A 23-year-old man from Central Asia is believed to have been behind two bombs on the St Petersburg Metro.
The first bomb was detonated on a train between Sennaya Square and Technological Institute, two busy stations in the centre of the Russian city on Monday afternoon.
At least 11 people were killed and dozens were injured in what is believed to have been a suicide attack.
Russia's anti-terror agency said that less than two hours later, a second bomb was found and deactivated at Vosstaniya Square, a station that is a major transfer point for two Metro lines and also serves the rail line to Moscow.
That bomb, which was disguised as a fire extinguisher, was filled with shrapnel and more than three times the size of the first explosive.
The Interfax news agency cited an unidentified law enforcement official as saying that the suspected suicide bomber is believed to have left the larger bomb at Vosstaniya Square before blowing himself up on the train using the first bomb, which he carried in a backpack.
:: Why Russian metro attack could have been much worse
He is believed to have links to radical Islamist groups, although a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin would not comment, saying it was up to law enforcement agencies to talk about the investigation.
Intelligence agencies In Kyrgyzstan said the likely suspect was a Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said US President Donald Trump called Mr Putin to pass on his condolences following the attack.
In a statement, the Kremlin said Mr Trump had also asked Mr Putin to convey his support for the Russian people and that Mr Putin had thanked his American counterpart for the expression of solidarity.
A White House statement said that Mr Trump had "offered the full support of the US government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice".
Mr Putin was among those to visit an improvised memorial near the entrance to the Technological Institute station on Monday evening.
Earlier he told Russians that law enforcement and intelligence agencies were working to "give a full picture of what happened".
He promised help for victims of the explosion and their families.
:: Video shows desperate struggle after Metro blast
The UN Security Council has also condemned "in the strongest terms the barbaric and cowardly terrorist attack" in Russia's second city.
Monday, April 3, 2017
PM would win 100-seat majority in snap election, says influential pollster
Theresa May would be on course for a 100-seat majority if she called a snap general election this year, according to an influential pollster.
Elections analyst Robert Hayward told Sky News the Tories would surge to victory if Mrs May went to the country in the coming months, fresh from triggering Article 50.
The party could lose up to 15 seats to the Liberal Democrats, his projections suggest, but make major gains from Labour and could take a handful of seats from the Scottish Nationalists.
Lord Hayward said: "My expectation is if there was an election this year - and I don't expect there will be one - the Tory majority would be towards 100."
Mrs May has repeatedly played down the chances of a snap poll and last month her spokesman told journalists: "It isn't going to happen."
But reports suggest potential dates have been discussed by cabinet ministers, and this weekend the Labour Party was reported to have been building a funding war chest to fight one.
Lord Hayward, a former Conservative MP in Bristol, also predicted a catastrophic night for Labour in May's local elections, with losses of around 125 seats to all parties.
It is highly unusual for the main opposition party not to make gains in local elections. He predicted Labour could be on course for its worst election results since 1985 after the damaging SDP split.
Sky Views: How to start a war with North Korea
President Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy was simple: "Speak softly, and carry a big stick."
Big Stick diplomacy, the combination of negotiation with visible US firepower, won him the Panama Canal, and later the Nobel Peace Prize, for his part in the peace treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese war.
So far, President Trump seems to be going for more of a - tweet volubly, and confuse your allies - approach.
This is not necessarily a function of time in office - Roosevelt set out his policy two weeks before becoming president.
This matters as it may shortly be put to the test.
There is renewed activity at North Korea's nuclear test site - another test may be imminent.
The Kim regime claims to be in the final stages of being able to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of reaching the US mainland.
This is on top of the two nuclear tests, 20 missile tests, and long-range rocket launch it carried out last year, and in spite of renewed sanctions and international condemnation.
If the Trump administration has a plan - it has yet to be articulated.
In Seoul last month, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said all options were on the table, including pre-emptive military strikes, while thousands of US troops took part in large-scale military exercises with South Korea, reportedly including the Navy Seal team that killed Osama Bin Laden.
