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LINK:https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/10/sport/roman-abramovich-sanctions-uk-list-spt-intl/index.html The UK has added Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich to its list of sanctioned individuals as part of its efforts to "isolate" Russian President Vlamidir Putin following Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- throwing the sale of the London club into doubt and prohibiting the buying or selling of players until further notice. In a statement Thursday, the UK government said it was adding seven further oligarchs and politicians -- including Abramovich -- to its list of sanctioned individuals. Abramovich announced this month he plans to sell Chelsea, as it is "in the best interest of the Club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club's sponsors and partners." This came after he declared he gave "stewardship" of the club over to trustees of the club's charitable foundation. But the new sanctions will see his assets frozen and will prohibit "transactions with UK individuals and businesses," the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said in a statement Thursday. The billionaire will also face a travel ban forbidding him to enter the UK. According to the UK government, Chelsea will be given a special license to continue to "fulfil its fixtures and carry out football business" -- including the payment of players and club staff -- but certain actions will not be permitted, such as buying and selling new players and selling tickets for games beyond those already sold to fans. Existing season ticket holders will be allowed to attend matches as well as fans who purchased tickets prior to Thursday. Fans can buy food and drink at these matches, according to the statement, and under the sanctions, third party retailers who bought or produced club merchandise prior to Thursday will be allowed to sell their existing stocks as long as no money is given to Chelsea. For now, the special license lasts until May 31. The Chelsea Supporters' Trust -- a non-profit independent trust set up to "encourage" the club's board to "take into account the interests of all supporters" amongst other purposes -- expressed "concern" over the move. "Supporters MUST be involved in any conversation regarding ongoing impacts on the club and its global fan base," the trust said in a statement. "The CST implores the Government to conduct a swift process to minimise the uncertainty over Chelsea's future, for supporters and for supporters to be given a golden share as part of a sale of the club." Ramifications for Chelsea -- and its players Ben Peppi, sports commercial expert at JMW Solicitors, told CNN Sport that unless the UK government introduces a new license, Chelsea can't be sold. "Abramovich won't be allowed to put any money into the club or take any money out of it. As we know, he has funded Chelsea to the tune of billions of pounds and has a £1.5 billion ($1.98 billion) loan that Chelsea currently owes to Abramovich," he said. "We don't currently know where the money to pay players is coming from -- whether it just be coming from kind of day-to-day trading the business i.e. broadcast revenue, commercial revenue. Obviously, matchday revenue contributes to that, and we know that no new tickets can be sold, no new merchandise can be sold that benefits either the club or Abramovich -- it can only benefit the retailers." This could have significant implications for the club, which is already seeing sponsors considering their contracts with Chelsea. Chelsea's shirt sponsor Three, the mobile phone and telecommunications company, told CNN Thursday they are reviewing their relationship with the club after the UK government sanctioned Abramovich. "If Mr. Abramovich can't finance the club, and you've also got other sources of commercial revenue coming into the club that are now going to start to basically dry out given the sanctions imposed, the long term implications are very significant if a sale isn't made," Peppi said. Though Chelsea could negotiate with potential buyers, the club can't be sold until a special license is granted, he added. "If they're not generating any commercial matchday revenue, and they're not going to be able to draw on shareholder loans, where's the money going to come from to prop up the club? "I anticipate a new owner will be found. But it's going to be a far different kind of sale process than it looked like it was going to be, even last week." The sanctions will also have implications for Chelsea's players, Peppi said. "The immediate short term players whose contracts are running down means that those players are entitled to essentially leave on a free transfer at the end at the end of the season because they're out of contract." For players with contracts beyond the end of the season, nothing will change until May 31st, Peppi said. In the long term, he said, "it goes to this wider, wider theme around the kind of cultural political, social impact of football as being way more powerful than it ever has been. "And are players going to want to sign for Chelsea -- for a club like Chelsea, a club like Newcastle -- where they know the volatility of the situation with regards to the ownership structure of the football club?" British Member of Parliament Chris Bryant has previously called for Abramovich to be stripped of his ownership of Chelsea. Speaking in the House of Commons in February, Bryant quoted a leaked 2019 UK government document that identified Abramovich's alleged "links to the Russian state and his public association with corrupt activity and practices." Abramovich has always denied being linked to Putin and rejected claims that any of his activities merited government sanctions. Abramovich is worth is an estimated £9.4 billion ($12.36 billion), according to the UK government. The UK is "absolutely determined" to sanction Russian oligarchs, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said this month, adding that the UK was working through "a further list" of oligarchs to sanction. "There is nowhere for any of Putin's cronies to hide," Truss continued...

