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Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree tightening security for a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia after an explosion caused part of it to collapse.

Damage to the bridge has hampered an important supply route for the Kremlin’s war in southern Ukraine and represents a strike on a symbol of Russian power in the region.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the blast, which killed three people.

It comes as a search and rescue operation is underway in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia after Russian shelling hit apartment buildings, killing at least 12 people in the early hours of Sunday.

Zelenskyy adviser calls blast ‘the beginning’ – latest updates

Russian divers will examine the damage caused to the bridge over the Kerch Strait on Sunday.

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said a truck bomb caused seven railway cars carrying fuel to catch fire, resulting in the “partial collapse of two sections of the bridge”.

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A man and a woman riding in a vehicle on the bridge were killed, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. It did not say who the third victim was.

All vehicles crossing the bridge are supposed to undergo state-of-the-art checks for explosives.

The truck that exploded was owned by a resident of the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, the Investigative Committee said. It said his home was searched and experts were investigating the truck’s route.

Russian authorities have said the attack was a “terrorist action” carried out by Ukraine.

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Why is the Crimean Bridge attack significant?

Train and vehicle traffic over the bridge was temporarily suspended though vehicle traffic resumed on Saturday afternoon on one of the two links that remained intact, said Crimea’s Russian-backed leader Sergey Aksyonov.

Rail traffic was resuming slowly, with two passenger trains leaving the Crimean cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol and heading towards the bridge on Saturday evening.

Mr Putin has put Russia’s federal security service, the FSB, in charge of security for the bridge and energy infrastructure between Crimea and Russia.

The bridge was partially destroyed

Hours after the explosion Russia’s defence ministry announced the air force chief, General Sergei Surovikin, would now command Russian troops in Ukraine. He has previously led Russian forces in Syria and has been accused of overseeing a bombardment that destroyed much of Aleppo.

The 12-mile (19km) Kerch Bridge, which sits on a strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, is vital for sustaining Russia’s military supply lines in southern Ukraine.

Mr Putin himself presided over the opening of the £3.5bn bridge, the longest in Europe, in 2018.

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2018: When Putin opened Crimea bridge

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indirectly acknowledged the attack on the bridge but did not address its cause.

Meanwhile, a search and rescue operation is underway in the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Overnight, Russian shells hit apartment buildings, with at least 12 people killed.

Since then, however, the office of the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces has said “dozens” were killed or injured.

Rescuers work at a site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 9, 2022
Rescuers work at a site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 9, 2022

The city is in the Ukrainian-controlled part of a region annexed by Mr Putin last week – a move not recognised by other world powers.

City council secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said at least five private houses were destroyed and around 40 were damaged.

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Donald Trump confirms Mexico and Canada tariffs – prompting a stock sell-off

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Donald Trump confirms Mexico and Canada tariffs - prompting a stock sell-off

Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada have come into effect, as has an additional 10% on Chinese products, bringing the total import tax to 20%.

The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US and European stocks down sharply.

The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.

Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”

There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.

Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.

And tariffs on Chinese imports have doubled, raising them from 10% to 20%.

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Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.

China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and
“bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.

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What is America’s trade position?

Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America, prompting a financial market sell-off.

Stock market indexes the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.48% and 2.64% respectively on Monday.

The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.

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Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.

Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.

This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.

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The Trump administration is gearing up to bring in other tariffs in the coming weeks.

On 2 April, reciprocal tariffs will take effect on all countries that impose duties on US products.

He is also considering 25% tariffs on goods from the EU “very soon” after claiming the bloc was created to “screw the United States”.

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More than 30 killed in Bolivia bus crash – second deadly collision within days

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More than 30 killed in Bolivia bus crash - second deadly collision within days

A truck has collided with a bus in southern Bolivia, killing at least 31 people, according to police – just two days after a deadly crash claimed at least 37 lives.

Officers said the bus rolled some 500m (1,640ft) down a ravine after the collision on Monday, which took place on the highway between Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano, and the highland mining city of Potosi.

The driver of the truck has been arrested, while the cause of the accident is under investigation.

Police spokesperson Limbert Choque said men and women were among the dead, and 22 people suffered injuries.

** on right of picture are bodies ** First responders work at the site after a crash between a vehicle and a bus along a highway in Lenas, Potosi, southern Bolivia, March 3, 2025, in this handout image obtained from social media. Bolivia's Attorney General/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT
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Rescue teams operating at the site of the crash. Pic: Bolivia’s attorney general/Reuters

Bolivia’s President, Luis Arce, expressed condolences for the victims on social media: “This unfortunate event must be investigated to establish responsibilities,” he said in a post on Facebook.

“We send our most sincere condolences to the bereaved families, wishing them the necessary strength to face these difficult times.”

Map showing location of collision, which took place on the highway between Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano, and the highland mining city of Potosi.
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The crash happened between Oruro and Potosi

On Saturday morning, a crash between two buses killed more than three dozen people in the same region.

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It happened between Colchani and the city of Uyuni, a major tourist attraction and the world’s largest salt flat.

People stand near the wreckage of one of the two buses involved in the crash.
Pic: Reuters/Potosi Departmental Command
Image:
People stand near the wreckage of one of the two buses involved in a crash on Saturday. Pic: Reuters/Potosi Departmental Command

Coincidentally, one of the buses was heading to Oruro, where one of the most important carnival celebrations in Latin America is currently taking place.

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More than 30 people were also killed after a bus crash on 17 February.

In that crash, police said the driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to drop more than 800m (2,600ft) off a precipice in the southwestern area of Yocalla.

Bolivia’s mountainous, undermaintained and poorly supervised roads are some of the deadliest in the world, claiming an average 1,400 fatalities every year.

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The Pope has had ‘two episodes of acute respiratory failure’, Vatican says

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The Pope has had 'two episodes of acute respiratory failure', Vatican says

The Pope has had two episodes of “acute respiratory failure”, the Vatican has said.

The 88-year-old has been in hospital since 14 February with a severe respiratory infection that triggered other complications.

The Vatican said the respiratory failures were caused by “significant accumulation” of mucus in his lungs and a “bronchospasm”, akin to an asthma attack.

Doctors were then required to perform two bronchoscopies – a test which sees medics use a long, thin, telescope with a light to look into the lungs – to evaluate the Pope’s air passages, the statement said.

“In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed,” the Vatican continued. “The Holy Father has always remained vigilant, oriented and collaborative. The prognosis remains reserved.”

Vatican sources said the situation had been calm this morning, before becoming worse this afternoon.

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Behind the scenes at the Vatican

The respiratory issues the Pope suffered today are due to an ongoing infection rather than a new one but he is not out of danger, they added.

Asked if the Pope is in good spirits, they gave no answer. When asked if the Vatican’s apartment is getting ready to welcome Francis back, the source said it was too premature to discuss this.

His clinical picture remains complex, they said.

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Earlier on Monday, Pope Francis issued a written message after Vatican officials begged him to let his voice be heard following more than two weeks out of public view.

He thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, before praying for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.

“From here, war appears even more absurd,” he wrote.

Catholic faithful attend a nightly rosary prayer for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
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People at a nightly rosary prayer for the Pope in St. Peter’s Square yesterday evening. Pic: AP

This has become the longest public absence of his 12-year papacy.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski presided over the evening rosary prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday night.

“Let us pray together with the entire church for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” he said.

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