A Kremlin spokesman informed Interfax that Russia had received a list of the names of the Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) as part of the planned dialogue between the two nations.
After Moscow released its own list of prisoners it wanted released, Dmitry Peskov told Interfax on Thursday that the list had been received.
In what would be the largest swap of the war, talks last week in Istanbul, Turkey, reached agreement on the deal, which will give each side 1, 000 POWs.
Since the start of the war in 2022, those discussions included the first direct peace negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Ukraine had requested a 30-day ceasefire before the meeting, but Moscow only approved the prisoner swap.
Since then, Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of purposefully stifling peace negotiations to consolidate its territorial gains.
The major prisoner swap is a “quite laborious process” that “requires some time,” according to Peskov, who added that “the work is proceeding at a quick pace.”
According to the Kremlin spokesperson, “everyone wants to do it right away.”
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, claimed on Thursday that the agreement to release “1, 000 of our people from Russian captivity” was perhaps the only tangible outcome of the meeting in Turkiye.
In a post on X, he wrote, “We are working to ensure that this result is achieved.”
Rustem Umerov, the president’s personal office, and several Ukrainian government ministries are supporting the exchange process, Zelenskyy added.
One of Ukraine’s top priorities, Zelenskyy said, is the return of all of our citizens from Russian captivity. Everyone who makes a contribution to this project is a blessing to me.
As Ukraine, the European Union, and the United States press Moscow to resume negotiations, Peskov refuted reports of upcoming Vatican peace talks, saying, “There is no concrete agreement about the next meetings.”
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and US President Donald Trump reaffirmed their commitment to putting an end to the “bloodbath.”
Putin thanked Trump for backing resuming direct negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, and declared that his country would “propose and is willing to collaborate with the Ukrainian side on a memo on a possible future peace agreement.”
Meanwhile, the Russian defense ministry announced on Thursday that its air defenses shot down 105 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 35 over the Moscow region.
Between late Tuesday and early Thursday, the ministry reported that it shot 485 Ukrainian drones over a number of regions and the Black Sea.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of Kherson in southern Ukraine, added on Thursday that a Russian artillery attack in the area claimed the lives of one person.
Eleven people were hurt in 35 areas in the Kherson region, including the city of Kherson, over the past day when they were attacked with artillery shells and air attacks.
The normally private residence where the Pride & Prejudice author took lodgings for her the final three months of her life has been opened to the public for the first time
The modest lodging room where one the world’s greatest novelists, Jane Austen, breathed her last breath has been opened to the public for the first time in Winchester, Hampshire.
Normally crowds of Jane Austen fans from all over the world gather outside the cream-coloured walls of this hallowed Georgian building at No 8 College Street to pay homage to their favourite author, whose six witty novels such as Sense & Sensibility captured a slice of 18th century English life and spawned a global romantic industry in Hollywood films, BBC period dramas and spin-off TV series.
Normally the closest fans have been able to get over the years has been to take photos of the memorial plaque to Jane that hangs above the door at No 8, but have never been allowed to step foot inside.
The only portrait of Jane Austen circa 1790(Image: Getty Images)
Keeley Hawes plays Cassandra Austen in Miss Austen(Image: BBC/Bonnie Productions/MASTERPIECE/Robert Viglasky)
Now the hand-written note stuck to the wall outside reminding tourists that it is a private residence has been torn down, and the simple lodgings rooms where Jane spent three months before her untimely death, aged 41, has been opened for just 28 days to the public to mark the 250th anniversary of the author’s birth.
Article continues below
On 18 July 1817, Jane had a seizure after a long unknown illness and died with her head in her beloved sister Cassandra’s lap upstairs in the lodging house, just five minutes walk from the Winchester Cathedral where she is buried.
READ MORE: Brits urged to ditch cheese and onion for insect crisps as health benefits are amazing
Born the seventh child of eight in 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire, where her father was rector, Jane famously never wed after her first love Irish lawyer Tom Lefroy (played by James McAvoy in the 2007 film Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway) departed for Dublin and wed a wealthy woman.
The rooms where Jane and her sister took lodgings before the novelist’s death(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
The author, who just before her death had begun to enjoy a minor celebrity despite publishing her books anonymously, only earned around £650 in her lifetime (the equivalent of £40,000 today) from her work, and was used to living relatively modestly compared to her wealthy brothers.
Jane and her sister and mother lived in Chawton Cottage, 10 miles from Winchester, which was one of many properties owned by her rich brother Edward, who had an annual income of £15,000 – even grander than Mr Darcy’s £10,000 a year in Jane’s most famous work, Pride & Prejudice.