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LINK:https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/08/politics/poland-jets-ukraine-russia/index.html The Pentagon on Tuesday evening dismissed Poland's proposal floated hours earlier to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to the United States for delivery to Ukraine. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the Pentagon did not believe Poland's proposal was "tenable," just hours after Polish officials released a statement saying the government was ready to deploy all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to US Air Force's Rammstein Air Base in Germany so they could then be provided to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. "It is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it," Kirby said. "We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland's proposal is a tenable one." Kirby said that the decision about transferring Polish-owned planes to Ukraine was "ultimately one for the Polish government," adding that the proposal shows the complexities that the issue presents as Russia has made threatening statements over arms being provided to Ukrainians for use against Russian forces. The idea as laid out by Poland was too risky, Kirby said, as the US and NATO seek to avoid an outright conflict between the alliance and Russia. "The prospect of fighter jets 'at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America' departing from a U.S./NATO base in Germany to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance," Kirby said. Biden administration caught off guard The Defense Department statement was released Tuesday evening after the Polish proposal caught the Biden administration completely off guard, multiple sources told CNN. While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for more aircraft amid the Russian invasion, the offer had not been discussed with the US before making it public and Polish officials did not bring it up with Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he was recently in Poland either. US officials have privately weighed sending aircraft to Ukraine but have repeatedly noted the difficult logistical challenges of doing so. Poland's surprise announcement complicates what had already been a high-stakes visit by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is due to land in Warsaw late Wednesday. Harris had been expected to discuss the fighter jet issue while in Poland, according to officials. The White House had previously said it was in discussions with the Polish government about a plan for Poland to supply Ukraine with its Soviet-era fighter jets and the US to backfill the planes with F-16s. Harris is still scheduled to depart Wednesday morning for Poland, but now there are intensive conversations within the administration about how to work with Poland to come to some sort of agreement that allows the jets to reach Ukraine. A top State Department official said Tuesday that Poland did not consult with the United States prior to issuing its statement. "I saw that announcement by the government of Poland as I was literally driving here today," Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. Nuland noted that the US and Poland have been in consultations for a couple of days on the possibility, but added she had come to the hearing directly from a meeting "where (she) ought to have heard about." "So I think that actually was a surprise move by the Poles," Nuland told lawmakers. 'Ready to deploy' The Polish government said in a statement Tuesday that it is "ready to deploy -- immediately and free of charge -- all their MiG-29 jets to the Ramstein Air Base and place them at the disposal of the Government of the United States of America." "At the same time, Poland requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities. Poland is ready to immediately establish the conditions of purchase of the planes," the statement said. Speaking to US lawmakers virtually on Saturday, Zelensky asked for American support to facilitate the transfer of Soviet-era fighter jets from Eastern European nations to Ukraine, where pilots have been trained to fly them and could use them to attempt to control the skies as Russia conducts its war against the country. By Saturday evening, US and Polish officials were in discussions about a potential agreement to supply the country with American F-16 fighter jets in exchange for Poland sending its Russian-made jets to Ukraine. "We are working with Poland as we speak to see if we can backfill anything that they provide to the Ukrainians," Blinken said on CBS on Sunday. "But we also want to see if we can be helpful in making sure that, whatever they provide to Ukrainians, something goes to them to make up for any gap in the security for Poland that might result." On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said the Department of Defense was in "interagency" discussions to "examine" the possibility of the US sending fighter jets to other European countries if those countries choose to send fighter jets of their own to Ukraine. Prior to the apparent dismissal of Warsaw's proposal by the Biden administration, members of Congress appeared supportive of the move. During Tuesday's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin asked Nuland to ensure the Biden administration notifies Congress if there are going to be any delays getting F-16s to Poland. Two European diplomats told CNN on Tuesday, prior to the Pentagon statement, that the complicated logistics behind the idea of Poland giving the jets to Ukraine had not yet been finalized. The Polish announcement came after some Polish officials expressed frustration about how forward leaning the US was on this subject over the weekend, the sources said. "In fact, we're talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to do to backfill their needs if, in fact, they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians. What can we do? How can we help to make sure that they get something to backfill the planes that they're handing over to the Ukrainians? We're in very active discussions with them about that," Blinken said Sunday. A Polish official told CNN they believed Harris' trip would be a good time for the US to announce more details about aircraft transfers, but the Pentagon statement suggests such a possibility is unlikely. Other countries that are in talks with the US about taking part in similar transfers are conducting the conversations quietly, without raising expectations, said a central European diplomat. CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Kevin Liptak and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

