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South Korean band BTS’s fans, fondly called the ARMY, were left swooning after the Bangtan boys pulled off a smashing performance at the Grammys 2022. The band occupied the top spot in the trends list after their performance of their hit song Butter. It is safe to say that they absolutely stole the show at the awards. While their entertaining act was the talk of the town, it was Kim Taehyung aka V’s social skills that also grabbed eyeballs. While fans were still reeling from V’s pictures of ‘flirting’ with Olivia Rodrigo during their performance, his adorable posing session with Lady Gaga also went crazy viral online. V posed for the shutterbugs with the Poker Face singer at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. While Lady Gaga looked absolutely sensational in an aqua-blue feather gown, V looked dapper in an all-black suit.

Russia-Ukraine war The battle-scarred town of Irpin now stands as an example of Ukrainian resistance, and of Russian defeat. President Putin's forces managed to enter the town but didn't manage to push through it. If they had, Kyiv would have been their next stop - the capital is just a short drive away, 13 miles (21km) down the road. Blocking the Russian advance here was critical. We reached the city centre under armed escort, driving through streets strewn with rubble and downed power lines - and devoid of life. Ukrainian forces gave us a careful tour - avoiding some main roads. We were told Russian forces might be present in the forests on the outskirts, though the Mayor, Oleksandr Markushyn, insists the town itself is completely under Ukrainian control. Troops proudly showed us a Russian armoured personnel carrier which had been torn to shreds, its turret upturned. Another burnt out Russian vehicle was just down the road. But we were moved quickly from place to place because of the ongoing risk of Russian shelling. Most of the 70,000 people who used to live in this middle class commuter city fled over the past month - darting out of basements, running the gauntlet of relentless Russian shelling. Many may have little left to come back to. President Putin claims he is not targeting civilian areas, but the destroyed homes of Irpin give the lie to that. We saw extensive damage in residential areas, including one high-rise block where a shell had punched a neat hole right through a corner apartment. There was a child's red toy car on the ground, close to a forsaken playground. There were cars with bullet-riddled windscreens, and charred houses where the roofs have been ripped off. Some of the dead still lie beneath the rubble. Others were buried hastily in courtyards and parks because a proper funeral was impossible. The mayor estimates that between 200-300 civilians were killed here, some directly targeted as they fled. The final death toll is likely to be higher. The Russians had held 20-30% of the city, but the resistance here was dogged. Ukraine's defence ministry has recognised "the mass heroism and resilience of the residents and the defenders" with the honorary title "Hero City of Ukraine". The title dates from World War Two when it was awarded by the Soviet Union to several cities. Inside the city, as heavily armed police and troops kept watch, there was a palpable layer of tension. This victory was hard-fought, but troops we spoke to conceded that the Russians could be back at some point. "Yes, I believe that," said Serhiy Smalchuk, whose day job is TV presenting. "They need Kyiv, right, because Putin will lose if he doesn't take over Kyiv. So, perhaps they will try but we are prepared in case they come back, and we will defeat them." "We don't know what they are thinking," said Ivan Kolehin, a young territorial defence recruit. "I don't think they will try again any time soon. Their ground forces have been removed but their artillery can still hit us." Ivan had a day job in marketing before he took up arms. He seemed to be struggling to process the battle for Irpin, and the fact that he is still alive. "I never thought I would live," he said. "On our third day we heard a whistle and they started to bomb us directly. We sat in the basement and the ceiling started to crumble. We were pretty scared." Now he worries for the future of the city. "It's still not safe here, but in due time we will rebuild," he said. "Probably it will take years, considering the damage. I am trying not to think about the fact that every house that was destroyed was built by someone, sometimes with their own hands." He had Russian friends in the past, but not anymore. "I hate the Russians from the depths of my heart," he said. "There are no excuses for this." Moscow now says it will drastically reduce its attacks around the capital, and focus on the eastern Donbas region. In reality the Kremlin had little choice, as its offensives around the capital had ground to a halt. But in time Russian forces may regroup and target the capital again. If they do, the "hero city" will once again be in their path, and in the line of fire. As we left Irpin a trickle of civilians were evacuating on foot, crossing a river bed on planks of wood balanced precariously on rubble and boulders. This is the wreckage of a bridge, blown up by Ukrainian forces to block the Russian advance - another sacrifice made by Irpin. An ambulance was waiting for two elderly women, carried up the river-bank on stretchers - survivors of a merciless and failed Russian assault. Further up the road a departing column of Ukrainian troops - with the swagger of victory - broke into an obscene chant about President Putin.