At the same time, he told the North Korean leadership it had nothing to fear from the United States.
You don't need to be a paranoid despot to spot the contradictions.
Donald Trump, meanwhile, has tweeted that North Korea's intercontinental ballistic test "won't happen" and said that Kim Jong-Un is behaving "very, very badly" but has yet to lay out much more of his thinking on the subject, beyond his frustration at a perceived lack of help from China.
To be fair to the president, successive administrations have grappled with, and failed at, this before his.
There are no good options, but the window for buck-passing is closing.
More sanctions could be imposed, but North Korea is already one of the world's most sanctioned and isolated states.
The country has survived significantly worse in relatively recent memory. Up to 2.5 million of its citizens died in the famine of the mid-1990s, the true figure remains unknown.
There is also an an argument that the harder life gets, the more threatened the regime feels, the more it will choose weapons over bread.
So what of the headline-grabbing threat of military strikes?
Much like the myth of the "surgical strike" - pre-emptive strikes sound proportionate and manageable - a calculated response to a known threat, carried out by precision weapons systems from a distance, with no US troops on the ground.
The reality would likely be very different.
Following Mr Tillerson's comments, a number of analysts have imagined how this would play out - I have yet to read a scenario that does not include massive retaliation from North Korea, huge loss of civilian life, and the very real risk of the resumption of large-scale conventional war on the Korean peninsula.
So unless you're comfortable starting a war, or watching Kim Jong-Un figure out a way to mount his nuclear weapons onto intercontinental ballistic missiles while we wait for the sanctions to kick in, that leaves negotiation.
It might be unpalatable, and risk the appearance of capitulation to nuclear blackmail, but at this stage it also looks like the least worst option.
And who knows, maybe there's a way for the "dealmaker" president to spin it as the ultimate deal.
Why Russian metro attack could have been much worse
It did not take officials at the Russian General prosecutor's office long to declare the St Petersburg metro blast a terrorist attack.
The explosion, which took place at 3pm local time on the line running through the central Sennaya Ploshchad station, was caused by one, relatively small device consisting of 200g-300g of explosive material and metallic shrapnel.
Contrary to initial reports in the Russian media, there was only one explosion but the national anti-terrorism committee, made up of officials from parliament and the security services, said an additional, unexploded bomb was later found in a carriage at Ploshchad Vosstaniya.
This device was much larger at 1kg and designed to look like a fire extinguisher. It now appears this tragic event could have been much worse.
Unsurprisingly, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said investigators would "prioritise terrorism" as they searched for the cause and told waiting reporters he had already been briefed by the head of the federal security service , or FSB.
The leader was in St Petersburg at the time, preparing for a meeting with the Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko.
"Unfortunately, we have to start our meeting like this," he told waiting reporters. "I have instructed the city authorities to give all the required support to families of the victims."
The Russian state maintains a formidable security infrastructure - resources that Mr Putin will now direct at uncovering the culprits of an attack that has killed at least 10.
However, it unlikely this explosion will have come as a surprise to members of the country's intelligence services.
As in other parts of Europe, Russian civilians and Russian cities are potential targets for so-called Islamic State.
We know that because members of IS have published videos online, in the Russian language, threatening revenge for Russia's role in Syria as Bashar al Assad's principle backer.
The leader was in St Petersburg at the time, preparing for a meeting with the Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko.
"Unfortunately, we have to start our meeting like this," he told waiting reporters. "I have instructed the city authorities to give all the required support to families of the victims."
The Russian state maintains a formidable security infrastructure - resources that Mr Putin will now direct at uncovering the culprits of an attack that has killed at least 10.
However, it unlikely this explosion will have come as a surprise to members of the country's intelligence services.
As in other parts of Europe, Russian civilians and Russian cities are potential targets for so-called Islamic State.
We know that because members of IS have published videos online, in the Russian language, threatening revenge for Russia's role in Syria as Bashar al Assad's principle backer.
IS claimed responsibility for the deaths of 219 Russians travelling home from Egypt in an airliner operated by Metrojet in 2015.
