Currently News Report

Amber Heard has told a court that ex-husband Johnny Depp repeatedly struck her during drug and alcohol-fuelled rages that she said turned the actor into an "awful thing". Taking the witness stand on week four of the trial, Ms Heard alleged that a pattern of violence began in 2012. Mr Depp is suing Ms Heard over a story she wrote in which she described herself as a domestic abuse victim. In his testimony, Mr Depp denied any wrongdoing. "I struggle to find the words to describe how painful this is… this is horrible for me to sit here for weeks and relive everything," Ms Heard said shortly after taking the stand. Over several hours of testimony in Virginia on Wednesday, Ms Heard, 36, recalled her first interactions with the "charismatic" Mr Depp while filming The Rum Diary in Puerto Rico. Ms Heard said they "fell in love" on the film's press tour when it was released in 2011. The happiness of the early stages of their relationship, Ms Heard adde...

As Russian forces inch forwards along a meandering front line in the north of the Donbas region, only one road now remains open for Ukrainians seeking access to the besieged hilltop farming town of Lysychansk. A brown smoke trail from a rocket drifted overhead, and three artillery shells landed perhaps a mile east of the road one recent afternoon, as Major Oleg Kravchenko drove at furious speed towards a forward medical post close to the advancing Russian front lines. "Every day it's blood, blood, blood, blood," said Maj Kravchenko, a wry, burly figure who heads the army's medical teams in the area. "Keep your head down and watch out for snipers. The Russians were shelling this area 15 minutes ago," an army nurse said as we followed the major into a derelict building where ambulance teams were waiting for the next call. The trill of springtime birdsong was interrupted every few seconds by the boom of artillery. Broken glass and debris covered the floor. An u...

Ecuador's president has declared a state of emergency in three western provinces because of rising crime. Guillermo Lasso tweeted that a curfew will be imposed and thousands of soldiers and police officers will be sent to Guayas, Manabí and Esmeraldas to "enforce peace and order". Ecuador has seen a sharp increase in murders and gang-related crime. This is the second time Mr Lasso has used emergency powers to curb violence since he took office last year. "The streets will feel the weight" of the security forces, Mr Lasso tweeted. He said 4,000 police officers and 5,000 troops from Ecuador's armed forces would be deployed throughout the three provinces. He also said the curfew, which would only be enforced in certain areas, would be from 23:00 to 05:00 local time. "Society will not be subdued," he wrote. "Our peace will never be sacrificed to criminal gangs." President Lasso has blamed drug trafficking for Ecuador's crime problems. The...

Nikita Horban was sitting cross-legged on an old-fashioned steel hospital bed, running his fingers over the flat part of the bandage where his toes used to be. He was still wearing the clothes the Russians sent him home in - a military green t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms. He looked pale and gaunt, older than 31. "I have lost a lot of weight," he said, looking down. "I don't look good." He shifted position on the bed. It had been about two weeks since he'd been able to stand, and he had to move his legs regularly to stop them aching. It was a bright spring day in Zaporizhzhia, in the south of Ukraine, but the Russians were running bombing raids in the region and the windows in the hospital were blacked out. The air on the ward was hot and stale. Nikita had been handed back to Ukraine just three days earlier, as part of a prisoner exchange, and brought to this hospital with another man. They had spent three grim weeks in a prison in Russia. The other man, Serh...

The Central African Republic (CAR) has approved Bitcoin as legal tender - just the second country to do so. CAR is one of the world's poorest countries, but is rich in diamonds, gold and uranium. It has been wracked by conflict for decades and is a close Russian ally, with mercenaries from the Wagner Group helping fight rebel forces. Lawmakers voted unanimously to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, said a statement from the CAR presidency. The move puts CAR "on the map of the world's boldest and most visionary countries", it said. El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as an official currency in September 2021 - a move criticised by many economists, including the International Monetary Fund, which said it increased the risk of financial instability. Others have raised fears that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin could make it easier for criminals to launder money, and that they are environmentally damaging because they use so much electricity to generate. Th...

The parents of a US Marine freed in a prisoner swap with Russia have spoken of their joy at his release. Trevor Reed had been held in a Russian jail since 2019. He was traded for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian jailed on drug-smuggling charges. Speaking outside the Reed home in Texas, his mother said she felt "almost as good as the day he was born". Reed has landed back in the US, a spokesperson said, where he is expected to spend several days in hospital. President Joe Biden said he had been "delighted" to share the news of Mr Reed's return with his parents in a phone call. "The negotiations that allowed us to bring Trevor home required difficult decisions that I do not take lightly," he said. According to parents Joey and Paula Reed, their son was poorly treated in prison and appeared to have contracted tuberculosis. The couple protested outside the White House last month, ultimately securing a meeting with the president. In a media interview outsid...

Poland and Bulgaria have accused Moscow of "blackmail" after the Russian energy giant Gazprom said it had cut off gas exports to the countries. Poland's deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, told the BBC that Russia was seeking to "foster divisions" between Western allies. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the move showed Russia's "unreliability" as an energy supplier. The Kremlin insists it is still a reliable energy partner. Gazprom's move follows Poland and Bulgaria's refusal to pay for gas in roubles. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed that all energy payments must be made in the Russian currency. The move, which was designed to shore up the faltering currency which has been battered by Western sanctions, has been fiercely resisted by European nations. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Gazprom said it had "completely suspended gas supplies" to Poland and Bulgaria in line with the decree ...