Zelenskiy lands in Berlin to shore up support; Russian missiles strike home town of Ukraine’s Eurovision entry during song contest
Continue reading...Category Archives: World News
Thailand election day arrives with hope of unseating junta generals from power
Young voters demand change but military-appointed senate poses hurdle to a non-establishment candidate becoming prime minister
Thais are voting on Sunday in an election that could lead to the defeat of the military-backed leader who has ruled Thailand for almost a decade.
However, a skewed election system means the shape of the new government is “very unpredictable”, say analysts, and it is not clear if pro-democracy candidates will succeed in unseating the generals.
Continue reading...Russian missiles strike home town of Ukraine’s Eurovision entry during contest
University town of Ternopil, home of Tvorchi, targeted by missiles with two people injured
The home town of Ukraine’s Eurovision entry came under fire from Russian missiles during the song contest on Saturday.
Ternopil, the university home town of electronic music duo Tvorchi, was among the places targeted, according to Dame Melinda Simmons, the British ambassador to Ukraine.
Continue reading...Ceasefire between Israel and Islamic Jihad in Gaza area takes effect
Dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza, prompting airstrikes in return, in the half-hour leading up to the truce
A ceasefire has taken effect in and around the Gaza Strip after five days of cross-border exchanges that have killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza and two people in Israel.
The truce was due to take effect at 10pm local time (20.00 BST) on Saturday, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said. But, in the final 30 minutes before, dozens of rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel, prompting renewed airstrikes, AFP correspondents in the territory said.
Continue reading...Zelenskiy and pope discuss peace in Ukraine as Russia retreats in Bakhmut
Pope Francis offers help repatriating Ukrainian children from Russia as Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets select leaders in Italy
Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked Pope Francis on Saturday to back Kyiv’s peace plan, and the pope indicated the Vatican would help in the repatriation of Ukrainian children taken by Russians.
The Ukrainian president was in Rome for a one-day whistle-stop visit, also meeting Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, and the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.
Continue reading...‘Pakistan’s democracy hangs by a thread,’ says Imran Khan on return home after arrest
Former prime minister steps up attacks on country’s military leaders as ministers plan to rearrest him
The crowds gathered peacefully, jostling outside the home of the man they call the “saviour of Pakistan”, hoping for a glimpse. Two days earlier, these same streets in the city of Lahore had resembled a warzone as tens of thousands of protesters violently took to the streets, ransacking buildings, burning cars, throwing petrol bombs and clashing with police, with several dying from gunshot wounds.
On Saturday, however, there was calm. Late the previous night, former prime minister Imran Khan had finally returned to his home, following some of the most tumultuous days in the country’s recent history that saw him arrested on Islamabad high court premises by 100 paramilitary officers. He was detained for two days but then, to the surprise of many observers, was granted bail and allowed to walk free after his arrest was declared illegal by Pakistan’s supreme court. With Khan released, the violence eased.
Continue reading...Scientists criticise Nasa for scaling back mission to explore beyond Pluto
Anger at decision to axe the main task of the New Horizons spacecraft to probe the remote Kuiper belt
It may have reached the edge of the solar system and travelled more than 5 billion miles through space, but the New Horizons spacecraft is causing major ripples on Earth. A dispute has erupted between scientists and US space officials in the wake of Nasa’s decision to stop funding next year for the vessel’s main mission.
The move was described as “misguided and unfortunate” by Alan Stern, New Horizons’s principal investigator.
Continue reading...Young Thais look to Pita Limjaroenrat to bust military-royalist grip on power
Move Forward party leader’s promise in election campaign to end political stranglehold chimes with younger generation
When Pita Limjaroenrat took to the stage for his final big campaign event before Thailand’s elections, the cheers and screams were deafening. “Our time has come,” he told crowds of mostly young supporters in a packed stadium in Bangkok.
Pita’s Move Forward party has built a large and loyal support base among young Thais who are fed up with the political status quo. At rallies, he is met with long lines of students and young people queueing for selfies. On TikTok, fans post images of themselves with a special filter that displays his face smiling and lurking in the background.
Continue reading...Two Russian jets and two helicopters reportedly shot down – as it happened
Russian reports suggest two warplanes and two helicopters downed on Saturday, though unclear if due to friendly fire or Ukrainian attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has arrived at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Saturday, a political source told Reuters.
Confirming the visit on Twitter, the Ukrainian president said it was important for “approaching victory of Ukraine”.
Continue reading...India’s Congress party defeats Narendra Modi’s BJP in Karnataka state elections
Victory deals blow to prime minister, who will seek third term in power at next year’s general election
India’s opposition Congress party has swept the Karnataka state elections, dealing a blow to Narendra Modi’s ruling party, which had fought hard to retain power.
As votes were counted on Saturday, it became clear Congress had won an overwhelming majority in the state and the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) quickly conceded defeat. “People have rejected divisive politics,” said Pawan Khera, a Congress party spokesperson.
