing children to opening fire at people waiting in line for bread.
“These incidents join a long list of attacks on civilian non-military locations across Ukraine, including apartment buildings, public squares, and last week, a maternity hospital in Mariupol,” he said. “I doubt that any of us who saw those images will ever forget.”
“There’s going to have to be, one way or another, accountability for this war of aggression,” he said of Putin.
But he warned of more darkness to come — Russia making renewed claims of genocide, using chemical or biological weapons and blaming Ukraine, sending its “mercenaries” to join the fight, and systematically kidnapping Ukrainian officials and replacing them with puppets — which he called a “terror tactic.”
While Ukrainian officials have been engaged in talks with Russian counterparts, Blinken expressed pessimism about those talks — saying they’ve not seen “any meaningful effort” by Russia to end the war through diplomacy. If anything, he warned, Putin indicated in his remarks Wednesday that he is doubling down.
Just moments before Blinken stepped out to speak, a State Department official confirmed to ABC News that a U.S. citizen was killed Thursday in Ukraine after Chernihiv regional police reported an American was killed by Russian shelling there. Two American journalists, a filmmaker and a Fox News cameraperson, were also killed this week covering the war.
As thousands flee the violence, Biden announced Wednesday the U.S. would provide Ukraine with $800 million in additional security assistance, bringing the total in aid over the past week to $1 billion. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s central request — for a no-fly zone over Ukraine — has not been granted. However, he did offer an alternative before Congress on Wednesday: S-300s, a Soviet-era missile system that are well-suited to to defend against Russian attacks.
Following his request, NATO ally Slovakia said it’s “willing to” provide the replacements — as long as NATO fills the gap that providing its only air defense system will create in Slovakia.
“What would happen immediately when we decided to give it to Ukrainians is that we actually create a gap a security gap in NATO,” said Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad’ Thursday, at a joint press conference with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Bratislava. “Should there be a situation that we have a proper replacement or that we have a capability guaranteed for a certain period of time, then we will be willing to discuss the future of S-300 system.”
But it’s unclear if a guarantee has been made yet to Slovakia in order to get the systems to Ukraine. The three NATO countries that have S-300s are Slovakia, Bulgaria and Greece.
As the U.S. reaffirms it would not support a no-fly zone, despite Zelenskyy’s pleas, Austin also explained the decision and called on Putin to cease attacks on civilians in Ukraine.
“Enforcing a no-fly zone actually means that you’re in combat. You’re in a fight with Russia,” said Austin. “So, from a U.S. perspective, we’re, again, our position remains that we’re not going to do one,” he added.
Asked directly if Russia’s attacks against civilians in Ukraine constitute a war crime, Austin did not go as far as Biden and Blinken and said that the State Department is currently reviewing the reports of civilian attacks.
“If you attack civilians on purpose, target civilians purposely, then that’s not — that is a crime,” Austin said. “So, these actions are under review by our State Department, and, of course, there will be and there’s a process that will go through to review all of this.”
Amid concerns China could assist Russia with military equipment, Biden is scheduled to speak Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He will also travel to Brussels next week in a show of unity to meet with NATO leaders.
Earlier in the day, Biden welcomed Irish Taoiseach Michael Martin for a virtual bilateral meeting in the Oval Office and said the leaders were “meeting in a moment when demands on unity in the world are really accelerating,” as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues.
“We have to be united and we certainly are,” Biden said. “But Putin’s brutality and what he’s doing, and his troops are doing in Ukraine is just inhumane.”
The Taoiseach echoed Biden’s view of Putin’s “unjustifiable and immoral war,” saying “I share with you our horror at the barbaric attack on the civilians,” and said Biden’s leadership through this has been “firm,” “determined,” and “strong.”
“Particularly your capacity to marshal like-minded democracies, the U.S., the European Union, the United Kingdom, the other — Canada and other like-minded democracies are coming together to respond in an unprecedented way to this barbaric attack on the women and children of Ukraine.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance. Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol. Russia also bombed western cities for the first time this week, targeting Lviv and a military base near the Poland border.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 17, 1:55 pm
US citizen killed in Chernihiv, Ukraine
A U.S. citizen was killed Thursday in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, a State Department official confirmed to ABC News, after Chernihiv regional police reported an American was killed by Russian shelling.
The State Department official did not provide more details.