More than five weeks into Russia's war on Ukraine, Moscow has threatened to cut off Western nations from natural gas supplies - something that could affect energy prices across Europe. Vladimir Putin has followed through on weeks of threats by signing a decree that foreign countries they must start paying for gas in Russian roubles or it will halt supplies. And those new rules start on Friday, meaning Western nations were effectively handed a midnight deadline to comply. "Nobody sells us anything for free, and we are not going to do charity either - that is, existing contracts will be stopped," the Russian president said. Many payments for April gas deliveries are reportedly not due until later in the month, so it is not thought that there is an immediate threat to supplies. It is also still unclear whether the new payment mechanism set out by Russia would fully ban euros. But France and Germany condemned Mr Putin's demands as being akin to "blackmail". Western companies and governments have previously rejected Russia's demands to pay for gas in roubles as a breach of existing contracts, which are set in euros or US dollars. Yet the EU gets about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia, and there is no ready-to-go replacement. Notably, the EU did not enact sanctions on Russian fuel supplies - even though other Western nations such as the US and Canada did. Mr Putin's demand to be paid in roubles is widely seen as an attempt to boost the currency, which has been hit by the wide range of international sanctions that followed the invasion of Ukraine. Read the full story about the midnight gas deadline here. 'Most Russian troops' leaving Chernobyl, Ukraine says image Many Russian troops occupying the former nuclear power plant at Chernobyl have left, Ukraine's state nuclear operator has said. Energoatom said two columns of Russian forces had set off towards the Belarusian border on Thursday morning, leaving just a few soldiers at the site. Several days ago the mayor of Slavutych, a nearby town housing workers at the plant, announced that Russian troops had also left the town. The withdrawal follows reports that some Russian soldiers are being treated for radiation poisoning in Belarus after spending time in the most contaminated part of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was investigating the report. Russia's occupation of the site since 24 February, the day of the invasion, has been dogged with concerns about power outages and problems for the staff, many of whom were trapped there for weeks and could not get home. It is the site of what is considered to be the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, and while no longer a working power station, Chernobyl still requires constant management. Russia "redeploying" not retreating Troops leaving some occupied areas might sound like a win for Ukraine, but Western intelligence warns that Russia is redeploying, rather than retreating. "Russia is trying to regroup, resupply and reinforce," Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. Russia said earlier this week that it was planning to "radically" reduce its military activity in some places - such as near the capital Kyiv or the city of Chernihiv - and concentrate on the eastern Donbas region. Shelling continues on cities, including those Russia suggested it would reduce its assault on, but Mr Stoltenberg said Nato can see Russia re-positioning troops. Echoing Mr Stoltenberg's remarks, the UK's Defence Secretary warned that Russia's change in tactics was "not a retreat", and that it was "changing its focus" after its first efforts were rebutted. Read more about the change in plans here. image Mariupol evacuation delayed, Red Cross says image The evacuation of thousands of civilians from the besieged south-eastern city of Mariupol has been delayed until Friday, the Red Cross has said. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said a convoy of 45 Ukrainian buses was on its way to the port city, but humanitarian officials said the operation had been delayed for security and logistical concerns. One resident of the city, Yevgen, described the humanitarian disaster civilians have faced to the BBC. "It was constant bombing," he said. "Planes went past every 10 minutes and dropped bombs on Mariupol. People were falling and dying in front of my eyes. We buried people in gardens." Another resident, Natalia, said Russia soldiers have been infiltrating the city and offering food to civilians in a PR campaign. "Some people couldn't resist taking them, because they hadn't eaten for several days," she said. "When you're suffering like that, you'll take anything." French intelligence chief fired over Russian war failings image The head of French military intelligence, Gen Eric Vidaud, is set to lose his job after failing to predict Russia's war in Ukraine, French media has reported. Seven months after he took on the role, one report said he was blamed for "inadequate briefings" and a "lack of mastery of subjects". The US correctly assessed that Russia was planning a large-scale invasion, while France concluded it was unlikely. In early March, Gen Burkhard acknowledged that French intelligence had not been up to the level of US or UK briefings, which were publicised to pile pressure on Russia's Vladimir Putin. "The Americans said that the Russians were going to attack, they were right," he told Le Monde newspaper. "Our services thought instead that the cost of conquering Ukraine would have been monstrous and the Russians had other options" to bring down the government of Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, he added. Are tech companies removing evidence of war crimes? image Social media companies are used to pulling down vast amounts of content that break the rules, erasing it from the internet. They're expected to do so, by governments and regulators. But what happens when efficient artificial intelligence moderators are removing evidence of possible war crimes, sweeping it away from investigators' eyes? TikTok, for example, does not allow "shock value" or violence, or anything that is "gratuitously" sadistic or gruesome. But Ukrainians uploading videos from the ground could be generating more than "likes", BBC technology reporter James Clayton writes. They may well be uploading a piece in a jigsaw of evidence that will one day be used to prosecute war crimes.

