Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, appeared on the passenger list of a business jet that crashed Wednesday in Russia. Beyond that, little is clear.
The Russian activist, a fierce opponent of President Vladimir Putin, was sentenced Friday on extremism charges, which he denies. He is already serving prison sentences on other charges he denies.
Thousands of supporters of the junta that took over Niger in a coup this week marched through the streets of the capital waving Russian flags, chanting Vladimir Putin's name, and denouncing France.
South Africa says Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the BRICS summit it's hosting in August, putting an end to questions over whether it would act on an arrest warrant for Putin.
The Kremlin says the Russian leader met Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin and nearly three dozen of his mercenary commanders for talks in Moscow late last month.
That's in contrast to the deal worked out after the failed uprising last month. The Kremlin had said the Wagner group leader would be exiled to neighboring Belarus but would not face charges.
The fate of the private military company is unclear, especially after it was credited with delivering Russia recent gains in the country's war against Ukraine.
The trip was Putin's first-ever visit to the Donbas region, which Russia illegally annexed last year. It followed the International Criminal Court's decision to issue a warrant for him on war crimes.
Some French legislators and activists are calling on the French president to rescind the award to the Russian leader because of the Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
