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President Putin’s highly choreographed Q&A session went largely as expected, giving him a chance to show he’s in control and listening to the people.

The questions were handpicked to avoid anything awkward – and ranged from talking tough on Ukraine to addressing concerns about egg prices, and even speaking to an AI version of himself.

However, a few text messages from viewers flashed up on screens that appeared a bit too close to the bone to put to Mr Putin.

Here are a few of them, caught by reporters in the studio:

‘Make peace, deaths are unacceptable’

‘Time to call it a day’

‘Real help for ordinary people’

‘Praying for a miracle’

‘Who’s helping us in Russia?’

‘When will the war end?

‘Why can’t we look after our soldiers?

Read more:
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An After School Satan Club will go ahead despite opposition from faith and education leaders in Tennessee.

Around 40 members of the faith community joined leaders at Memphis-Shelby County Schools to criticise the planned club and to question The Satanic Temple’s intentions in offering it.

According to local newspaper the Commercial Appeal, the protesters wanted to make it clear that students would need signed permission slips to attend and to express support for religious organisations that had partnered with the district.

“You see the faith-based community standing here,” board chair and local pastor Althea Greene told the publication.

“We’re going to stand up and we’re going to be vocal. Satan has no room in this district.”

The After School Satan Club (ASSC) is a federally recognised non-profit organisation and national after-school program with local chapters across the US.

The club, which is associated with the Satanic Temple, plans to host sessions at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova from 10 January in the library.

A flyer about the club describes the Satanic Temple a nontheistic religion that views Satan “as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit”.

It says it does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology but offers activities that “emphasise a scientific, rationalistic, non-superstitious worldview”.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in a statement that the district would rent out the space to the non-profit organisation under its current rules.

Since the announcement, interim Superintendent Toni Williams said some have demanded that the district ban all faith-based organisations from schools.

She added: “As a superintendent, I am duty bound to uphold our board policy, state laws, and the Constitution.

“But let’s not be fooled. Let’s not be fooled by what we’ve seen in the past 24 hours, which is an agenda, initiated to make sure that we cancel all faith-based organisations that partner with our district.”

Four alleged members of Hamas have been detained on suspicion of planning attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe.

Three of the men were detained in Berlin, while another was picked up in the Netherlands.

The members of the group are believed to be long-standing members of Hamas with close links to its military wing, having served in operations abroad, according to German prosecutors.

Hamas has been labelled a terrorist organisation by the United States, the European Union and other Western countries.

It’s alleged no later than spring 2023, one of the men had begun searching for an underground weapons cache previously hidden by the organisation in Europe.

The authorities said three of the group made frequent trips to Germany to look for the weapons in October.

“The weapons were due to be taken to Berlin and kept in a state of readiness in view of potential terrorist attacks against Jewish institutions in Europe,” prosecutors said in a statement.

European authorities have warned of an increased risk of attacks by Islamists radicalised by the Israel-Hamas war.

“Following the terrible attacks by Hamas on the Israeli population, attacks on Jews in Jewish institutions have also increased in our country in recent weeks,” said German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann following the detentions.

“We must therefore do everything we can to ensure that Jews in our country do not have to fear for their safety again,” he added.

The detentions happened on the same day that Danish police also announced four people had been arrested on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack.

Police said three people were detained following raids across the country.

Dutch police confirmed they arrested a 57-year-old man in Rotterdam on the request of German authorities, as part of a German-Danish investigation.

Danish officials would not clarify what the suspected terror plots were connected to.

“I cannot tell you anything about motive, but I can say that there are these connections to abroad. I can also say that there are connections to the gang environment, there are connections to the forbidden gang organisation LTF, Loyal to Familia,” Flemming Drejer, chief superintendent of the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, said.

While the terror threat remains unchanged at the second highest level, police said that it was likely more officers would be visible in Copenhagen and in Jewish communities in the coming days.

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In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office said that Denmark had arrested seven operatives who were acting on behalf of Hamas and thwarted an attack aimed at killing innocent citizens on European soil.

The figure of seven arrests was different from the number provided by the Danes and the discrepancy could not immediately be reconciled.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said Hamas strives to hit targets around the world, and in Europe in particular.