The aircraft blew up 23 minutes after take-off from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Investigators later said a large bomb had been loaded in the luggage hold.
On Russian soil, two separate suicide attacks in the city of Volgograd took the lives of 34 in 2013.
The bombers claimed responsibility, in Russian, in the name of the "Caucasus Emirate" - an Islamic separatist group, but terrorist attacks in Russia have been relatively rare in recent years.
By means of explanation, analysts believe thousands of men active in extremist circles have travelled south in order to fight with IS and other groups in Syria and Iraq.
Mr Putin has justified his country's actions in Syria in this context - better to fight an estimated 7,000 extremists from the ex-Soviet republics in the Middle East, he says, than to wage war with them at home.
Still, Russia's expansive and highly risky foreign IS claimed responsibility for the deaths of 219 Russians travelling home from Egypt in an airliner operated by Metrojet in 2015.
The aircraft blew up 23 minutes after take-off from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Investigators later said a large bomb had been loaded in the luggage hold.
On Russian soil, two separate suicide attacks in the city of Volgograd took the lives of 34 in 2013.
The bombers claimed responsibility, in Russian, in the name of the "Caucasus Emirate" - an Islamic separatist group, but terrorist attacks in Russia have been relatively rare in recent years.
By means of explanation, analysts believe thousands of men active in extremist circles have travelled south in order to fight with IS and other groups in Syria and Iraq.
Mr Putin has justified his country's actions in Syria in this context - better to fight an estimated 7,000 extremists from the ex-Soviet republics in the Middle East, he says, than to wage war with them at home.
Still, Russia's expansive and highly risky foreign policy has created plenty of enemies - the sort of people who may wish to do him and his countrymen harm.
And the bombs on the St Petersburg metro system serve as a reminder to all that Mr Putin's Russia is vulnerable too.policy has created plenty of enemies - the sort of people who may wish to do him and his countrymen harm.
And the bombs on the St Petersburg metro system serve as a reminder to all that Mr Putin's Russia is vulnerable too.
The explosion, which took place at 3pm local time on the line running through the central Sennaya Ploshchad station, was caused by one, relatively small device consisting of 200g-300g of explosive material and metallic shrapnel.
Contrary to initial reports in the Russian media, there was only one explosion but the national anti-terrorism committee, made up of officials from parliament and the security services, said an additional, unexploded bomb was later found in a carriage at Ploshchad Vosstaniya.
This device was much larger at 1kg and designed to look like a fire extinguisher. It now appears this tragic event could have been much worse.
Unsurprisingly, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said investigators would "prioritise terrorism" as they searched for the cause and told waiting reporters he had already been briefed by the head of the federal security service , or FSB.
The leader was in St Petersburg at the time, preparing for a meeting with the Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko.
"Unfortunately, we have to start our meeting like this," he told waiting reporters. "I have instructed the city authorities to give all the required support to families of the victims."
The Russian state maintains a formidable security infrastructure - resources that Mr Putin will now direct at uncovering the culprits of an attack that has killed at least 10.
However, it unlikely this explosion will have come as a surprise to members of the country's intelligence services.
As in other parts of Europe, Russian civilians and Russian cities are potential targets for so-called Islamic State.
We know that because members of IS have published videos online, in the Russian language, threatening revenge for Russia's role in Syria as Bashar al Assad's principle backer.
The leader was in St Petersburg at the time, preparing for a meeting with the Belarussian president Alexander Lukashenko.
"Unfortunately, we have to start our meeting like this," he told waiting reporters. "I have instructed the city authorities to give all the required support to families of the victims."
The Russian state maintains a formidable security infrastructure - resources that Mr Putin will now direct at uncovering the culprits of an attack that has killed at least 10.
However, it unlikely this explosion will have come as a surprise to members of the country's intelligence services.
As in other parts of Europe, Russian civilians and Russian cities are potential targets for so-called Islamic State.
We know that because members of IS have published videos online, in the Russian language, threatening revenge for Russia's role in Syria as Bashar al Assad's principle backer.