-ABC News’ Conor Finnegan
Mar 17, 1:46 pm
Hundreds of bulletproof vests meant for Ukraine stolen in NYC
About 400 bulletproof vests that were set to be sent to aid Ukraine were stolen from the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America’s headquarters in Manhattan’s East Village, according to the New York City Police Department.
No arrests have been made in the burglary, which took place early Wednesday, police said.
-ABC News’ Derricke Dennis
Mar 17, 12:35 pm
Biden calls Putin’s actions ‘inhumane’ in talk with Irish Taoiseach
During a virtual bilat with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Thursday, President Joe Biden said the world is “united” as Russia’s invasion in Ukraine continues.
“We have to be united and we certainly are,” Biden said. “But Putin’s brutality and what he’s doing, and his troops are doing in Ukraine, is just inhumane.”
The Taoiseach told Biden, “I share with you our horror at the barbaric attack on the civilians,” and said Biden’s leadership through this has been “firm,” “determined” and “strong.”
Biden commended Ireland for taking in Ukrainian refugees, saying it “speaks so loudly about your principles.”
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Mar 17, 8:49 am
Biden to speak with Chinese President Xi on Friday
President Joe Biden will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday about “Russia’s war against Ukraine,” among other topics, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
It’s the first time the two will speak since Russia’s invasion began and it follows National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s seven-hour face-to-face meeting in Rome with his Chinese counterpart earlier this week.
The U.S. has been ramping up its warnings to China over concerns that it could assist Moscow with military equipment and other aid.
Mar 17, 6:59 am
Russia ‘stalled on all fronts,’ UK military says
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has “largely stalled on all fronts,” the UK Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.
“Russian forces have made minimal progress on land, sea or are in recent days and they continue to suffer heavy losses,” the Ministry said in an update posted to Twitter.
The Ukrainian resistance “remains staunch and well-coordinated,” the update said.
“The vast majority of Ukrainian territory, including all major cities, remain in Ukrainian hands,” the Ministry said.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 17 March 2022
Mar 16, 9:00 pm
Theater sheltering civilians hit by Russian airstrikes, Ukrainian official says
A Ukrainian official claimed Wednesday that Russian airstrikes destroyed a theater in the besieged city of Mariupol where civilians were taking shelter.
The number of victims from the bombing of the Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama “is impossible to count,” Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Region administration, said in a Facebook post.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an address tonight that hundreds of people were hiding in the theater and that the death toll is still unknown.
“Russia is killing civilians!” Kyrylenko said, adding that it is also “impossible to determine” the number of victims in Mariupol since the start of the invasion.
The city has been burying its dead in a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol as it endures heavy shelling.
(LONDON) — A United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo ship with 30 people onboard sank on Thursday in the Persian Gulf off the southern coast of Iran.
The ship sank due to turbulence in poor weather about 30 miles from Asaluyeh, local authorities said.
Rescuers were immediately dispatched from different parts of Iran’s southern coastline to rescue the ship’s crew, Iranian media reported.
Twenty-nine of the 30 crew members have been rescued so far, a crisis-mitigation official told Islamic Republic News Agency.
Iranian local crisis mitigation official Jahangir Dehghani told IRNA on Thursday that the rescue operation to find the missing crew was continuing.
“At present, two lifeboats … are present at the scene of the accident,” he said.
Due to the strong wind in the northwest direction, the Persian Gulf was reportedly quite rough and turbulent. Wind speeds were recorded at more than 43 miles per hour.
(NEW YORK) — Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation.”
Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance. Heavy shelling and missile attacks, many on civilian buildings, continue in Kyiv, as well as major cities like Kharkiv and Mariupol. Russia also bombed western cities for the first time this week, targeting Lviv and a military base near the Poland border.
Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Mar 16, 8:51 pm
Zelenskyy discusses ongoing negotiations, proposal for new alliance of countries
In his latest national address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiations with Russia are “ongoing.”
“My priorities in the negotiations are absolutely clear: the end of the war, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial integrity, real guarantees for our country, real protection for our country,” he said in a speech that aired tonight.
Zelenskyy said he addressed both the U.S. and all the relevant states in regard to creating a new union he called U-24. He said that the new alliance will ensure that aggressors receive a coordinated response from the world.
“We can no longer trust the existing institutions. We cannot expect bureaucrats in international organizations to change so quickly,” he said. “Therefore, we must look for new guarantees. Create new tools. Take those who have courage and do what justice requires.”
