#BREAKING German rail operator Deutsche Bahn says sabotage caused the massive problems with the train network in the north of the country on Saturday The German rail operator said "sabotage to cables which were vital for train traffic" led to the disruption - and security authorities have taken over the investigation. More details to follow

#BREAKING: The European Union has put into effect sanctions to exclude seven Russian financial institutions from the SWIFT banking communications network with a 10-day transition period. Sberbank and Gazprombank, the main facilitators of energy payments in the EU, are not included, a senior EU official said, after EU member states voiced concerns about energy prices increasing.

#BREAKING: Athletes from Russia and Belarus can compete as neutrals at the Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing despite the invasion of Ukraine, the International Paralympic Committee has said. Paralympic chief Andrew Parsons said: “What we have decided upon is the harshest possible punishment we can hand down within our constitution and the current IPC rules." nordot.app/87173026179611…

The Russian military says it has gained full control of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson after days of fighting. Fighting also continues in Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv, where the governor says at least 21 people have been killed and 112 injured in Russian attacks.

Russian forces are pushing ahead with their assaults on key Ukrainian territories, including the capital Kiev and the country's east, where dozens of Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an airstrike. Seventy Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Russian missile attack in the region of Sumy, the Ukrainian parliament confirmed.

Further sporting sanctions on Russia have been announced following the invasion of Ukraine with figure and speed skaters banned from competition and the men's world volleyball championships moved out of the country. nordot.app/87136795341173… World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe says sport "cannot sit this one out" as his federation joins skating, skiing and many others in suspending Russian and Belarusian athletes from international events.
nordot.app/87144713315421…

The Ukraine crisis continued to reverberate through stock markets, but unevenly, with Asian shares trading largely stably, but with European shares seeing another round of losses. In Germany, the DAX continued its losing trend from last week, hitting 14,308.34 at one point, a decline of 2.1%, largely because of fluctuations in the shares of firms like HelloFresh and Zalando.

It was clear last week it would happen, and now Daniil Medvedev has officially dethroned Novak Djokovic and become the 27th man to top the ATP world rankings.
nordot.app/87100168704596… #BREAKING: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommends that athletes from Russia and Belarus should not be allowed to compete in international sports events.

#BREAKING: The Russian Defence Ministry says it has put the country's deterrent weapons on heightened alert. The United States has also imposed hard-hitting sanctions on the Russian central bank, banning US citizens and institutions from conducting transactions with the institution, says a senior White House official.

Moscow says Russian troops have taken nuclear plant in Ukraine Ukraine denies Russia has captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

#BREAKING One person has been killed and at least 10 others injured in a collision of two regional trains near Munich, according to German police. Now at least 30 others were injured in the collision between two commuter trains in the Upper Bavaria region near Munich, according to German police.

G7 finance ministers say they are ready to impose "massive and immediate" economic sanctions on Russia should it invade Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sets off for Kiev as he prepares to hold talks with the leaders of Ukraine and Russia in a bid to stave off war dpaq.de/WNJkB

#BREAKING Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva can compete in the Olympic women's event after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the lifting of a provisional suspension in connection with a positive doping test. The urgent decision permits the 15-year-old to enter the singles, which starts Tuesday, despite appeals from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the governing skating body (ISU). nordot.app/86583763204304…

Kaillie Humphries has become the first woman to win Olympic bobsleigh medals at four Games, a feat matched by fellow US athlete Elana Meyers Taylor, who took home the silver in the inaugural women's Olympic monobob. Four-time world champs Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France took gold in the ice dance, fending off reigning world champions Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Newly re-elected German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier still sees chances to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine by diplomatic means.
dpaq.de/lhdAb On Sunday, US President Joe Biden joined leaders assuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of their support.

Senior officials and representatives of the German War Graves Commission have commemorated the victims of the Allied bombing raids on the city of Dresden of February 13-14, 1945, who are buried in the city - mainly firefighters, soldiers and policemen. "In remembering, we must face up to the complexity of a simultaneously divisive and unifying history, an infinitely complex one, precisely because of the current political situation in our city, in our country and in Europe," Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert said.
dpaq.de/oPTi2

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt has won Olympic giant slalom gold as pre-race favourite, after the second run run was delayed by rare heavy snowfall in the region.
nordot.app/86552443634810… Russian skiers meant business from the outset to win the Olympic cross-country relay for the first time in 42 years ahead of Norway and France.
nordot.app/86552450778138…

Saudi Arabia has announced the transfer of 4% of shares in its oil giant Aramco to a state sovereign wealth fund. The decision is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to diversify the nation's oil-dependent economy.

The women's freeski slopestyle qualifiers featuring home favourite and big air champion Eileen Gu have been called off for the day due to heavy snow and poor visibility. New schedule to come in the coming hours. Olympics organizers reported three new coronavirus cases related to the Beijing Winter Games in their Sunday report, the lowest daily number recorded so far.

Russia's embassy in Washington has rejected claims from the US government that Moscow is planning to invade Ukraine in the coming days, as a number of national governments advised their citizens to leave the country.
nordot.app/86521485850445… The Netherlands has urged its citizens to leave Ukraine.
nordot.app/86522612415586…

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is confident a legal issue surrounding the Beijing Winter Games figure skating team event will be resolved by Tuesday. The IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) are appealing the lifting of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's doping suspension. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams says he is "as certain as (he) can be" that the issue will be resolved by Valieva's next event.