LINK:https://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/article/les-hotels-abordables-pour-un-week-end-dans-le-sud-de-la-france To take advantage of the mild temperatures of spring and the Mediterranean , head for the south of France . Between revamped institution and newcomers, here are 5 charming hotels where to put your suitcases from Marseille to Nice . The South in Juan-les-Pins Between Nice and Cannes , Le Sud has taken up residence in Juan-les-Pins. Immersing its visitors in a sunny atmosphere, this new hotel was decorated by interior designer Stéphanie Lizée in a Mediterranean spirit of good taste. Po[CENSORED]ted with bespoke furniture, made by artisans from the region and colorful second-hand objects (ceramics from Vallauris, amphoras, vintage frames, wickerwork lighting, etc.), the place has 29 rooms. Cherry on the cake? The small green garden with a swimming pool where you can enjoy a homemade breakfast and the beach which is just a stone's throw away. Price: from 160 euros Book here The Hotel Amour in Nice At the head of the Hôtel Amour and Grand Amour in Paris, Emmanuel Delavenne , André Saraiva and Thierry Costes have set sail for the south of France. With the key to a new intimate hotel that has taken up residence in Nice, a stone's throw from the Negresco . Designed as a holiday villa, the place echoes the iconic past of the Riviera, while gaining in modernity. The furniture has been found, just like the mountain of books that colonize the bookcases in the rooms where soft music hums. The bathrooms have Italian showers. Telephone and television are prohibited. Another good point is its private beach which brings together striped parasols and azure deck chairs. But also a restaurant with local charm that declines the classics: Niçoise salad, pissaladière, pan bagnat... To taste with wines of character, facing the dancing swell. Price: from 98 euros Snorkel in Marseille Feet in the water of Les Goudes, a corner of Marseille renowned for its creeks and its fishing port with a Pagnolesque atmosphere, this former diving school has been transformed into TUBA , a new hotel with character. Decorated by Marion Mailaender , an architect with sure taste, who grew up, not far from there, in Le Corbusier's Cité radieuse , the place has five rooms and a restaurant. In front of a panorama of indisputable beauty, luxury resides there in an art of living with refreshing simplicity. Price: from 160 euros

LINK:https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-found-scn/index.html More than a century after it sank off the coast of Antarctica, polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship HMS Endurance has been located, apparently intact and in good condition. The ship, which sank in 1915, is 3,008 meters (1.9 miles or 9,842 feet) deep in the Weddell Sea, a pocket in the Southern Ocean along the northern coast of Antarctica, south of the Falkland Islands. The discovery was a collaboration between the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and History Hit, the content platform co-founded by historian Dan Snow. "This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation," Mensun Bound, director of exploration, said in a statement. He added: "This is a milestone in polar history." Who was Shackleton? Irish-British explorer Shackleton had a longtime obsession with the South Pole and set off on a total of four expeditions toward the White Continent. Endurance departed from the UK in 1914 and reached Antarctica's McMurdo Sound the following year on a journey called the the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. However, due to the extreme conditions, the ship got stuck amid thick, impenetrable ice in the Weddell Sea. The 28 men on board, including Shackleton himself, abandoned the Endurance and set up rudimentary camp facilities on board ice floes that were floating northward. Eventually, the team made it to the uninhabited Elephant Island, then some -- including Shackleton -- volunteered to get in a lifeboat and head toward South Georgia Island, finally crossing it on foot to reach Stromness whaling station, which was then manned by the Norwegians, and organize a rescue of the men left behind on Elephant Island. Although the expedition was a failure, the team's survival and eventual rescue months later, without any loss of life, was seen as a triumph of their tenacity and the incredible leadership skills of Shackleton. Following another expedition later in his life, Shackleton died on South Georgia Island in 1947 and is buried there. How was Endurance found? After being abandoned, Endurance eventually sank into the Weddell Sea, where she has been ever since. Its resting place is about four miles south of where Captain Frank Worsley, a New Zealander who helmed the ship, had believed it to be. The discovery team departed from Cape Town on the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. Agulhas II. Fittingly, they dubbed their ship -- and mission -- Endurance22.

