Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskiy denies ordering Moscow drone strike on Putin – as it happened

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Russia has claimed that the Black Sea grain initiative has not allowed it to export agricultural products. State-owned news agency Tass outlines this morning what Russia is looking to achieve with any extension of the deal. It writes:

The Russian foreign ministry indicated that a further decision to extend the deal would depend on the reconnection of Rosselkhozbank [Russian state-owned agricultural bank] to the Swift payment system, the resumption of supplies of agricultural machinery, spare parts and services, the lifting of restrictions on insurance and reinsurance, the lifting of the ban on access to ports, the resumption of operation of the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, [and] unblocking foreign assets and accounts of Russian companies associated with the production and transportation of food and fertilisers.

During the meeting, some issues starting with the grain initiative will be discussed. In this regard, we can say that the sides are looking warmly at the extension of the duration. Our wish is that this initiative is extended without any trouble.

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Brazilian police search Jair Bolsonaro mansion and arrest aide

Police investigate suspected efforts to fake Covid-19 vaccination records in order to travel to US

Federal police have searched the mansion of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro and arrested one of his closest aides as part of an investigation into suspected criminal efforts to fake Covid-19 vaccination records in order to travel to the US.

Lt Col Mauro Cid Barbosa, described by the Brazilian press as Bolsonaro’s “right-hand man”, was one of six people arrested on Wednesday morning as police raided multiple addresses in the capital, Brasília, and Rio de Janeiro.

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Russia accuses Ukraine of trying to kill Putin with Kremlin drone strike

Zelenskiy adviser denies Ukrainian involvement after Kremlin says two attack drones were disabled by Russian defences

Moscow has accused Kyiv of staging a drone attack intended to kill the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin, and vowed to retaliate.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that two drones had been used in the attack, but that they had been disabled by Russian defences.

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‘Not how white men fight’: Tucker Carlson text reportedly worried Fox bosses

Fired Fox host allegedly described Trump supporters assaulting a man, while finding himself ‘rooting for the mob’

A racist text message allegedly sent by the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson set off alarm bells at the top of the network and ultimately contributed to his firing, the New York Times reported.

The text, which remains redacted in court filings in Dominion Voter Systems’ defamation case against Fox News, included the line: “It’s not how white men fight.”

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Nato planning to open Japan office to deepen Asia-Pacific ties – report

Liaison office plans likely to attract criticism from China which has warned against the western alliance extending into Asia

Nato is reportedly planning to open a liaison office in Japan to coordinate with close partners across the Indo-Pacific region including Australia, South Korea and New Zealand.

The plans are likely to attract criticism from the Chinese government, which has previously warned the western alliance against extending “its tentacles to the Asia-Pacific”.

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Boy, 13, kills eight children and security guard in Belgrade school shooting

Police name shooter as Kosta Kecmanović and say he was a pupil at the school who may have plotted attack for a month

A 13-year-old boy opened fire in a Belgrade classroom in an apparently planned attack that killed eight children and a school security guard and injured a further six pupils as well as his teacher.

Police named the shooter as Kosta Kecmanović and said he had been a pupil at the school in the centre of the Serbian capital since 2019. They said he had used two of his father’s guns for the shooting and may have been plotting the attack for a month.

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Laos activist Anousa Luangsuphom gunned down in cafe attack

Rights groups call for urgent and independent investigation into killing of government critic

A prominent activist and critic of the government in Laos has been shot dead in an attack at a coffee shop in the capital, Vientiane.

Anousa “Jack” Luangsuphom, 25, who runs a Facebook page where people share criticism of the government, was sitting in a cafe in Vientiane on 29 April when the attack happened.

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Last UK rescue flight from Sudan to take off on Wednesday

Foreign secretary says there will be no further British evacuation flights from wartorn Port Sudan

The final UK rescue flight from Sudan is expected to take off on Wednesday, the government has said.

The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said British nationals who wanted to leave the country need to make their way to the Coral hotel in Port Sudan by 10am local time (9am BST), adding that there would be no further British evacuation flights from the city.

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China’s Covid whistleblower in Wuhan reportedly freed after three years

Fang Bin was targeted by authorities for reporting on the outbreak of Covid-19 in Wuhan

A Chinese citizen journalist who disappeared three years ago while reporting on the Wuhan coronavirus lockdown – and was later revealed to have been detained by authorities – has reportedly been released.

Fang Bin was let out of detention on Sunday, according to multiple media reports that cited people close to the family. The reports said he had gone to Beijing, where some of his family live, before being sent back to Wuhan on Monday morning, where he remains under strict supervision.

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Six Libyans face death penalty for converting to Christianity

Religious laws are increasingly being used to silence civil society and human rights groups, say activists

Six Libyans are facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity and proselytising under laws increasingly being used to silence civil society and human rights organisations, say activists.

The women and men – some from Libya’s minority ethnic groups, including the Amazigh, or Berbers, in the west of the country – were separately detained in March by security forces.

