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Vladimir Putin made an extraordinary address to the nation on Saturday morning admitting that he was facing an armed insurrection led by former confidante Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenaries. After months of feuding between the mercenary boss and Russia’s Defense Ministry, things came to a head Friday when Prigozhin accused the Russian military of ordering a rocket strike on a camp full of his men, and vowed merciless revenge. Within hours, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced charges against Prigozhin for attempting to incite an armed rebellion, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars. Prigozhin showed no sign of backing down, instead releasing a series of audio messages via his press service late Friday in which he accused the Defense Ministry of deploying fighter jets to shoot at Wagner vehicles in the Rostov region and of firing at civilians on Russian territory. While the drama between Moscow and Prigozhin played out, Ukrainian officials announced Friday their forces had retaken eight villages from Russian control as part of their first counteroffensive.

OceanGate Expeditions listed a job posting for a submersible pilot on its web site while a frantic search and rescue mission was underway for five missing tourists in the doomed Titan bound for the Titanic wreckage site. Social media was abuzz on Friday after screenshots of the ad, which was posted before the Coast Guard announced on Thursday that all five people aboard the Titan had perished, were widely circulated. OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush was among the five people who died in the Titan submersible. The passengers included 61-year-old OceanGate boss, Rush, as well as Titanic specialist Paul-Henri Nargeolet, UK billionaire explorer Hamish Harding and Pakistani billionaire and mogul Shanzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Sulaiman. Filed under missing titanic sub , social media , TikTok , twitter , 6/23/23.

Three orcas attacked the Dutch sailing team JAJO during a leg of the Ocean Race on Thursday. The orcas attacked when the team was just off the Strait of Gibraltar in the leg from The Hague to Genoa. The team was in second place in the Ocean Race when the Orcas attacked and in fourth place once they could get sailing again. A spokesperson for the Ocean Race told Omroep West that, as far as they know, both the orcas and the crew escaped the attack unharmed. Brend Schuil, the on-board reporter aboard Team JAJO, told the broadcaster that the team was prepared for a possible orca attack because it has been known to happen in the area.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Four Thai nationals were charged Friday under Malaysia’s anti-trafficking laws in connection with the 2015 discovery of mass graves believed to be of Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis held in camps in a hilly jungle area on the country’s border with Thailand. Following cooperation with Thai authorities, he said the four men were caught and extradicted to Malaysia on Thursday to face charges. In May 2015, Malaysian police announced the discovery of a cluster of abandoned jungle camps used by human traffickers in Wang Kelian and later exhumed 139 bodies from mass graves there. A joint report in 2019 by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and Fortify Rights found gaps in the investigation and possible obstruction of justice. A Royal Commission of Inquiry set up by the government later said no Malaysian enforcement officials, public servants or local citizens were involved in trafficking syndicates but found negligence by border patrols.

California is partnering with Mexico to help find professional boxers owed pensions from a little-known state retirement plan, with two dozen former fighters located in recent weeks and pledges to identify more. The efforts follow a Times investigation that found most boxers owed benefits from the California Professional Boxers’ Pension Plan were unaware that the 40-year-old program existed or had little information about how to apply. The California State Athletic Commission, which administers the pension plan, said it estimates that at least a quarter of the 200 boxers currently owed benefits had a last known address in Mexico. Officials with the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego and Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they are helping California locate boxers using identity documents filed in Mexico and abroad to ensure those entitled to money receive it. The World Boxing Council, which is in Mexico City, is also working with the athletic commission to find boxers who are owed pensions.