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LINK:https://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/article/les-nouveaux-restaurants-a-tester-en-mars-a-paris The new taverna of the duo Justine and Giovanni Passerini was inaugurated rue Traversiere in Paris. Italian-style dining cellar, visitors will discover excellent natural wines from all over the Mediterranean, but also an effective menu from which to pick small plates to share: smoked beetroot and ricotta tartare, octopus, marinated sardines, pâté en croute or even creamy risotto, which have become the end-of-the-night rendezvous, prepared minute each evening before closing. Tawlet With Kamal Mouzawak in charge , already behind the Souk el Tayeb market and an eponymous restaurant in Beirut , Tawlet has been a magnet for fans of Lebanese cuisine since its opening . Both a grocery store and a colorful canteen, the place relies on a gargantuan buffet that brings together tabbouleh prepared according to the rules of the art, hummus, a kebbeh with tahini sauce, a zaatar bread pancake... With good local products to discover exclusively.

LINK:https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/07/judge-jan-6-probe-rights-trampled-00014808 A judge warned the Justice Department on Monday that it might be seeking to pursue so many cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Riot that some defendants’ rights were being trampled. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui delivered the stern rebuke to federal prosecutors at a hearing for a Texas man who the judge said was “lost” in the court system after being arrested in December and accused of assaulting police officers during the storming of the Capitol. “You have been lost for months,” Faruqui told Lucas Denney of Mansfield, Texas, during a hearing in a Washington courtroom. “There’s no excuse to treat a human being like that. … There is no circumstance under which any person should be forgotten.” Faruqui said the mammoth nature of the federal investigation, which has led to charges against more than 750 people, was no justification for Denney’s languishing in custody. “The government has chosen to charge the largest case ever,” said the magistrate judge, who noted he was formerly a federal prosecutor in the same U.S. Attorney’s Office leading the investigation. “If they do not have the resources to do it, they ought not do that. … It feels like the government has bitten off more than it can chew here.” “I don’t doubt that this is the largest case in the history of the Department of Justice,” Faruqui said at another point during the hourlong session on Monday. “Ultimately, that just does not matter to me. … I hope to dear God that no one else has fallen through the cracks.” Denney was arrested Dec. 13 on a criminal complaint charging that he grappled with police at the Capitol, swung a metal pole at an officer and threw projectiles at a line of police. He appeared in federal court in Del Rio, Texas, on Dec. 14 and Dec. 17. A magistrate judge there ordered Denney detained without bail and transferred to Washington, but court records show it took Denney more than six weeks, until Jan. 31, to reach a jail in Virginia where some Capitol Riot defendants are being held. However, no court appearance for Denney was scheduled for weeks after he arrived. Last week, his lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking his release and the dismissal of the charges “It is outrageous and the court should not countenance it,” said one of Denney’s attorneys, William Shipley. Prosecutors provided the court with a timeline but no real explanation for the six-week delay in getting Denney to the Washington area, nor for the more than three weeks that elapsed before anyone contacted the D.C. court to get a hearing for Denney. “I understand the concerns of the court,” New Mexico-based Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rozzoni said. Rozzoni had one announcement on Monday that complicated Denney’s bid for freedom. She told the court that a grand jury had indicted Denney on Monday on a single count related to the Jan. 6 events. “We did bring a case to the grand jury,” Rozzoni said. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article. Faruqui said he was inclined to release Denney on Monday, but the new indictment appeared to foreclose his ability to dismiss the case. “I am utterly at a loss. … I see a person’s rights that have been trampled,” the judge said. He said he was troubled by the legal precedents on the issue because they suggested there was no consequence for the government’s mishandling of the case. “We will just be doomed to repeat the same failures,” Faruqui said. He ultimately ordered Denney to remain in custody but agreed to receive written arguments from both sides on any other steps he could consider. While Shipley and Rozzoni appeared via video, Denney appeared in person in front of Faruqui on Monday, accompanied by attorney John Pierce. Denney, who wore a dark blue Northern Neck Regional Jail jumpsuit and light blue surgical mask, told the judge he appreciated his concern about the unusual delay in his case. “Thank you for taking this seriously and stuff like that,” Denney told the judge. The defendant called himself a single father and broke down briefly as he described the impact of the case on his children. “They’ve failed every grade in their school,” he said. “It’s been hard on them.” Faruqui, who was appointed as a magistrate in September 2020, profusely apologized to Denney and tried to assure him that the prosecution’s handling of the case was inadvertent, not intentional. “They’re not trying to ruin your life,” he said. “This is not the norm.” The magistrate judge’s apologies to Denney on Monday were not his first to Jan. 6 defendants. Almost a year ago, Faruqui complained about another defendant, Jonathan Mellis, taking three weeks to be moved from Virginia to D.C. Prosecutors attributed many delays to such factors as coronavirus precautions and bad weather. Faruqui used very similar language then, declaring himself “very upset” and describing the need to figure out “what the hell is going on” with the delays. The judge also announced that he was implementing a system to be sure that the situation wasn’t repeated. “The buck has got to stop somewhere and it stops with the judges,” Faruqui said last March. “Whatever little solace it is, we are going to figure out what happened and ensure it doesn’t happen to somebody else.”