IS claimed responsibility for the deaths of 219 Russians travelling home from Egypt in an airliner operated by Metrojet in 2015.
The aircraft blew up 23 minutes after take-off from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Investigators later said a large bomb had been loaded in the luggage hold.
On Russian soil, two separate suicide attacks in the city of Volgograd took the lives of 34 in 2013.
The bombers claimed responsibility, in Russian, in the name of the "Caucasus Emirate" - an Islamic separatist group, but terrorist attacks in Russia have been relatively rare in recent years.
By means of explanation, analysts believe thousands of men active in extremist circles have travelled south in order to fight with IS and other groups in Syria and Iraq.
Mr Putin has justified his country's actions in Syria in this context - better to fight an estimated 7,000 extremists from the ex-Soviet republics in the Middle East, he says, than to wage war with them at home.
Still, Russia's expansive and highly risky foreign IS claimed responsibility for the deaths of 219 Russians travelling home from Egypt in an airliner operated by Metrojet in 2015.
The aircraft blew up 23 minutes after take-off from Sharm El Sheikh airport. Investigators later said a large bomb had been loaded in the luggage hold.
On Russian soil, two separate suicide attacks in the city of Volgograd took the lives of 34 in 2013.
The bombers claimed responsibility, in Russian, in the name of the "Caucasus Emirate" - an Islamic separatist group, but terrorist attacks in Russia have been relatively rare in recent years.
By means of explanation, analysts believe thousands of men active in extremist circles have travelled south in order to fight with IS and other groups in Syria and Iraq.
Mr Putin has justified his country's actions in Syria in this context - better to fight an estimated 7,000 extremists from the ex-Soviet republics in the Middle East, he says, than to wage war with them at home.
Still, Russia's expansive and highly risky foreign policy has created plenty of enemies - the sort of people who may wish to do him and his countrymen harm.
And the bombs on the St Petersburg metro system serve as a reminder to all that Mr Putin's Russia is vulnerable too.policy has created plenty of enemies - the sort of people who may wish to do him and his countrymen harm.
And the bombs on the St Petersburg metro system serve as a reminder to all that Mr Putin's Russia is vulnerable too.
WWE star John Cena proposes to wrestler girlfriend Nikki Bella on stage
WWE superstar John Cena has proposed to fellow wrestler Nikki Bella on stage after winning a fight.
The romantic gesture took place after the couple defeated two other fighters in a WrestleMania 33 tag-team challenge.
Cena and Bella were celebrating a win against The Mizz and Marse on Sunday when the WWE superstar got down on one knee and presented his girlfriend with a diamond ring.
"I have been waiting so long to ask you this," he said as the crowd cheered.
"Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace, will you marry me?" he asked, addressing the wrestler by her real name.
The 33-year-old Total Divas star accepted.
Later, Cena shared a post on his Twitter feed, thanking his "always expressive family the WWE Universe for allowing me to have a WrestleMania moment that I will never forget".
Bella's sister Brie, who is nine months pregnant and was away from the competition, posted about the "incredible moment" on Instagram.
"I'm filled with such happiness for my sister!" she said.
Wrestling fans were more sceptical on social media, accusing the WWE of staging the act.
"Best scripted proposal ever," one user wrote.
"This is literally staged," said another.
The couple started dating in 2012, after Cena divorced his high school sweetheart Elizabeth Huberdeau.
"So this is the one I will remember," Cena told Hollywood Life on Monday.
"Everyone always asks me what is my favourite match and the answer is always the same - the next one. But when you ask me that after Sunday, my answer will be: The second I was in a WrestleMania ring alongside Nicole."
The romantic gesture took place after the couple defeated two other fighters in a WrestleMania 33 tag-team challenge.
Cena and Bella were celebrating a win against The Mizz and Marse on Sunday when the WWE superstar got down on one knee and presented his girlfriend with a diamond ring.
"I have been waiting so long to ask you this," he said as the crowd cheered.
"Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace, will you marry me?" he asked, addressing the wrestler by her real name.