Continue reading...Ukraine aims for repeat victory in most political Eurovision in years
Four-hour broadcast will feature taunts at Putin and a singalong of a Liverpool anthem
There will be rockets, soldiers and moustachioed men in their underpants lampooning Vladimir Putin as a “crocodile psychopath” – and that’s just the Croatian act.
One of the most stridently political Eurovision grand finals in years takes place in Liverpool on Saturday night against a backdrop of a war in Ukraine that shows little sign of ending.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 444 of the invasion
Russia admits to Ukrainian advances in Bakhmut; two Russian pilots killed as helicopter crashes in Crimea
Continue reading...Oregon Republican boycott threatens key bills on abortion and gun control
Walkout lasting more than a week has thrown statehouse into disarray and jeopardized Democrats’ legislative agenda
Oregon Republicans boycotted the statehouse for a ninth day on Thursday, denying lawmakers the quorum necessary to pass legislation, in a protest that could derail hundreds of bills, including proposals on gun control and abortion rights.
While Democrats control the capital in the Pacific north-west state, Republicans have leveraged rules requiring two-thirds of lawmakers be present to pass legislation, which means Democrats need a certain number of Republicans to be there too.
Continue reading...‘The border is not open’: US immediately replaces Title 42 with strict new rules
Title 42 carried no legal consequences, but now migrants will face being barred from entering the US for five years
The US late on Thursday ended pandemic-era restrictions at the US-Mexico border that blocked many migrants from their right to claim asylum in the US – but immediately replaced the so-called Title 42 restrictions with sweeping new policies designed to deter or even physically prevent people from crossing the border without permission.
In an increasingly hard line from the Biden administration, the secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said on Thursday evening that 24,000 border patrol agents and officers had been sent to the border to enforce US laws, adding: “The border is not open.
Continue reading...Title 42: Biden officials press on with deportation plans and warn those crossing unlawfully face tougher consequences – as it happened
Officials stress hardline approach as American Civil Liberties Union files lawsuit, saying new rules close off safe routes for people seeking asylum
In El Paso, the Texas city this home to one of the major crossing points from Mexico, the Associated Press reports on how the city’s faith leaders are navigating an influx of migrants that’s expected to grow in the days to come.
Here’s more from their story:
As changing policies, rampant misinformation and exasperated, fearful crowds converge in this desert city, faith leaders are striving to provide shelter and uplift.
Along with prayers, they are counseling migrants about the daunting challenges that await them on U.S. soil, with enormous backlogs in asylum hearings and the Biden administration’s newly announced measures that many consider stricter than the existing ones known as Title 42.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands march in Belgrade after mass shootings
Marchers in Serbian capital’s second protest in a week decried populist president Aleksandar Vučić
Tens of thousands of people have marched through Belgrade, blocking a key bridge in the second large protest since two mass shootings that rattled Serbia and left 17 people dead, including many children.
Protesters gathered in front of the parliament building on Friday before filing by the government’s HQ and on to a highway bridge spanning the Sava River, where evening commuters had to turn their vehicles around to avoid getting stuck. At the head of the column was a black banner reading “Serbia against violence.”
Continue reading...Sunak and Starmer criticise decision to deny Zelenskiy a Eurovision speech
Producers of event refuse Ukraine president’s request to speak over fears of politicising contest
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have voiced their disapproval of a decision to prevent Volodymyr Zelenskiy from being able to address this year’s Eurovision.
The prime minister and the Labour leader were united in criticising the decision to block the Ukrainian president’s request to speak at Saturday evening’s grand final. They were joined in their opposition by the former prime minister Boris Johnson.
PA Media contributed to this report
Continue reading...Portuguese parliament legalises euthanasia after long battle
Decision to allow medically assisted dying has divided the deeply Catholic country
After a long battle, Portugal passed a law on Friday legalising euthanasia for people in great suffering and with incurable diseases, joining just a handful of countries around the world.
The issue has divided the deeply Catholic country and was strongly opposed by conservative president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a devout churchgoer.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskiy thanks UK for Storm Shadow missiles; Kremlin denies ground lost in Bakhmut – as it happened
Ukrainian president says he thanked Rishi Sunak for long-range missiles in telephone call
The Russian-imposed mayor of occupied Donetsk has reported on Telegram that one person was killed by Ukrainian shelling of the city overnight. Alexei Kulemzin posted “As a result of the shelling of the Kyivskyi district of Donetsk region, a man of 40-50 years old was killed.”
My colleague Archie Bland looks at what a Ukrainian counter-offensive might mean in practice in today’s First Edition newsletter:
Continue reading...Mother of US bride killed in crash condemns driver who ‘chose to drink’
Samantha Miller, 34, died in South Carolina after rental car driven by Jamie Lee Komoroski hit golf cart she and husband were in
The mother of a South Carolina bride killed by an allegedly drunk motorist just moments after her wedding has lashed out at the accused driver, saying she made “a conscious choice” that turned deadly.
“It wasn’t an accident,” Lisa Miller said to Fox News of the 28 April crash that killed her daughter, Samantha Miller, and led to the arrest of Jamie Lee Komoroski.
Continue reading...