LINK: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/07/europe/russia-southern-ukraine-military-analysis-intl/index.html fortnight into this war, the conflict still seems surreally distant and alarmingly beyond comprehension. Try to ask yourself "how is this happening?" and you lurch out over an abyss so profound it is beyond the reach of your senses. And even if Putin does think he can get his old empire back, how do these 13 days of savagery make that happen? The slow and clumsy Russian campaign for the south has been the most baffling. It is clear what Moscow wants: To cut off Ukraine's access to the Black Sea. What is hard to fathom is whether the Kremlin's plan to get it has collapsed, and Russian troops are just throwing rockets and tanks at anything they can, or whether this sort of total war against Ukrainians was always the plan. Some 24 hours later, at the same spot, Ukrainian troops had found time to graffiti the unexploded rockets that landed around them with anti-Putin abuse, and the Russians had been pushed further back down the road. Farmers were clambering over an abandoned T90 tank, trying to get it started and quite quickly diagnosing it had a steering problem. That, and the tank having been trapped the ruins of a collapsed bridge, perhaps explains why it had been abandoned. But this was not a rare occasion. On Sunday, the regional governor Vitali Kim posted a video of himself inside another captured Russian Tigr vehicle. Another video showed what seemed to be a significant Russian artillery unit in flames, destroyed or abandoned. The person filming joked that the scarred machines' remains were what "is what's left of our 'brothers,' the ones that came to 'save us'" -- a reference to Moscow's gibberish assertion that it is engaged in a special operation to demilitarize and "de-Nazify" Ukrainians subjugated under a vile regime. The Kremlin's propaganda -- for years something so concentrated and cynical that it found its way into the information ecosystem, and even turned some souls -- is dismissed with the same disregard with which it was authored. It really is just nonsense, and it is refreshing to see most sensible media not even give it oxygen. Odessa is the prize on the coast. On Monday morning as the city was blasted with horizontal snow, the sirens rang out, enflaming residents' fears of a Russian amphibious landing. Those last three words sound ridiculous here, in a city with hipster dumpling stores hidden in stairwells, and a series of road signs that tell any new Russian arrivals to "f**k off" (straight ahead), "also to f**k off" (left) and to "f**k off back to Russia" (right). The entire Russian project in Ukraine is the stuff of a malarial nightmare. Putin's plan still doesn't make sense. Did the Kremlin genuinely think that Ukraine would collapse in a week, its citizens welcoming them in? If so, then why has the strategy swung so rapidly toward a form of collective punishment once it became clear they were not welcome at all? Was there no plan for something in between appreciation and annihilation? Why are the Russian units we see trying again and again to hit the same targets, often using very similar approaches? Why are so many abandoning their vehicles and accepting capture? And why is the Russian air force, for years flaunted as Putin's new hi-tech toy, proving so very ineffective? There is a temptation to seek rational answers to these questions. The reason we are in this dark place is the failure of the rational to dominate in the Kremlin. We just do not know how far Putin -- who over the course of two weeks has tried to encircle a capital city, placed his strategic nuclear defenses on a higher level of alert, used cluster munitions and attacked a nuclear power plant -- will go. Again and again, the war fails to make sense. It seems to be outside the reaches of what I thought our shared reality was. We can only hope it does not stay that way.