Mar 16, 8:17 pm
UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting Thursday
The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to address the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
The U.S., Albania, U.K., France, Ireland and Norway requested the meeting, according to the Norway U.N. The countries have asked for briefings by the U.N.’s Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, the U.N.’s refugee agency and the World Health Organization.
More thank 3 million refugees have alreay fled Ukraine since the invasion began on Feb. 24, according to the U.N.’s refugee agency.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Mar 16, 6:37 pm
Theater sheltering civilians hit by Russian airstrikes, Ukrainian official says
A Ukrainian official claimed Wednesday that Russian airstrikes destroyed a theater in the besieged city of Mariupol where civilians were taking shelter.
The number of victims from the bombing of the Donetsk Regional Theatre of Drama “is impossible to count,” Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk Region administration, said in a Facebook post.
“Russia is killing civilians!” he said, adding that it is also “impossible to determine” the number of victims in Mariupol since the start of the invasion.
The city has been burying its dead in a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol as it endures heavy shelling.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
Mar 16, 5:26 pm
Ukraine says it’s trying to launch counter-attacks on edge of Kyiv
Ukraine’s military said it is trying to launch counter-attacks in northern areas on the edge of Kyiv, seeking to push Russian forces back from the towns at the gates of the capital where they’ve been bogged down for two weeks.
The sounds of intense shelling and fighting could be heard from the north of Kyiv the last three days. Battles have been raging in the towns of Irpin, Bucha and Hostomel, just a few miles from the city limits and from where thousands of civilians have been fleeing.
“The situation remains difficult, especially in the south and east [of Ukraine]. But more and more often our defenders are moving into counterattacks in various parts of the front: from Kyiv and Mykolaiv regions to the Luhansk region,” Ukrainian officials said in a statement Wednesday, referring to regions in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Authorities have imposed a full curfew from Tuesday evening to Thursday morning, locking down the capital and forbidding people from going outside. Plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the direction of the northern areas and the popping sound of small arms fire heard occasionally throughout the day Wednesday.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 16, 3:17 pm
Biden calls Putin a ‘war criminal’ for 1st time
“I think he is a war criminal,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The president initially told the reporter “no” when asked if he was ready to label Putin a war criminal, but moments later Biden circled back, asking her to repeat the question.
This marked the first time Biden has called Putin a war criminal since the invasion began. The White House had previously said there was an official review underway before the administration could formally accuse Putin of war crimes.
-ABC News’ Mary Bruce
Mar 16, 2:56 pm
Kidnapped Melitopol mayor freed from Russian captivity
Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol, has been freed after being kidnapped by Russian troops, according to Ukrainian officials.
Fedorov was freed in a “special operation,” Kirill Timoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said. He didn’t give additional information.
His kidnapping was reported on March 11.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy released a video of him talking to Fedorov on the phone. The president told the mayor he was very glad to speak with him and said, “We don’t leave ours behind.”
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 16, 2:26 pm
UNICEF highlights dangers Ukrainian children face as refugees
More than half of the 3 million people who have fled Ukraine are children, according to UNICEF.
“We realized that it’s about 75,000 a day… that’s about 55 Ukrainian children becoming refugees every minute. Essentially, one every second since this war started,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told ABC News Live.
Many children are suffering from a lack of food and freezing temperatures, he said.
“Many of them haven’t had clean water in two days,” he said.
Elder also highlighted the psychological trauma.
“They’ve been under bombardment. Many of them have seen family members or community members killed,” he said.
Elder added that UNICEF is “desperately concerned” about human trafficking, warning that any large number of children coming into a new country are at a higher risk of being abducted.
-ABC News’ Shannon Caturano
Mar 16, 1:17 pm
Biden announces additional military help for Ukraine
President Joe Biden announced more aid to Ukraine Wednesday, saying that the “American people are answering [Ukranian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy’s call for more help, more weapons for Ukraine to defend itself, more tools to fight Russian aggression.”
Biden announced an additional $800 million in military assistance as part of the $13.6 billion aid package for Ukraine contained in the government spending bill Biden signed into law Tuesday, which includes weapons the Ukrainians have been requesting, such as anti-armor and anti-air systems.
“This could be a long and difficult battle,” Biden said. “But the American people will be steadfast in our support of the people of Ukraine in the face of [Russian President [Vladimir] Putin’s immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations. We are united in our abhorrence of Putin’s depraved onslaught, and we are going to continue to have their backs as they fight for freedom, their democracy, their very survival.”