Guiding the first tour of its kind in the house, Adam Rattray, head of history of art at Winchester College, which owns the property, explains how historians and architects have been able to peel back the layers of history in the house to recreate what it would have looked like in Jane’s time.
Jane spent a great deal of time on a sofa in the room where she died in 1817(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
“Jane had been unwell for many months and when she arrived in Winchester on May 24, she was suffering from an unknown disease – possibly Addison’s or Lupus. She had a blotchy face and she had not left her house in a long time and came to the city for medical treatment from Giles King Lyford, surgeon-general at county hospital.
“In her last letters to her nephew, Jane wrote about her ‘comfortable lodgings, including the neat little drawing room with a bow window overlooking Dr Gabell’s garden,’ who was the master of the college. And how she mainly spent her days on a sofa, which we have replicated with a piece of furniture from the period covered with ticking.
“The house virtually remained untouched for years so much of the cornicing is original, and we have matched the same coloured green paint we found on the walls downstairs, and the grey, terracotta and cream of Jane’s lodgings.”
Outside No 8 College Street in Winchester, which has been opened to the public for the first time(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
Sadly Jane never recovered and a day before she died, when asked by her sister what she needed, she replied, “Only death itself.”
Her last tragic words were, “God grant me patience, Pray for me, Oh pray for me.”
Jane was buried with just four male members of her family in attendance, as women did not attend funerals at the time. And her heartbroken sister Cassandra could only watch from the window upstairs in the lodging house as the funeral cortege carrying Jane passed on the way to her final resting place.
Cassandra, who was played by Keeley Hawes in the recent BBC period drama Miss Austen, wrote later, “I watched the little mournful procession the length of the street and when it turned from my sight… I had lost her forever,” before leaving the house never to return.
Austen fans from around the world come to lay flowers at Jane’s grave(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
The opening of the house where Jane died is part of a summer-long celebration of the Hampshire city’s most famous resident, including a display in the City Museum of Jane’s belongings such as her beautiful silk pelisse – or coat – which shows Jane stood about 5ft 7-tall and was a size six in modern UK sizing.
Louise West, former curator of Jane’s house, explains how when Jane began earning her own money, she loved to spend it. “We have many everyday objects here that belonged to Jane such as purses which normally would have been thrown out, but by the end of her life, Jane’s sister and mother were being asked for Jane’s autographs, so she was beginning to become famous.
“Even though Jane made many of her clothes, she paid for the silk pelisse to be made for her at great expense, and if you look closely, you’ll see it’s covered in tiny oak leaves – a Naval symbol – in tribute to her two seafaring brothers.
The historic home of author Jane Austen in Chawton, Hampshire is open to the public(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
“Jane’s house at Chawton would have been very cold, and she would have worn the pelisse a bit like a housecoat to keep herself warm.”
Visitors to the city can also experience the Jane Austen exhibition at Winchester Cathedral where she was buried, and where letters and poems between Jane and her good friend Anne Lefroy are on display.
Jane met Anne Lefroy’s nephew Tom as a lively 20-year-old when she attended many balls at the Assembly Rooms in Basingstoke.
In early January 1796, Jane wrote excitedly to her older sister Cassandra about her crush, calling him “a very gentlemanlike, good-looking, pleasant young man”.
Jane’s silk pelisse at City Museum
Jane’s writing table at Chawton Cottage(Image: Sunday Mirror)
But alas, Jane was unlikely to offer bring much in the way of a dowry, and in another of her letters later that year, she mentioned his departure and wrote, “At length the day is come when I am to flirt my last with Tom Lefroy, and when you receive this it will be over. My tears flow as I write at the melancholy idea.”
Indeed Tom left the country and married a wealthy woman Mary Paul in 1799, and they had seven children and lived in the family estate at Carrigglass Manor in County Longford in Ireland. Tom and Jane never saw each other again, but the Austen and Lefroy families kept in touch over the years, and descendants of Tom have been very involved with the celebrations of the famous author.
Tim Lefroy, 77, who is Tom’s brother’s great grandson, also lives in Winchester, and attended the opening. He spoke about why his young Anglo Irish ancestor would never have married Jane. “Tom was an impecunious lawyer and couldn’t afford to marry Jane – he had yet to start his career.”