LINK: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/montana-gov-gianforte-hunts-kills-national-park-service-tracked-mounta-rcna18184 Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte shot and killed a mountain lion that was being tracked by the National Park Service in December, his second such hunt of a monitored animal that ventured outside the protected areas of Yellowstone National Park. The Republican governor “had a valid mountain lion license, treed a lion on public land in Park County and harvested it,” his spokesperson, Brooke Stroyke, said, adding that dogs were used in the hunt and drove the lion up the tree. “As the group got closer to the lion, members of the group, who have a hound training license, used four hounds to tree the lion once the track was discovered in a creek bottom on public land," Stroyke said. "After the lion was treed, the governor confirmed the mountain lion was a [male], harvested it and put his tag on it. He immediately called to report the legal harvest and then the [Fish, Wildlife & Parks] game warden.” The Dec. 28 hunt, which was first reported by the Washington Post, was legal, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks spokesperson Greg Lemon said in an email. "Mountain lion hunting has a strong history in Montana, and mountain lion hunters are some of the elusive predators’ strongest advocates and those most engaged in how lions are managed across the state," Lemon wrote. News of the governor's hunt broke on the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone, the 2.2 million-acre park that was the first in the National Park System. Federal law prohibits hunting and the discharging of firearms in Yellowstone. However, animals leaving the park are routinely hunted on non-protected lands in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Nearly 190 bison were killed during the 2020-21 winter after migrating out of the park into Montana. In 2021, Gianforte told the Helena Independent Record that he "made a mistake" after he trapped and killed a Montana black wolf that was also tagged in Yellowstone before he completed the required state certification. Gianforte told the paper at that time that he probably had spent "over 40 days invested over five years attempting to harvest a wolf."

LINK: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/07/politics/pence-ad-ukraine-energy/index.html Mike Pence's advocacy group has launched a $10 million ad campaign hitting the Biden administration on US energy policy and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The large ad buy is the first by Pence's Advancing American Freedom and targets 16 vulnerable House Democrats in 11 states. The 30-second spot opens with video of Russian military attacks on Ukraine before a voiceover criticizes President Joe Biden for revoking a permit last year to halt the building of a major oil pipeline, blaming that decision for increasing America's reliance on Russian oil. The ad says the decision is "endangering America's security and helping Russia fund their invasion." A person close to Advancing American Freedom said the ads were made by veteran GOP firm BrabenderCox and that the campaign could expand to focus on additional Democratic House members. Axios first reported on the new ad campaign. Pence does not appear in the ad, but the purchase is a significant foray into the 2022 midterm campaign for the former Republican vice president. The focus on Russia's invasion also follows on Pence's recent efforts to distinguish himself on the issue as he prepares for a possible White House run in 2024, particularly from his onetime running mate, former President Donald Trump. While addressing donors to the Republican National Committee on Friday, Pence condemned Republican "apologists" who have used positive language to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin. "There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin. There is only room for champions of freedom," Pence said at a retreat in New Orleans. The line received applause from donors who were gathered for a Republican National Committee retreat in New Orleans. Pence also urged the Biden administration to increase sanctions on Russia. The speech was something of a rebuttal to Trump, who has praised Putin in recent days as "smart" and called his invasion of Ukraine "genius." In addition to forging a different path from Trump on Ukraine, Pence has begun speaking out more directly against Trump, particularly around the issues involving the 2020 election and what led to the riot on January 6, 2021. In a speech in Florida last month for conservative lawyers, he said Trump was "wrong" to suggest Pence could have done anything to change or delay the counting of electoral votes. He condemned the idea as "un-American" and warned Trump's position could be problematic for Republicans in the next presidential contest. "Under the Constitution, I had no right to change the outcome of our election, and (Vice President) Kamala Harris will have no right to overturn the election when we beat them in 2024," Pence said. Beyond drawing these contrasts with Trump, Pence has been building up an independent brand as a loyal team player for the Republican Party. For the last year, he has raised money for Republican candidates across the country, with a particular focus on helping the GOP win the majority in the House and more governor's seats in the upcoming midterm elections. CNN's Gabby Orr, Steve Contorno and Eric Bradner contributed to this story.

