The body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who underwent torture and died in Russian captivity, was missing some internal organs, according to an investigation by the Forbidden Stories journalism network.

Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was captured in the summer of 2023 near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Southern Ukraine. In April 2024, Russia officially admitted that Roshchyna was being held captive. Few months later, in October of the same year, Roshchyna's family received a letter from Russian authorities informing them of her death but providing no details or circumstances about it. This is when Forbidden Stories journalism network launched an investigation into her death. This February, Moscow handed over the bodies of 757 Ukrainians to Kyiv. Roshchyna's body was among them, but wrongly recorded in Russian documents as an "unidentified male" with the number "757" and a marking "SPAS" in Russian (СПАС) — an acronym for heart failure.During an initial examination, pathologists determined that the body belonged to a woman. An investigation conducted by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has revealed a 99% DNA match with Roshchyna.Investigation into Viktoriia’s deathThe condition of the body made it impossible to establish the cause of death through the forensic examination, the head of the War Department at the Prosecutor General's Office Yurii Bielousov said.However, "bodily injuries were inflicted during her lifetime, therefore, there is a high probability that she was exposed to torture," he added.Yurii Bielousov stated that numerous signs of abuse and cruel treatment have been found on Roshchyna's body, particularly abrasions and bruises on various parts and a broken rib. Experts also noted possible indications of electric shock being used.The further investigation stated that her body showed evidence of an autopsy conducted in Russia before it was returned to Ukraine. During the examination in Ukraine, it turned out that several organs were missing, including Roshchyna's brain, eyes, and part of the trachea.Investigators say that a bruise was found on Roshchyna’s neck, along with a suspected fracture of the hyoid bone, a common indicator of strangulation. However, the overall condition of the journalist's body has made it impossible to determine the exact cause of death.The Russian abbreviation "SPAS" found on her body is said to stand for "total failure of the arteries of the heart," a designation that may have been used by Russian authorities to fabricate an official cause of death.

Prime Minister Mark Carney led the party to its fourth successive election victory.

Canada’s Liberals have narrowly failed to win a parliamentary majority in an election victory that nevertheless marked a remarkable political comeback. The party was on track to win 169 of parliament’s 343 seats after Monday’s vote, just three short of a majority and 25 more than the second-placed Conservatives, according to the vote-counting agency Elections Canada. They will therefore need the support of at least one other party to pass legislation. The progressive New Democrats, who until last year propped up a Liberal minority government, won 7 seats, making them a potential partner. Despite not gaining an outright majority, the Liberals’ election win — its fourth in a row — was a stunning reversal from the situation they found themselves in earlier this year, when they languished far behind their Conservative rivals in the polls. The resignation of the party’s leader Justin Trudeau, who was unpopular by the end of his tenure, as well as US President Donald Trump’s hostile rhetoric against Canada helped spark the party’s revival. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney, a renowned economist who recently entered politics, the Liberal party successfully made the election a referendum on Trump, arguing that it was best placed to counter his threats against Canada. Since assuming office on 20 January, Trump has repeatedly said the US’ northerly neighbour should be turned into his country’s 51st state. He has also hit Canada with 25% tariffs on goods including aluminium and steel. In his victory speech, Carney stressed that Canadian-US relations had drastically changed. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” he said.“As I've been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country,” the prime minister added. “These are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so America can own us. That will never…ever happen. But we also must recognize the reality that our world has fundamentally changed.”Carney spoke with Trump on Tuesday, with the pair agreeing to meet in person in the near future. While Carney benefited politically from Trump’s actions against Canada, the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who had adopted the slogan “Canada First”, appeared to suffer as a result of them.Not only did Poilievre’s party fail to win Monday’s election, but he also lost the parliamentary seat he had held for 20 years. Amid Canadians’ anger at Trump’s policies, the turnout for this week’s election was the highest since 1993, with 68.5% of eligible voters casting ballots.

Building fires are common in India, where constructors and residents often flout safety codes.