Descendents of Tom Lefroy including his brother’s great grandson on the far left, Tim Lefroy(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
As the years passed and Jane grew older, she remained unmarried. That’s not to say she wasn’t courted by other suitors – aged 27 she received a proposal from a local farmer Harris Bing-Wither who was due to inherit a large fortune, but after accepting him, the following day she turned him down.
Curator Louise West adds, “He was a very nice family friend, but rather dull. Considering what we know Jane thought of romance, it’s hardly surprising she declined his offer.”
Jane was a prolific letter writer and wrote thousands of them in her lifetime, but her sister burned all but 160 of them. Probably because Jane’s sharp tongue would have embarrassed many with her witty yet indiscreet revelations about neighbours and family.
The tomb at Winchester Cathedral where novelist Jane Austen is buried(Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)
However perhaps we should all be thankful Jane never married and had children – not least because three of her Jane’s six sisters in law died in childbirth – but also, if she had, it’s unlikely Jane would have had the time or support to write what are thought to be six of the greatest novels in the English language.
And now her tomb inside the spectacular Norman Winchester Cathedral, which is engraved with an epitaph written by her brother Henry, is a shrine to fans who come from all over the world to lay flowers and pay their respects to one of the literary world’s most famous women.
Article continues below
READ MORE: Claudia Winkleman-loved brand launches Bank holiday sale including ‘holy grail’ spray
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
Stephan Shemilt
Trent Bridge’s Chief Cricket Reporter
547 Comments
Trent Bridge, the first of four days, is the only test.
England 498-3: Pope 169*, Duckett 140, Crawley 124
Zimbabwe: yet to bat
Zimbabwe won the choice to field and the toss.
Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley joined Ben Duckett in establishing centuries of total dominance over Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge as the two faced mounting pressure on their positions.
If Jacob Bethell makes a comeback for the series against India later in the summer, opener Crawley and number three Pope will be most vulnerable.
However, the selectors had to make a decision as England scored 498-3 on the opening day of the one-off Test, which is the highest total runs scored on a test day in this country.
With Crawley, England’s highest opening partnership in a home test since 1960, Duckett led the way with 140, adding 231 for the first wicket.
Pope completed the triumvirate with a majestic unbeaten score of 169, followed by Crawley with his first Test century in almost two years, 124.
All this after Zimbabwe won the choice to field and the toss. under a leaden sky. When the clouds parted, England cashed in on a pristine batting surface.
After lunch, Zimbabwe’s opening bowler Richard Ngarava suffered a back injury, but this was a mismatch.
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
England enjoys a fantastic year.
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
With series matches against India and Australia in hand, England had just begun a pivotal year in test cricket. A sedate and one-sided opening day in Nottingham will be far more challenging and intense than those encounters.
Zimbabwe haven’t played a Test since 1992. With 11 matches in 2025, they are regaining their status as a test nation. Although the name was being tested, there was no contest.
After Bethell impressed in New Zealand over the winter, intrigue surrounded the conundrum at the top of the order in England.
Ben Stokes, England captain on Wednesday, said: “Put two and two together, you probably know what’s going to happen.” The 21-year-old is currently out of action in the Indian Premier League.
Later, it was clarified that Stokes was referring to Bethell returning immediately to the England squad rather than the XI.
Crawley and Pope would have known that their positions were in jeopardy and needed to do more to support their cause.
Top three tripled
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
Zimbabwe made the right choice to add the home team in the heavy sky. Stokes claimed he would have done the same.
However, it was a run-scoring procession after Duckett hit left-armer Ngarava through the covers for four in the opener.
Blessing Muzarabani, a imposing seamer, was unable to exert any pressure on Zimbabwe. England scored well above five overs without breaking a sweat as a result of a slew of loose deliveries.
When the tourists drifted onto his pads, Duckett was the aggressor, whipping into the leg side.
After a terrible tour of New Zealand just before Christmas, Crawley turned his attention to handsome cover drives when Zimbabwe overpitched.
The fifth Test century for left-hander Duckett was the product of exactly 100 deliveries. When he slammed the same bowler to short cover, he had just hoiked off-spinner Wesley Madhevere for his second six.
Pope took his first 20 balls of a Test innings and hit his stride, taking 31 runs, which is the most he has ever taken.
It was Crawley’s first Test century since the all-time great 189 against Australia in the fourth Ashes Test of 2023, when he reached three. Sikandar Raza, lbw sweeping spinner, and Crawley, who had a hip problem, shared the second-wicket partnership’s 137.
Pope frequently used cuts and obscene deflections over the slips along the off-side boundary. His eighth Test hundred was scored against an eighth different opponent. He has only ever managed to score three points against Australia.