LINK:https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/60561184 Excluding Russian athletes from sport because the country invaded Ukraine is an "unfair solution", says ex-Formula 1 driver Daniil Kvyat. The sport's governing body, the FIA, is staging an emergency meeting on Tuesday to "discuss matters relating to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine". It will determine whether F1's only current Russian driver, Nikita Mazepin, can compete for his team, Haas. Russian Kvyat is due to compete in the World Endurance Championship this year. The 27-year-old said "sport should remain outside politics" and banning Russian athletes "goes against what sport teaches us in principle: the unity and peace". Fifa and Uefa suspend all Russian clubs and national teams Russian Grand Prix cancelled following invasion of Ukraine Russia awaits decision on Winter Paralympics involvement The International Olympic Committee has called for Russian and Belarussian athletes to be prevented from competing in international events. The Russian Grand Prix, due to take place on 25 September in Sochi, was cancelled last week. "I really hope for a peaceful solution to this situation in Ukraine, and that we can all live in peace," said Kvyat. "Who else if not us sports people will help to glue nations together in the upcoming times?" Haas removed the branding of its title partner, Uralkali, for the final day of the pre-season test in Barcelona last week. The Russian fertiliser company is part-owned by oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, the father of F1 driver Nikita.

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LINK:https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/04/politics/joe-biden-poll-state-of-the-union/index.html t's been a rough month -- and, really, year -- for President Joe Biden. Beset by the Omicron variant, high inflation and the uncertainty in Ukraine, Biden's poll numbers have lagged badly, with his approval ratings stuck in the low 40s. A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll suggests that all might be changing. Biden's overall job approval rating among Americans is at 47% in the survey, up 8 points from where he was in the same poll last month. That bump is reflected in individual issues too. A majority (52%) of Americans now approve of how Biden is handling the situation with Russia and Ukraine -- up 18(!) points from last month. On Covid-19, 55% now approve of the way he is handling the pandemic, up 8 points from last month. And 45% approve of his handling of the economy, a 9-point increase. Some of that positive movement can be attributed to Biden's State of the Union speech earlier this week. It was generally well-received, and anytime a president has the bully pulpit for an hour in prime time, it's usually a good thing for him. But there are several other threads beyond a temporary State of the Union bump that suggest a Biden comeback could be in the works. 1) His handling of the Ukraine situation -- leading an international coalition against Russia and imposing harsh economic sanctions all while refusing to commit American military forces -- has won him positive reviews from Democrats and Republicans. 2) The US economy is clearly moving in the right direction -- and fast. An eye-popping 678,000 jobs were added in February alone. The unemployment rate is now down to 3.8%, the lowest it's been in two years. 3) Covid-19 is in retreat. Average daily case numbers are down to around 55,000 nationally, and a slew of states are getting rid of indoor mask mandates -- making "normal" seem a whole lot more attainable. Now, it's worth noting that if the past two presidencies -- Barack Obama and Donald Trump -- have taught us anything, it's that partisanship has hardened in the electorate. That trend leaves fewer independents and fence-sitters whose opinions of Biden can change based on external events. That said, Biden's numbers earlier in his term were in the mid-50s -- he was at 54% approval in Gallup polling at roughly this time last year -- which means some elasticity remains in the electorate. The Point: Democrats on the ballot this November have to hope this represents a real turning point for Biden and not just a false positive. If his numbers remain anywhere close to the low 40s, the 2022 election is going to be a wipeout for his party.

LINK:https://www.linternaute.fr/auto/guide-pratique-auto/1408702-voiture-electrique-de-nouveaux-avantages-a-l-achat-prix-autonomie/ ELECTRIC CAR - More and more French people are going electric and the government is putting in place many aids to pass this course. What are the advantages of driving an electric car? We take stock in this special file. Renault Zoé , Peugeot e-208, Fiat 500, Tesla or why not the small electric city car Citroën Ami you want but are hesitant to go electric? This complete page on the electric car is therefore made for you. Selections of models, prices, tax and economic benefits, daily boosts or even autonomy figures, we have compiled all the information you need to help you decide! Why choose an electric car? One of the biggest advantages of the electric car is obviously the savings that this model can generate compared to gasoline. No need to go to the pump and spend between 50 and 80 euros for a full tank, recharging via the terminals, or via your personal installation will be cheaper for you. To encourage the transition to the electric car and support the ecological bonus, more and more terminals are present. Another plus point is reliability. In theory, you will change your tires as often as gasoline, but for the rest, you can accumulate hundreds of thousands of kilometers without fail. Finally, a last advantage and not the least can make you switch to the world of electricity, ecology. Indeed, thanks to its operation, an electric car does not emit chemical pollutants and does not reject CO2. In particular, this allows the different models to have no traffic restrictions during pollution peaks that certain areas may experience.

