Britney Spears has announced she is pregnant, months after she escaped the legal arrangement that gave her father control over many aspects of her life. The singer told her 40 million Instagram followers she was having a baby with partner Sam Asghari. The 40-year-old, who has two teenage sons, also revealed she suffered depression during a previous pregnancy. In June last year, she told a judge her conservatorship prevented her from marrying or removing her birth control. She has previously said she wanted a family with Asghari, a 28-year-old personal trainer. But the form of legal guardianship known as a conservatorship, set up by her father in 2008 after she experienced a public mental health crisis, meant she could not make her own decisions about her medical care.

The US and Britain say they are looking into reports that chemical weapons have been used by Russian forces attacking the Ukrainian port of Mariupol. Ukraine’s Azov regiment said three soldiers were injured by “a poisonous substance” in an attack on Monday. However, no evidence has been presented to confirm the use of chemical weapons.  UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said officials were working to “urgently” investigate what she called “a callous escalation” of the war. The Pentagon called the potential use of the weapons “deeply concerning”. Western nations have warned that the use of chemical weapons would mark a dangerous escalation of the conflict and have pledged to take firm action if Russia carries out such attacks. Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the government was investigating the allegations, adding that early assumptions suggested phosphorous ammunition had been used.(BBC)…[+]

Elon Musk has decided not to join the board of Twitter, the company’s chief executive Parag Agrawal says. Mr Musk’s appointment was due to become effective on Saturday after revealing last week that he had bought a 9.2% stake in the social media platform. However, Mr Agrawal tweeted: “Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board.” The Tesla boss remains Twitter’s largest shareholder and the firm will remain open to his input, he added. Just over an hour after Mr Agrawal’s announcement, Mr Musk cryptically tweeted a single emoji. The tweet has since been deleted. Over the weekend, the Tesla chief suggested changes to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price, banning advertising and giving the option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin. Mr Musk also asked his more than 81 million followers whether Twitter is “dying” and if its headquarters should be turned into a homeless shelter. And he created a poll asking whether the letter “w” should be removed from the Twitter, with the only options being “yes” and “of course”.(BBC)…[+]

The day after Anton Ischenko celebrated his 23rd birthday, he was taken by the Russians, led away at gunpoint from his home in the village of Andriivka, west of Kyiv. His family found his body a month later, once the Russian troops were driven out. He was so badly mutilated that they had to identify him by his clothes. As Russian forces retreat to eastern Ukraine, horrors are being uncovered in the villages which they left.  About 1,000 people lived in Andriivka, some 60km away from the capital. At least 40 of them were killed. “He was a very nice boy, very clever – he recited poetry,” recalls Anton’s grandmother, Tetiana, sitting outside the family house. Suddenly, her exhausted face crumples.(BBC)…[+]