Article, BERKELEY, Calif. - President Joe Biden on Thursday released one-fourth of the entire U.S. strategic petroleum reserve, in an attempt to calm rising gas prices brought about by ever rising demand and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Bay Area regular gas prices stand at $5.88. That's $1.92 more than last year; most of it coming in the last three months. "Putin's price hike; nearly a dollar more in less than three months," said President Joe Biden. To combat that now and in the future, President Biden outlined a multi-point strategy: one, do things to bring prices down now by releasing oil from the strategic reserve. "One million barrels per day for the next six months; over 180 million barrels," said the president. UC Berkeley Haas Energy Economist Severin Borenstein reacted to the announcement. "The strategic petroleum reserve is there to deal with these international geopolitical crises and we definitely have one right now," said Borenstein. What about the price of gas? "A small effect on gas prices. Today the price of crude oil came down about $5 a barrel so far and that would translate to about 12 cents a gallon," said Borenstein. Using the reserve buys time for oil producers to vastly ramp up U.S. production by fall. Right now, a lot of production wells are idle while other oil lays dormant or hoarded in already approved but unused, drilling leases. "I'm calling for a use it or lose it policy," said Biden. Some oil companies have said they will be able to produce a million barrels a day by fall. "It makes sense because you don't want companies holding onto leases that they aren't actually going to do anything with," said Borenstein. MORE: Biden tapping oil reserve for 6 months to control surging gas prices But, getting the necessary labor, equipment and parts needed are iffy because of scarce labor and supply chain shortages. OPEC may increase production a little, but that's because a little increase allows them to rake in far more money when prices are high, but not enough to immediately collapse prices. But, it will help consumers with prices while also undermining Russia's finances. Finally: make America's energy future far less vulnerable to foreign influence and pressure. "I'm gonna use the Defense Production Act to secure American supply chains for the critical materials that going into batteries for electric vehicles and the storage of renewable energy," said Biden. Advertisement The ever-changing oil futures market pegs oil prices $20 lower in the next six months to a year, but Russia remains the wild card.

Will Smith Chris Rock's first comments since Oscars slap Chris Rock has made his first public appearance since Will Smith slapped him during Sunday night's Oscars ceremony. still processing what happened — the comic Rock, who was greeted with a standing ovation by fans, also denied some reports in US media that he had spoken to Smith since the incident. It comes as the Oscars organisers revealed that Smith was asked to leave after hitting Rock, but refused. How was your weekend? The 57-year old, who is currently starring in his "Ego Death" tour of the US, told fans that he had written the "show before all this nonsense happened," but promised to address the incident in the near future. I'm still kind of processing what happened, so at some point I'll talk about that — Rock Mr Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, [but] — the statement we also recognise we could have handled the situation differently — the statement.

Tom Parker 'Incredible' The Wanted singer praised by cancer charities Cancer charities have praised the "amazing" job The Wanted singer Tom Parker did raising awareness and funding for brain cancer before his death at the age of 33. He died on Wednesday of terminal brain cancer, having told fans in October 2020 he had an inoperable tumour. He was amazing, honest and positive. Ms Dauncey said Parker drew attention to "solutions and treatments over the over his illness", saying "so many people would have just shut the doors, locked everyone out and wanted to just stick with their family and friends". Instead, the singer "got people together, made a documentary, had a concert [and] brought so many people's attention to this sort of terrible lack of awareness". And I think there must be so many people who had never thought about it before. It is important that individuals like him help us raise the profile of this disease and let the public know that there are these tumours that are still very challenging to treat. Common symptoms of brain tumours include headaches, seizures, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, mental or behavioural changes such as memory problems or changes in personality, progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body and vision or speech problems

Why Biden's off-script remarks about Putin are so dangerous Over the past week, US President Joe Biden has made a series of unscripted remarks that have upped the temperature of US-Russia relations to near boiling point. However, his ad-libbed line at the end of what was billed as a "major speech" in Poland on Saturday - seemingly calling for President Vladimir Putin to be removed from power - may have landed the hardest. Then, right before the "thank yous" and "goodbyes", Mr Biden added of his Russian counterpart: "For God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." Cue the fireworks. He was not discussing Putin's power in Russia, or regime change. The speed with which the US issued its "clarification" - later echoed by Mr Blinken - suggests the US understands the danger inherent in Mr Biden's words. In both cases, Mr Biden's remarks prompted condemnations and warnings from Moscow that US-Russia diplomatic relations were being frayed to the point of breaking. There's a line between condemning a nation's leader - the sometimes overheated rhetoric of diplomacy - and calling for his removal. It was a line both the Americans and the Soviets respected even at the height of the Cold War.

Bitcoin Moves Into Green Territory for 2022 as Crypto Market Surge Continues.