When he increased to 33 and then relegated Muzarabani to long leg, Joe Root became the fifth batter to do so. Pope continued to push against the second new ball, with Victor Nyauchi’s outstanding catch over a fine leg for six as the highlight.
What they said was that “Crawley and Pope played with control.”
BBC Sport
Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, said, “Zak Crawley played with a lot of control.” Later, he later played the ball. His interceptions are much closer to his eyeline, as I’ve seen them.
There is a gap between the bat and the ball because he plays poorly when he plays out in front of himself. He no longer exerts as much control over his drives as he did today.
Ollie Pope impressed me in part because of reports that Ben Stokes has stated that Jacob Bethell will return. The Pope could read any errors that were made in his or her quote.
One of Pope’s biggest complaints, especially for the first 20 balls, is how skittish he can be. I believed that the attack was what caused him to appear in control.
Zak Crawley, an England batter, says, “I’m pleased. I was very impressed with the wicket, and I knew that if I worked hard and focused, I could get a score for the taking, which I thankfully did.
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
Stephan Shemilt
Trent Bridge’s Chief Cricket Reporter
547 Comments
Trent Bridge, the first of four days, is the only test.
England 498-3: Pope 169*, Duckett 140, Crawley 124
Zimbabwe: yet to bat
Zimbabwe won the choice to field and the toss.
Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley joined Ben Duckett in establishing centuries of total dominance over Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge as the two faced mounting pressure on their positions.
If Jacob Bethell makes a comeback for the series against India later in the summer, opener Crawley and number three Pope will be most vulnerable.
However, the selectors had to make a decision as England scored 498-3 on the opening day of the one-off Test, which is the highest total runs scored on a test day in this country.
With Crawley, England’s highest opening partnership in a home test since 1960, Duckett led the way with 140, adding 231 for the first wicket.
Pope completed the triumvirate with a majestic unbeaten score of 169, followed by Crawley with his first Test century in almost two years, 124.
All this after Zimbabwe won the choice to field and the toss. under a leaden sky. When the clouds parted, England cashed in on a pristine batting surface.
After lunch, Zimbabwe’s opening bowler Richard Ngarava suffered a back injury, but this was a mismatch.
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
England enjoys a fantastic year.
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
With series matches against India and Australia in hand, England had just begun a pivotal year in test cricket. A sedate and one-sided opening day in Nottingham will be far more challenging and intense than those encounters.
Zimbabwe haven’t played a Test since 1992. With 11 matches in 2025, they are regaining their status as a test nation. Although the name was being tested, there was no contest.
After Bethell impressed in New Zealand over the winter, intrigue surrounded the conundrum at the top of the order in England.
Ben Stokes, England captain on Wednesday, said: “Put two and two together, you probably know what’s going to happen.” The 21-year-old is currently out of action in the Indian Premier League.
Later, it was clarified that Stokes was referring to Bethell returning immediately to the England squad rather than the XI.
Crawley and Pope would have known that their positions were in jeopardy and needed to do more to support their cause.
Top three tripled
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
Zimbabwe made the right choice to add the home team in the heavy sky. Stokes claimed he would have done the same.
However, it was a run-scoring procession after Duckett hit left-armer Ngarava through the covers for four in the opener.
Blessing Muzarabani, a imposing seamer, was unable to exert any pressure on Zimbabwe. England scored well above five overs without breaking a sweat as a result of a slew of loose deliveries.
When the tourists drifted onto his pads, Duckett was the aggressor, whipping into the leg side.
After a terrible tour of New Zealand just before Christmas, Crawley turned his attention to handsome cover drives when Zimbabwe overpitched.
The fifth Test century for left-hander Duckett was the product of exactly 100 deliveries. When he slammed the same bowler to short cover, he had just hoiked off-spinner Wesley Madhevere for his second six.
Pope took his first 20 balls of a Test innings and hit his stride, taking 31 runs, which is the most he has ever taken.
It was Crawley’s first Test century since the all-time great 189 against Australia in the fourth Ashes Test of 2023, when he reached three. Sikandar Raza, lbw sweeping spinner, and Crawley, who had a hip problem, shared the second-wicket partnership’s 137.
Pope frequently used cuts and obscene deflections over the slips along the off-side boundary. His eighth Test hundred was scored against an eighth different opponent. He has only ever managed to score three points against Australia.