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Three sections of Roman wall in City of London given protected status

Remains of once vast riverside structure granted legal protection against unauthorised change

Three sections of a huge but little-known Roman wall, discovered under the City of London, have been given protected status as scheduled national monuments.

The riverside wall was a once vast stone structure that formed part of the defences of Roman London. Built in the third century AD along the Thames, it connected to the city’s landward fortifications, large sections of which still exist.

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California college town Davis on edge after spate of stabbings leaves two dead

Police chief denounces ‘violent and brazen attacks’ as student, 20, and unhoused 50-year-old man killed

A northern California university town is on edge after a series of “violent and brazen” attacks in which three people were stabbed within a week – two fatally.

Authorities said they could not reveal whether they are searching for one or multiple suspects in the attacks, which began late last week. One of the victims who died was unhoused, and the other who died was a college student. In the most recent attack, an unhoused woman was injured after reportedly being knifed several times through her tent.

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Dominican investigative journalist targeted with NSO spyware, report says

Nuria Piera, known for her investigations into corruption, was targeted three times, Amnesty International says

One of the Dominican Republic’s most prominent investigative journalists was targeted using spyware made by NSO Group, according to a new report released by Amnesty International.

Nuria Piera, who is well known for her investigations into corruption, was hacked three times between 2020 and 2021, according to Amnesty’s forensic analysis of her mobile phone. The revelation marks the first confirmation that NSO’s military-grade spyware, Pegasus, has been used to target journalists in the Dominican Republic, making it the third Latin American country – after Mexico and El Salvador – where such abuse has been discovered.

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Final UK evacuation flight from Sudan expected to leave on Wednesday

James Cleverly urges British nationals still wanting to leave the war-torn nation to make their way to Port Sudan

The final UK evacuation flight is expected to take off from Sudan on Wednesday, the foreign secretary has announced.

James Cleverly urged British nationals still wanting to leave the war-torn nation to make their way to Port Sudan.

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Tucker Carlson: leaked video reveals fired host’s crude off-camera remarks

Ex-Fox News anchor shown referring to fans as ‘post-menopausal’ and unnamed woman as ‘yummy’ in clips released on Tuesday

Leaked video published on Tuesday showed the fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson describing an unnamed woman as “yummy”, referring to his fans as “post-menopausal” and attempting to discuss sexual technique with British journalist Piers Morgan.

The first two remarks were previously reported by the New York Times. The clips were released by Media Matters for America, a progressive watchdog that on Monday released other video in which Carlson derided the Fox Nation streaming service.

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Amnesty International criticised for using AI-generated images

Group has removed AI images used to promote their reports on social media, including fake photos of Colombia’s 2021 protests

While the systemic brutality used by Colombian police to quell national protests in 2021 was real and is well documented, photos recently used by Amnesty International to highlight the issue were not.

The international human rights advocacy group has come under fire for posting images generated by artificial intelligence in order to promote their reports on social media – and has since removed them.

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French minister’s steamy novel turns up heat on Macron

Sex scene in Bruno Le Maire’s book provokes ridicule and anger among opposition politicians

An explicit sex scene in a newly published novel by the French economy minister has left the government facing fresh accusations it is not listening to the concerns of the country just as it tries to contain anger over the unpopular rise in the pension age.

The toe-curling sexual descriptions in the novel, Fugue Américaine, written by the economy minister, Bruno Le Maire, have angered opposition politicians and inspired anti-government slogans and graffiti at street demonstrations as the government struggles to contain the political crisis over Emmanuel Macron raising the minimum pension age to 64.

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Russian regions scrap Victory Day parades amid fear of Ukraine strikes

Governor of region 400 miles from border latest to cancel over ‘safety concerns’ in glaring admission of vulnerability

At least six Russian regions have scrapped 9 May Victory Day parades that mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany amid fears over Ukrainian strikes, with a region 400 miles from the border being the latest to cancel.

The governor of Saratov announced the parade there would not go ahead because of “safety concerns”, adding to a string of cancellations that are a glaring admission of the country’s military vulnerability more than 14 months into the war.

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China revises military conscription laws in space warfare push

Modernisation of People’s Liberation Army continues with focus on cyberwarfare while retirees are now allowed to re-enlist

China’s government has revised its conscription laws, allowing retired service people to re-enlist and increasing recruitment focused on expertise in space and cyberwarfare.

The amended regulations, approved by the state council and the central military commission, came into force on Monday, and covered all aspects of China’s military recruitment and personnel deployment processes, for domestic emergencies and wartime.

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Khartoum hospitals being hit as Sudan fighting intensifies

Several people killed outside East Nile hospital as civilian groups step in to help people caught in conflict

Fierce street fighting, including the use of heavy weaponry and artillery fire, has consumed central Khartoum as worsening violence tests a deteriorating ceasefire.

Volleys of airstrikes and sounds of gunfire were audible in Khartoum’s twin city, Omdurman, overnight as clashes raged throughout the capital, and were particularly heavy in areas around major government and military infrastructure in the city centre.

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