At least 14 people have been killed in a fire that tore through a hotel in the city of Kolkata in eastern India, police have said.Senior police officer Manoj Kumar Verma told reporters that the blaze broke out on Tuesday evening at the Rituraj Hotel in central Kolkata.Six fire engines took part in efforts to extinguish the fire, which has now been put out.It was not immediately clear how the fire began.Photos and videos carried by Indian media showed people trying to escape through the building's windows and along narrow ledges.The Kolkata daily newspaper, The Telegraph, reported that at least one person died after jumping from the terrace to escape the flames.Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X that he was "anguished" by the loss of lives.Urban fires are common in India, where builders and residents often flout building laws and safety codes.Activists say constructors often cut corners on safety to save costs and have accused civic authorities of negligence and apathy.In 2022, at least 27 people were killed when a massive fire tore though a four-story commercial building in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, in Russia a Ukrainian drone attack led to a fire at an instrument-making plant in Murom. Three people were injured in the Kursk region.

The Russian army has launched an overnight barrage of drones on Ukraine's Dnipro and Kharkiv, resulting in at least one death and around 50 injuries. "A difficult night for Dnipro. The enemy has launched a massive attack on the city," the head of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergei Lysak, said on Wednesday morning.The attack mostly struck residential infrastructure, including five houses and funeral home, and killed a 53-year old man.Russian troops also launched at least 15 Shahed drones towards Kharkiv, the head of the Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office Spartak Borisenko said, quoted by Ukrainian media.At least 45 people were injured, including a 16-year-old teenager, a five-year-old girl and a pregnant woman. At least 13 emergency medical teams were deployed to help the injured, local authorities said. Also in Kharkiv, mostly residential buildings were damaged in the attack. "Russian drones continue flying in the skies over Ukraine all morning," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on social media platform X. The Ukrainian leader urged global leaders to maintain pressure on Russia, and called for "strong additional sanctions that will actually work.""It must be pressure, not just words or attempts at persuasion, that forces Russia to cease fire and end the war. Pressure from the United States, from Europe, from everyone in the world who believes there is no place for war on this planet," he added.Ukrainian drone attack on Kursk Meanwhile, Russia's air defence said they destroyed 91 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, with 40 shot down over the Kursk region. Acting governor Alexander Khinshtein said on Telegram that three people were injured, two of whom were taken to hospital. Several residential houses and a kindergarten were damaged.Ukraine also targeted a Russian weapons factory in Murom, 300km east of Moscow, starting a fire, a Ukrainian SBU security agent said. On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump told ABC that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "wants peace" in Ukraine. It came mere days after he expressed doubts about Putin's "conciliatory" intentions.Asked by an ABC reporter if he believes the Russian president wants to end the war in Ukraine, Trump replied, "I think so.""His dream was to take over the whole country," Trump said. "Because to me, he's not going to do that." When asked if he trusts the head of the Kremlin, Trump replied, "I don't trust many people at all."

Paris said Russian military intelligence has attacked a dozen French entities since 2021, and also targeted Emmanuel Macron's election campaign in 2017.

France has accused Russia's GRU military intelligence agency of orchestrating cyberattacks targeting French government agencies, companies, and the Paris Olympics.GRU has used the notorious hacking group APT28 — also known as Fancy Bear — to target or compromise a dozen French entities since 2021, according to a report released on Tuesday by France’s cybersecurity agency (ANSSI). Targets included those involved in aerospace, finance, national government ministries and local governments, and a "sports organisation linked to the planning of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games", said ANSSI and France's foreign ministry.The cyberattacks aimed to collect intelligence, notably in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the report. On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on X that France "observes, blocks and fights its adversaries," and posted a video about the "silent war" waged by Russia against France.The French foreign ministry said that APT28's cyberattacks on the country date back to 2015, when the station TV5 Monde was taken offline by a major hack. Paris also said the hacking group had tried to destabilise the French elections in 2017, when thousands of emails and documents linked to the then-candidate and eventual winner, Emmanuel Macron, were leaked and spread alongside disinformation.The ANSSI report also mentioned unspecified attacks on entities in Ukraine, elsewhere in Europe and North America.APT28 and the GRU have also been linked to high-profile global hacks, including in the 2016 US election, where they were accused of leaking Democratic Party emails."These destabilising activities are unacceptable and unworthy of a permanent member of the UN Security Council," the French foreign ministry said in a statement. "Alongside its partners, France is determined to use all the means at its disposal to anticipate, discourage and react to Russia’s malicious behaviour in cyberspace."Russia's embassy in Paris and the Kremlin have not commented on the findings. While it is unusual for France to name and shame perpetrators of cyberattacks, Paris is among Ukraine's most vocal backers and is working to ensure that an eventual US-brokered peace deal doesn’t further embolden Russia and threaten Europe’s security.