Russia mourns victims of deadly concert hall attack as families of missing face anxious wait
Russia is holding a day of national mourning following Friday’s concert hall massacre near Moscow, as relatives of the missing face an anxious wait to see if their loved ones survived the gun rampage.
Public events have been cancelled and flags are being flown at half-mast following the deadliest attack on the country’s soil in two decades.
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IS-K release footage of Moscow attack
Across the capital, billboards carried a picture of a single candle, the date of the assault and the words “We mourn”.
Politics live: Chancellor says Russia creating ‘smokescreen of propaganda’ after Moscow attack
Thousands of flowers have also been left at a makeshift memorial near the Crocus City Hall music venue where 137 people were killed, including three children, and more than 150 were injured by heavily-armed gunmen.
Emergency crews comb the debris. Pic: Reuters
As emergency crews continue to search the fire-ravaged building, some families still do not know if their relatives who went to the rock concert are alive.
Igor Pogadaev has been trying to find his wife after she stopped responding to his messages after going to the gig.
He said: “I went around, searched, I asked everyone, I showed photographs. No one saw anything, no one could say anything.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought to tie Ukraine to the “bloody, barbaric terrorist act”, despite Islamic State’s Afghanistan affiliate – IS-K – claiming responsibility.
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Putin vows to ‘punish’ terrorists
The four suspected attackers are among 11 people arrested in connection with the atrocity by Russian authorities.
Making no mention of the Islamist terror group, Mr Putin claimed they were captured while trying to escape to Ukraine through a “window” prepared for them across the border.
The war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion of the country, recently entered its third year.
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Zelenskyy: Russia blaming Ukraine ‘predictable’
Russian media broadcast videos that appeared to show the detention and violent interrogation of the suspects.
The men were from Tajikistan, according to reports. The predominantly Muslim former Soviet country is in central Asia and borders Afghanistan.
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The suspects have been brought to Moscow and although no legal hearing has been officially announced, there was a heavy police presence around the capital’s Basmanny District Court on Sunday.
Ukraine has strongly denied any involvement in the attack, with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying it was typical of the Russian leader and “other thugs” to seek to divert blame.
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IS has released on its Telegram channels what it said was footage of the attack.
The White House said the US government had shared information with Russia early this month about a planned attack in Moscow, and issued a public advisory to Americans in the country on 7 March.
US intelligence officials said they had confirmed the IS affiliate’s claim.
“There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.
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Hunt: ‘Little confidence’ in Kremlin claims
Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “We have very little confidence in anything the Russian government says.
“We know that they are creating a smokescreen of propaganda to defend an utterly evil invasion of Ukraine.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s not a tragedy when innocent people lose their lives… But I take what the Russian government says with an enormous pinch of salt.”
The attack happened just days after Mr Putin secured his grip on power for another six years in a vote that followed the harshest crackdown on dissent since the Soviet era.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former “thug” and “pit bull”, has been accused of lying about a phone call he says he made to the former US president about payments to ex porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen, a lawyer who worked for the Trump Organisation from 2006 to 2017, has been giving evidence in the case about hush money payments to Ms Daniels – in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, called into question an important detail – a phone call made by Cohen to Trump’s assistant, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016.
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Cohen, 57, has maintained that during that call he spoke to Trump (who was either given the phone by Mr Schiller or placed on loudspeaker – we don’t know which) and told him he had paid Ms Daniels $130,000 in hush money on his behalf.
But Mr Blanche called this into doubt – showing the jury a number of interactions suggesting Cohen was in contact with Mr Schiller about a different issue at the same time, namely that he was receiving harassing phone calls and texts from a 14-year-old child.
“That was a lie – you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller about what we just went through,” Mr Blanche said.
Cohen said that, based on his records, he believes he spoke to Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter.
“We are not asking for your belief,” Mr Blanche said. “This jury does not want to hear what you think happened.”
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Donald Trump in court on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
That exchange was part of several hours of questioning which apparently sought to paint a picture of Cohen as someone who is eager to see his former boss behind bars.
Mr Blanche played jurors audio clips of Cohen saying the case “fills me with delight” and that imagining Trump and his family in prison made him feel “giddy with hope and laughter”.
“Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?” Mr Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Cohen replied. He is due to return to the witness stand on Monday.
Michael Cohen (right) was Donald Trump’s fixer. Pic: AP
Cohen worked as the former president’s fixer. He once described himself as Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer”.
He once said he would take a bullet for his boss and admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Trump.
Hush money payouts are not illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.
Cristiano Ronaldo has topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes for the fourth time in his career.
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm took second place following his switch to Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Ronaldo became the world’s highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr and Forbes said the 39-year-old’s estimated total earnings were around $260m (£205m) – an all-time high for a football player.
Jon Rahm came in second. Pic: Jeff Faughender/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
His on-field earnings amounted to $200m (£158m) while off-field he earned $60m (£47m) thanks to sponsorship deals where brands make use of his 629 million Instagram followers.
Rahm earned $218m (£172m) and joins Ronaldo as the only two athletes to earn over $200m.
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi. Pic: David Kirouac/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
Third on the list is record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who switched to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, which helped the Argentine World Cup winner earn $135m (£107m).
The 36-year-old earned $65m (£51m) in on-field earnings but $70m (£55m) off it from deals with major sponsors such as Adidas and Apple.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James came in fourth at $128m (£101m), while fellow NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks made fifth with $111m (£88m).
France football captain Kylian Mbappe dropped down to sixth with $110m (£87m).
Neymar, who also moved to the Saudi Pro League to join Al-Hilal, is seventh with $108m (£85m), despite sitting out the majority of the season with a torn ACL.
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French striker Karim Benzema, who also moved to Saudi Arabia, is eighth on the list with $106m (£84m), followed by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry with $102m (£80m).
Lamar Jackson is the only NFL player on the list, in 10th place with $101m (£80m), thanks to the signing bonus negotiated into his new Baltimore Ravens contract last year.
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