Civilian deaths in Sumy attack may force Washington to get tough with Putin

Talks between US and Russia continue unabated as attacks on Ukraine’s cities appear to have stepped up

Even by the warped standards of wartime, Russia’s Sunday morning attack on Sumy was astonishingly brazen. Two high-speed ballistic missiles, armed, Ukraine says, with cluster munitions, slammed into the heart of the border city in mid-morning as families went to church, waited for a theatre performance or were simply strolling about on a mild spring day.

The death toll currently stands at 34, including two children. Images from the scene show bodies or body bags on the ground, a trolley bus and cars burnt out, rubble and glass scattered around. It was reckless, cruel and vicious and its consequences entirely predictable to those who gave the order and pressed “launch”.

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Hamas Publishes Video of U.S.-Israeli Hostage Edan Alexander; ‘Not a Holiday of Freedom,’ His Family Says – Haaretz

  1. Hamas Publishes Video of U.S.-Israeli Hostage Edan Alexander; 'Not a Holiday of Freedom,' His Family Says  Haaretz
  2. Hamas releases video of Israeli-American hostage held in Gaza  Reuters
  3. Hamas releases propaganda video showing US-Israeli hostage soldier Edan Alexander  The Times of Israel
  4. Made aliyah alone and abducted on October 7: The story of Edan Alexander  Ynetnews
  5. 'Trump why have you fallen for Netanyahu's lies?': Edan Alexander calls on US, Israel to help him  The Jerusalem Post
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Democrat Gretchen Whitmer tries to distance herself from Oval Office visit

Michigan governor criticized for appearance, including for blocking her face with binders while her photo was taken

The Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer – considered to be a 2028 White House Democratic contender – was trying to distance herself from a recent Oval Office appearance alongside Donald Trump, which saw her get photographed while blocking her face with binders.

Whitmer visited the Republican president on Wednesday alongside a bipartisan delegation to discuss a northern Michigan ice storm, the state’s defense assets and tariffs, among other issues. Following the meeting, Whitmer was brought into the Oval Office where she – as the New York Times described – “stood glumly” during a press conference that saw Trump sign several executive orders that targeted his political opponents.

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More than 200 civilians killed as Sudan’s RSF attacks Darfur displacement camps

Relief International medics among dead as paramilitaries step up violence against region’s displaced people

Paramilitaries in Sudan have murdered more than 200 civilians in a wave of attacks in displacement camps and around the city of El Fasher, the last big city still in the hands of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region.

The deaths include at least 56 civilians killed by the Rapid Support Forces over two days of attacks in Um Kadadah, a town they seized on the road to El Fasher.

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Houthi missile triggers sirens from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem – The Jerusalem Post

  1. Houthi missile triggers sirens from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  The Jerusalem Post
  2. Houthis take responsibility for ballistic missile attack targeting Israel  The Times of Israel
  3. IDF Strikes Hamas Command Center In Gaza Hospital | LIVE BLOG  i24NEWS
  4. Yemen’s Houthis strike Ben Gurion Airport, military base in Israel  Anadolu Ajansı
  5. Yemen's Houthis Claim Downing of US MQ-9 Drone  Yemen Online
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Gabon military leader Brice Oligui Nguema wins presidential election – Al Jazeera

  1. Gabon military leader Brice Oligui Nguema wins presidential election  Al Jazeera
  2. Gabon election: Vote counting in first post-coup poll reaching conclusion  BBC
  3. Gabon's leader Nguema elected president with 90.35% of vote, interior minister says  Reuters
  4. Voters in Gabon choose a new president in the first election since the 2023 military coup  CNN
  5. Brice Oligui Nguema Is Favored to Win Gabon Election  The New York Times
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Israel Strikes Hospital in Northern Gaza and Captures Key Part of South – The New York Times

  1. Israel Strikes Hospital in Northern Gaza and Captures Key Part of South  The New York Times
  2. Israeli air strike destroys part of last fully functional hospital in Gaza City  BBC
  3. Israel strikes a hospital in Gaza, forcing evacuation as strikes intensify  NPR
  4. Israeli missiles strike Gaza hospital, patients evacuated  Reuters
  5. WATCH: IDF kills dozens of terrorists in Rafah as it establishes operational control of area  The Jerusalem Post
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Russian missile strike kills dozens in Ukrainian city of Sumy

Volodymyr Zelenskyy decries attack on ‘ordinary city street’ while people were going to church for Palm Sunday

At least 34 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Sumy as people were going to church for Palm Sunday, in the worst attack on civilians this year.

Two missiles landed in the crowded city centre on Sunday morning. One hit a trolley bus full of passengers. Footage from the scene showed bodies lying in the street, burning cars, and rescuers carrying bloodied survivors. Two of the dead were children.

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UK could target parts of Chinese state under new foreign influence rules

Exclusive: Government is weighing up security concerns against economic benefits of closer ties with Beijing

The government could target parts of China’s security apparatus under new foreign influence rules, the Guardian has learned.

Ministers are considering including parts of the Chinese state accused of interference activities on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs).

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NSW’s sole women’s-only clinic dedicated to trauma ends ‘gamechanging’ focus

Specialists at Ramsay Clinic Thirroul have reportedly resigned against backdrop of larger shortage of psychiatrists across state

In 2022 Ramsay Healthcare opened Australia’s first women’s-only hospital “dedicated” to trauma-related mental health issues in Wollongong.

Ramsay Clinic Thirroul was supposed to be a “gamechanger” designed specifically to provide women – often survivors of family and sexual violence – the safe environment needed to be able to escape the flight or fight stress response and begin to recover through a program of therapies.

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