LINK: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60638042 Russia is striking civilian targets in Ukraine, including hospitals, nurseries, and schools, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister has said. Olha Stefanishyna told the BBC that, after "strong resistance" from the Ukrainian army, there was an "enormous operation" by Russia against civilians. She accused Russia of a "terroristic plan", with attacks coming from the air and also by land. The World Health Organization also said health facilities are being attacked. "The WHO has confirmed several attacks on health care in Ukraine, causing multiple deaths and injuries," the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday. The British government has accused Russia of targeting po[CENSORED]ted areas "in multiple locations". "Russia has previously used similar tactics in Chechnya in 1999 and Syria in 2016, employing both air and ground-based munitions," the UK said in an intelligence update. On Saturday, UN monitors said 351 civilian deaths had been confirmed in Ukraine since the invasion began on 24 February, but the real figure was likely to be "considerably higher". The UNHCR said more than 1.5m people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded. But Russia denies targeting civilians - saying it is carrying out a "special military operation" against Ukrainian "nationalists" and "neo-Nazis". Meanwhile, more than 1,700 people were detained across 44 Russian cities on Sunday at anti-war protests, the monitoring group OVD-Info said. Ms Stefanishyna - who was speaking to BBC TV's Sunday Morning programme - accused Russia of "military tactics right in the cities of Ukraine". "Shelled hospitals, the shelled houses for kindergartens and schools, and the ordinary households," she said. "This is how the reality looks." She said Ukraine was seeing "another wave of implementation of this terroristic plan of [the] Russian Federation". Ms Stefanishyna claimed Russia was suffering "enormous losses" of soldiers and equipment, but this "does not deter Russia". "It only encourages further aggression," she said.

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LINK:https://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/article/lhotel-rosewood-le-guanahani-a-saint-barthelemy Water sports enthusiasts meet at the beach. At the crossroads of the ocean and the lagoon, they go snorkeling, to admire rainbow fish and turtles, paddle, kayak, when they are not simply enjoying a sunbath. At lunchtime, it is time to reach the Beach House . Restaurant feet in the sand led by chef Riccardo Schievano . Inspired by the local terroir and Mediterranean-style mezes, the menu brings together ceviches with coconut milk, a smoked baba ganoush, a watermelon salad or even grilled fish, to be enjoyed with a glass of rosé in hand. Larger and prettier, the new swimming pool, just a stone's throw away, allows you to swim in front of the waves. While the new bar allows you to sip a cocktail in the shade of the shutters as the sun goes down. The icing on the cake, the Sense spa draws on the nature of the archipelago to establish soaring protocols, which allow you to beat jet lag or reconnect your good energies. Like the Evasion treatment at Le Morne , which combines a sports session on the small rocky mountain opposite the hotel (the famous Morne) followed by a wrap based on aloe vera, acupuncture points on the legs and a head and scalp massage.

LINK: https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-05-22/index.html Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Saturday that Russian forces have "advanced in some directions" but that Ukrainian defenders are "countering and ousting the occupiers." "Obviously, the enemy has advanced in some directions, however, it controls only small areas. Our defenders are severely countering and ousting the occupiers," he said in a statement, adding that because of the "slow-down of the offensive pace and resistance of the Ukrainians, Russia is changing tactics." "As of today, the Ukrainian sky is the most vulnerable," he said. "The aggressor uses its aerial and missile potential comprehensively and actively. All types of aviation are bombing our cities, towns and civilian infrastructure, including critical infrastructure and dangerous infrastructure, among them -- nuclear and hydro power plants." Reznikov said Russian forces were targeting residential apartment buildings, schools, kindergartens and hospitals. "The enemy is destroying churches and cathedrals. It is shelling railway stations with thousands of evacuating women and children," he said. "These are the tactics of frightened jackals," he said. "I am confident that the enemy will pay for every life and for every tear." Reznikov said Mariupol, Volnovakha, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mykolayiv and Kherson are among the cities where currently the situation is "most complex," adding: "We really hope that the humanitarian corridor will work and we will be able to evacuate civilians." Reznikov said the main efforts of the Russian forces continue to be focused on the encirclement of Kyiv and suppressing resistance in cities and towns. Some context: Russia routinely denies causing civilian casualties in Ukraine. International media and observers have extensively documented civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.