The 33-year-old Total Divas star accepted.
Later, Cena shared a post on his Twitter feed, thanking his "always expressive family the WWE Universe for allowing me to have a WrestleMania moment that I will never forget".
Bella's sister Brie, who is nine months pregnant and was away from the competition, posted about the "incredible moment" on Instagram.
"I'm filled with such happiness for my sister!" she said.
Wrestling fans were more sceptical on social media, accusing the WWE of staging the act.
"Best scripted proposal ever," one user wrote.
"This is literally staged," said another.
The couple started dating in 2012, after Cena divorced his high school sweetheart Elizabeth Huberdeau.
"So this is the one I will remember," Cena told Hollywood Life on Monday.
"Everyone always asks me what is my favourite match and the answer is always the same - the next one. But when you ask me that after Sunday, my answer will be: The second I was in a WrestleMania ring alongside Nicole."
Tony Blair denies John Prescott claim that Ian Paisley's phone was tapped
Former prime minister Tony Blair has denied a claim he authorised the phone tapping of the late Ian Paisley while he was an MP.
The allegation was made by John Prescott, who was deputy prime minister at the time.
Lord Prescott said in a column that Mr Blair had told him in 2005 that the security services were listening in to Mr Paisley's calls.
Denying the claim, Mr Blair's office said: "This story is wrong. No authorisation for the phone tapping of a member of parliament was given during Mr Blair's time as prime minister.
"It may be a confused account of the discussion of the Wilson Doctrine in Cabinet - something which was public at the time - which dated back to the '60s."
The Wilson Doctrine is a long-standing convention which says MPs should not have their communications monitored.
The allegation was made by John Prescott, who was deputy prime minister at the time.
Lord Prescott said in a column that Mr Blair had told him in 2005 that the security services were listening in to Mr Paisley's calls.
Denying the claim, Mr Blair's office said: "This story is wrong. No authorisation for the phone tapping of a member of parliament was given during Mr Blair's time as prime minister.
"It may be a confused account of the discussion of the Wilson Doctrine in Cabinet - something which was public at the time - which dated back to the '60s."
The Wilson Doctrine is a long-standing convention which says MPs should not have their communications monitored.
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley Says Russia Was 'Certainly Involved' in 2016 Election
Nikki Haley, President Trump's Ambassador to the United Nations, said unequivocally Sunday that she believes Russia was "involved" in the 2016 election.
“Certainly, I think Russia was involved in the election. There's no question about that,” Haley told ABC News' Martha Raddatz in an interview on This Week." And I think when they finish with all of this process, yes, they need to address Russia. They need to act."
"We don't want any country involved in our elections ever," she added.
Haley did note however, that this topic had not come up during her work at the United Nations.
The FBI has confirmed it is investigating if Russia interfered in the United States elections. Ranking members of both the House and Senate intelligence committees, which are conducting their own investigations, said no conclusions have been drawn yet.
President Trump has dismissed all talks of collusion between his campaign and Russia as a "witch hunt."
Haley also confirmed she is not soft on Russia when it comes to diplomacy and international affairs.
"There's no love or anything going on with Russia right now," Haley said. "They get that we're getting our strength back, we're getting our voice back and we're starting to lead again."
“Certainly, I think Russia was involved in the election. There's no question about that,” Haley told ABC News' Martha Raddatz in an interview on This Week." And I think when they finish with all of this process, yes, they need to address Russia. They need to act."
"We don't want any country involved in our elections ever," she added.
Haley did note however, that this topic had not come up during her work at the United Nations.
The FBI has confirmed it is investigating if Russia interfered in the United States elections. Ranking members of both the House and Senate intelligence committees, which are conducting their own investigations, said no conclusions have been drawn yet.
President Trump has dismissed all talks of collusion between his campaign and Russia as a "witch hunt."
Haley also confirmed she is not soft on Russia when it comes to diplomacy and international affairs.
"There's no love or anything going on with Russia right now," Haley said. "They get that we're getting our strength back, we're getting our voice back and we're starting to lead again."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)