When he increased to 33 and then relegated Muzarabani to long leg, Joe Root became the fifth batter to do so. Pope continued to push against the second new ball, with Victor Nyauchi’s outstanding catch over a fine leg for six as the highlight.
What they said was that “Crawley and Pope played with control.”
BBC Sport
Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, said, “Zak Crawley played with a lot of control.” Later, he later played the ball. His interceptions are much closer to his eyeline, as I’ve seen them.
There is a gap between the bat and the ball because he plays poorly when he plays out in front of himself. He no longer exerts as much control over his drives as he did today.
Ollie Pope impressed me in part because of reports that Ben Stokes has stated that Jacob Bethell will return. The Pope could read any errors that were made in his or her quote.
One of Pope’s biggest complaints, especially for the first 20 balls, is how skittish he can be. I believed that the attack was what caused him to appear in control.
Zak Crawley, an England batter, says, “I’m pleased. I was very impressed with the wicket, and I knew that if I worked hard and focused, I could get a score for the taking, which I thankfully did.
JavaScript must be enabled in your browser to play this video.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, US President Donald Trump’s administration has prevented Harvard University from enrolling international students.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed that the Trump administration was “holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordination with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus” in a post on X on Thursday.
Universities can enrol foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition costs to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments, she said. “It is a privilege, not a right. “Harvard had plenty of opportunities to do what was right. It turned down.”
Noem claimed that the university’s Student Exchange Visitor Program certification had been suspended in a letter to the administration. The US Homeland Security Investigations unit, which Noem leads, is in charge of the program.
The decision means that current students must “transfer to another university in order to maintain their non-immigrant status,” according to the letter.
Harvard described the action as “retaliatory action” and “unlawful” in a statement.
The university stated in a statement that “we are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who come from more than 140 countries, and greatly enhance the university and this country.”
The university, which has refused to accept a list of demands related to its diversity programs and response to pro-Palestine protests, and the Trump administration are at odds with each other.
The administration’s response to the administration’s $2.6 billion grant and funding cuts totaled three rounds. The most recent one occurred on Monday. The administration is currently suing Harvard for violating the US Constitution with its conduct.
Alan Garber, president of Harvard, urged alumni to show their support and donations for the university earlier this week.
In an email where he launched the Presidential Priorities Fund and Presidential Fund for Research, Garber wrote, “The institution entrusted to us now faces challenges unlike any other challenges in our long history.” The funding cuts are intended to close any gaps left by the funding cuts.
earlier threat
Noem threatened to revoke Harvard’s Student Exchange Visitor Program certification in April, which is required by educational institutions to accept students on a variety of visa types.
She cited a federal law that mandates disclosures of academic records, enrollment, and disciplinary action for the administration on April 30 to give the administration a deadline of April 30 to provide detailed information about what she called the “illegal and violent activities” of foreign students on campus.
The university later told the agency it had the requested information, according to the Harvard Crimson, but they declined to provide any further details.
The threat came as a result of the Trump administration’s wider crackdown on pro-Palestine demonstrations at US universities, which federal officials have generally deemed to be “anti-Semitic,” according to Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett.
According to Halkett, a journalist from Washington, DC, “The Trump administration has been clamping down heavily on Harvard and other colleges, including Columbia University,” over what the administration claims are “anti-Semitism” that exists on the campuses.
At the beginning of his presidency, the president established a joint task force to address this, according to her. But opponents claim that it expanded to include everything from changing university curriculum to stricter hiring standards. Trump has accused universities of instigatorating “anti-Trump” ideology.
According to federal data, in the US, in the year 2023, there were 7, 417 schools overall that were eligible for the Student Exchange Visitor Program.
The Premier League’s final game will start at 16:00 BST, with all 10 matches beginning at 12:00 PM.
You can follow updates on all the games from 17:00 BST on BBC Two, which begins with an hour-long Football Focus episode on Sunday at 12:00 BST, and from there, BBC One begins the day’s coverage.
On Sunday night at 22:30 BST, BBC One’s Match of the Day will feature highlights from all the games.
With commentary from Ian Dennis and former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, BBC Radio 5 Live will cover Nottingham Forest’s match against Chelsea.
On BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, former Liverpool full-back Stephen Warnock and Arne Slot’s champions face FA Cup winners Crystal Palace.
Sohail Sahi and former Wolves striker Matt Jarvis will also cover the Molineux side’s home match against Brentford on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3.
As the goals come in, BBC Radio 5 Live will have updates from all three commentaries, as well as BBC Sounds and the BBC website and app.