Biden did not directly address Zelenskyy’s emotional and direct appeal to lawmakers on Wednesday for the U.S. to back a no-fly zone the administration has repeatedly rejected.
-ABC News’ Libby Cathey
Mar 16, 12:38 pm
UN’s top court orders Russia to halt invasion
By a vote of 13-2, the United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice, made a preliminary ruling that Russia “shall immediately suspend military operations.”
The two votes against were from Russia and China.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reacted on Twitter, writing that “Russia must comply immediately.” But the ruling is mostly symbolic as the ICJ has no direct means to enforce it.
-ABC News’ Cindy Smith
Mar 16, 11:09 am
House and Senate leadership to receive classified briefings
House and Senate leadership, along with ranking members of relevant committees, will receive a classified briefing on the war in Ukraine following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s personal and emotional plea to Congress for more help.
The House briefing will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday and the Senate will follow at 3:30 p.m.
-ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Mariam Khan
Mar 16, 10:49 am
Jake Sullivan warns of consequences if Russia uses chemical or biological weapons
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Russian counterpart, Nikolay Patrushev, on Wednesday “to reiterate the United States’ firm and clear opposition to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement.
She said Sullivan told Patrushev that Russia should stop attacking Ukraine if it’s serious about diplomacy and warned “about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.”
Horne said Sullivan “clearly laid out” that the U.S. will continue “imposing costs on Russia” as well as support Ukraine and defend NATO’s eastern flank.
This conversation marked the first high-level engagement between the U.S. and Russia since the Kremlin launched its war against Ukraine.
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez and Conor Finnegan
Mar 16, 10:43 am
Putin justifies invasion, says troops ‘doing everything possible’ to avoid harming civilians
In a speech Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin falsely claimed that Russia’s military tactics have been “completely justified” and that Russian troops are “doing everything possible” to avoid harming Ukrainian civilians.
Putin sought to justify Russia’s invasion, claiming that all “diplomatic possibilities were exhausted” and Russia had “no choice” but to launch its operation. He claimed that the “appearance of Russian troops near Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities” is not connected “with a goal of occupying that country” and that it is about defusing a supposed threat to Russia.
-ABC News’ Patrick Reevell
Mar 16, 9:38 am
Zelenskyy asks Congress to back no-fly zone over Ukraine
In a virtual address to members of Congress Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the U.S. to back a no-fly zone over the war-torn country.
If a no-fly zone is not possible, Zelenskyy asked for aircraft “to help Ukraine.”
“Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands” — a “terror” Europe hasn’t seen in 80 years, Zelenskyy said.
In an emotional appeal, Zelenskyy asked members of Congress to put themselves in the shoes of Ukrainians by remembering Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 attacks.
Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for U.S. involvement, but called on Congress to do more.
“New packages of sanctions are needed constantly … we propose that the United States sanction all politicians in the Russian Federation who remain in their offices and do not cut ties with those who are responsible for the aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
“Members of Congress, please take the lead. If you have companies in your districts who finance the Russian military machine… you should put pressure,” he said.
“The destiny of our country is being decided,” he said. “Russia has attacked not just us… it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values.”
Zelenskyy received a standing ovation before and after his remarks.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that a no-fly zone “is escalatory and could prompt a war with Russia.”
“Providing the planes, our military did an assessment that’s based not just on the risk but whether it would have a huge benefit to them,” Psaki said. “They assessed it would not because they have their own squadron of planes and because the type of military assistance that is working to fight this war effectively is the type of assistance we’re already providing.”
Mar 16, 9:10 am
Fox News correspondent injured in Ukraine is safe, out of the country
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was reporting in Ukraine when he was injured by incoming fire that killed two colleagues, is now safe and out of the country, according to the network.
Hall “is alert and said to be in good spirits,” Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer reported Wednesday.
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, was newsgathering with Hall on Monday in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, when their vehicle was hit by incoming fire, the network said. Zakrzewski was killed while Hall was injured and hospitalized in unknown condition.
Ukrainian producer and fixer, 24-year-old Oleksandra Kuvshynova, who was working for Fox News during the war, was also killed in the shelling, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Mar 16, 6:44 am
Russia claims Ukraine willing to give up NATO hopes
Russia’s lead negotiator in peace talks with Ukraine said on Wednesday Ukraine had proposed adopting a “neutral status,” along the lines of Austria or Sweden, that is a country that is not part of NATO but has its own military and close ties to the West, including European Union membership.
