KYIV: At least six people died overnight as Russian drone and missile strikes pounded Ukraine’s towns and cities, local officials said Saturday.
Meanwhile, Moscow’s troops continued their grinding advance through the country’s east.
A Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Poltava killed at least five people and injured 13 more, including three children, Ukraine’s emergency services reported.
Some 22 people were rescued from the five-story building, which partially collapsed following the attack, said the Poltava region’s acting governor, Volodymyr Kohut. He also announced that the region would observe three days of mourning for the victims of the attack. Rescue teams remain at the site.
Elsewhere, a 60-year-old woman was killed by falling debris from a downed drone in the Kharkiv region, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov wrote on social media.
The bombardment comes as Russian forces continue their monthslong campaign to capture the key Donetsk strongholds of Pokrovsk and nearby Chasiv Yar, fighting their way across farm fields and woodland and engulfing small rural settlements.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Saturday that its troops had taken control of Krymske, a suburb to the north of the contested frontline town of Toretsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Russian troops have been fighting for the settlement in a grinding assault throughout the winter of 2024. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said last week that it expected the Russians to take full control of Toretsk “within days.” “Last night, Russia launched an attack on our cities using various types of weapons: missiles, attack drones, and aerial bombs,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media Saturday.
“Every such act of terror proves that we need greater support in defending against Russian terror. Every air defense system, every interceptor missile, means a life saved.”
The full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine, which began nearly three years ago and shows no signs of ending, has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations.
Many have been evacuated from areas along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line where Ukrainian defenses are straining to hold the bigger Russian army at bay.
Civilians have endured hardship caused by Russian attacks on the power grid that have denied them heating and running water. Saturday’s missile attack prompted emergency power grid shutdowns in seven Ukrainian regions, including Poltava, state energy company Ukrenergo said.
Ukrainian strikes also hit Russia, with air defenses intercepting nine drones across the country’s Bryansk, Belgorod and Saratov regions, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement Saturday morning.
Russian drone and missile attacks kill 6 in Ukraine
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Russian drone and missile attacks kill 6 in Ukraine
- A Russian missile strike on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Poltava killed at least five people and injured 13 more
- Some 22 people were rescued from the five-story building, which partially collapsed
Starlink launches in Bangladesh to boost reliable Internet access
DHAKA: Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX-owned satellite Internet service Starlink launched in Bangladesh on Tuesday, as the South Asian nation steps up efforts to ensure reliable, uninterrupted access to the Internet.
Muhammad Yunus, who has led the government since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh following weeks of violent protest last year, has said the deal provided a service that could not be disrupted by any future political upheaval.
“Starlink’s high-speed, low-latency Internet is now available in Bangladesh,” the company posted on X.
Monthly packages start at 4,200 taka ($35) for the service now available nationwide, said Yunus aide Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, with a one-time payment of 47,000 taka required for setup equipment.
“This has created a sustainable alternative for premium customers to get high-quality and high-speed Internet services,” he added in a Facebook post.
Nobel peace laureate Yunus took the helm of the interim government in August after Hasina fled to neighboring India. Authorities had suspended Internet and text messaging services as protests spread nationwide last July.
Starlink has expanded rapidly worldwide to operate in more than 70 countries, with a strong focus on further growth in emerging markets such as India. ($1=121.0000 taka)
Vietnam says second round of trade talks started in Washington
- The second round of formal talks for a bilateral trade deal began on Monday and will run until May 22
HANOI: Vietnam and the United States have started a second round of trade negotiations in Washington, the Vietnamese government said on Tuesday as it seeks a deal to avoid a threatened 46 percent tariff rate that could weaken its export-driven growth model.
The second round of formal talks for a bilateral trade deal began on Monday and will run until May 22, the trade ministry said in a statement. The first round of talks was held earlier this month.
“The two countries had discussions on the overall approach to resolving fundamental issues of mutual concern and accelerating the negotiation process,” the ministry said.
“Vietnam and the US are also speaking about current policies as a basis for proceeding to next steps.”
Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien is leading the delegation, which includes representatives from sectors such as construction, agriculture and technology, as well as officials from the central bank and finance ministry.
Dien also met with his US counterpart Jamieson Greer in South Korea last week, following an APEC meeting.
The US has delayed the implementation of the 46 percent tariff on Vietnam until July, substituting it with a 10 percent rate. If enforced, the tariff could disrupt Vietnam’s growth, given its heavy reliance on exports to the US, its largest market.