There has been no official confirmation from Ukraine, though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said in recent days that Ukraine understands it will not be allowed to join NATO.
“The preservation and development of the neutral status of Ukraine, its demilitarization Ukraine — a whole complex of questions connected with the size of the Ukrainian army,” Russia’s negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, was quoted as saying by Russian media. “Ukraine proposes the Austrian, Swedish option of a neutral demilitarised state, but within that a state possessing its own army and navy. All these questions are being discussed at the level of the leaderships of the ministry of defense of Russia and Ukraine.”
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, claimed on Wednesday that the negotiators in the fourth round of talks were discussing “concrete formulations” that are “close to agreement.”
An agreement that Ukraine wouldn’t seek to join NATO raises questions. Ukraine’s constitution includes a pledge to join the alliance that would likely need to be changed, which would be highly controversial.
If the Sweden-style status is acceptable to Russia that would also mean the Kremlin has significantly lowered its war aims. Ukraine was not close to joining NATO before the conflict and a commitment not to would be little more than affirming the status quo before Russia’s invasion.
“The goal pursued by Russia at these negotiations is exactly the same as the goal set by Russia at the very beginning of the special military operation,” Medinsky said. “We need a peaceful, free and independent Ukraine, a neutral one, not a member of some military blocs or a member of NATO, but a country that would be our friend and neighbor, so that we could jointly develop relations and build our future and that would not serve as a bridgehead for a military and economic attack on our country. So, our goal is unchanged.”
This is why “practically every digit or letter in the agreements” is being thoroughly discussed with the Ukrainian side, Medinsky said.
“We want this agreement to last for generations, so that our children live in peace, the foundation of which is laid by this negotiating process,” he said.
Russia is also pursuing other demands in the talks, including the recognition of Crimea as part of Russia and the Russian-controlled separatist regions as independent. They also want changes in laws giving more guarantees for Russian-speakers in Ukraine.
Mar 16, 6:34 am
Russian forces ‘struggling’ with terrain: UK military
Russia’s military forces are “struggling to overcome” Ukraine’s terrain as they attempt to push further into the country, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.
“Russian forces have remained largely tied to Ukraine’s road network and have demonstrated a reluctance to conduct off-road manoeuvre,” the Ministry said in an update. “The destruction of bridges by Ukrainian forces has also played a key role in stalling Russia’s advance.”
Ukraine’s military has “adeptly exploited” Russia’s difficulty moving through the country, “frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on the invading forces,” the update said.
(LONDON) — Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, dual British-Iranian nationals detained in Iran for years, have been freed and are on a plane headed to the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Tulip Siddiq, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s lawmaker in the U.K., tweeted a photo of the freed woman from her flight.
“I am very pleased to confirm that the unfair detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori in Iran has ended today, and they will now return to the U.K.,” Johnson tweeted on Wednesday. “The U.K. has worked intensively to secure their release and I am delighted they will be reunited with their families and loved ones.”
Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s long spell in detention began when she was arrested on charges of espionage in April 2016 on a visit to see family in the country.
Her detention drew international condemnation, and her husband, Richard, led the calls back home for her release, going as far as a hunger strike outside the U.K. Parliament in October of last year to compel the government to do more.
Ashoori was arrested in August 2017 when he was visiting his mother in Tehran. He said he was arrested by plain clothes intelligence agents on a street near his mother’s home, according to Amnesty International. He was then forced into their car and was driven, blindfolded, to an unknown location, the group said.
For years, Islamic Republic officials denied they were keeping Zaghari and Ashoori as bargaining chips to compel the U.K. to unfreeze millions of dollars linked to a decades-long debt, saying the judicial power is independent and the two issues should not be connected.
Families of Zaghari and Ashoori, however, had urged British officials to pay Iran’s debt.
Fars News confirmed that $520 million of Iran’s blocked assets were transferred to Iran’s account before the pair was released, although U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the debt had been settled in a way that complies with international sanctions, with the funds released restricted to humanitarian uses.
Another British national, Morad Tahbaz, has been released from prison on furlough, Truss said, and the U.K. government will continue to work to secure his departure from the country.
Zaghari and Ashoori will be reunited with their loved ones later this evening, she said.
(@DefenceHQ) 