Vietnam, which is a significant regional manufacturing base for many Western companies, recorded a trade surplus of over $123 billion with the US in 2024.
In a bid to reduce that surplus, Hanoi has implemented several measures, including curbing shipments of Chinese goods to the US via its territory and increasing its purchases of US goods.
Dien also held discussions on nuclear technology with US power company Westinghouse on Monday, the ministry said, after the government last year resumed plans to develop nuclear power plants.
Westinghouse did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside of US business hours.
In a separate statement, the finance ministry said state energy firm PetroVietnam planned to buy more crude oil from Exxon Mobil, while the country’s rubber and maritime corporations were both looking to establish US facilities.
New Zealand defers vote on rare suspension of Indigenous lawmakers
- The Te Pati Maori members performed the haka last November
SYDNEY: The New Zealand government on Tuesday deferred a vote over the rare suspension of three Indigenous lawmakers from parliament for performing a haka, the Maori ceremonial dance, during the reading of a contentious bill last year.
A parliamentary privileges committee last week recommended temporarily suspending three Te Pati Maori parliamentarians for acting in “a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the house.”
The Te Pati Maori members performed the haka last November ahead of a vote on a controversial bill that would have reinterpreted a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori that still guides policy and legislation.
Co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi should be suspended for 21 days and representative Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven days, the committee said.
Chris Bishop, the leader of the house, said delaying the vote would allow the suspended members to participate in the federal budget on Thursday. The vote will take place following the budget, he said.
“Deferring consideration of the debate means all members will have the opportunity to debate and vote on the budget,” Bishop said.
Several protesters gathered outside the parliament in Wellington for the vote over the suspensions, and New Zealand media reported they might perform a haka in support of the Maori lawmakers.
Judith Collins, who heads the privileges committee and serves as attorney-general, told parliament that the haka forced the speaker to suspend proceedings for 30 minutes and that no permission had been sought to perform it.
“It’s not about the haka ... it is about following the rules of parliament that we are all obliged to follow and that we all pledged to follow,” Collins said.
Suspending lawmakers is rare in New Zealand’s parliament, with the last occasion in 1987, according to media reports.
The opposition Labour party called for a compromise and proposed censure instead of suspension.
The committee’s proposal is “totally out of line with existing parliamentary practice and is disproportionate to the allegations,” opposition leader Chris Hipkins said.
“We have never seen a sanction of this nature in New Zealand’s history before ... it is disproportionate. A sanction is appropriate, this level of sanction simply is not.”
The haka was traditionally a way for Maori to welcome visiting tribes or to invigorate warriors ahead of battle. It is now performed at important events as well as ahead of matches by New Zealand’s rugby teams.
Taiwan says ‘willing’ to talk to China as island boosts defenses
- China has rebuffed Lai’s previous offers to talk
Taipei: Taiwan is prepared to talk to China as equals but it will continue to build up its defenses, the island’s President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday as he marked his first year in office.
Lai, a staunch defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty and detested by Beijing, delivered wide-ranging remarks on the need “to prepare for war to avoid war” and also bolster the island’s economic resilience.
After promising to stand up to China and defend democracy at his inauguration, Lai insisted Taiwan was “willing” to communicate with Beijing if there was “parity and dignity.”
China has rebuffed Lai’s previous offers to talk.
“Peace is priceless and there are no winners in war,” Lai said, but added “we cannot have illusions” and vowed to continue “to strengthen our national defense capabilities.”
Taiwan will “actively cooperate with international allies, shoulder to shoulder to exert the power of deterrence, to prepare for war to avoid war, and to achieve the goal of peace,” Lai told journalists at the Presidential Office.
China, which claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it, has held several rounds of large-scale military drills around the island since Lai took office.
Taiwan’s coast guard warned Monday that China may use “cognitive warfare” to “disrupt public morale” as Lai marks the first anniversary of his inauguration.
As Taiwan comes under pressure from Washington to move more factories to US soil and reduce their trade imbalance, Lai said Taiwan would not “put all our eggs in one basket.”
Taiwan would increase its economic resilience by diversifying markets and boosting domestic demand.
Lai also announced plans to set up a sovereign wealth fund to “boost Taiwan’s economic momentum,” but did not provide details about its size.
The president has seen his first term in the top job engulfed in domestic political turmoil as opposition parties, which control the parliament, seek to stymie his agenda.
The main opposition Kuomintang party (KMT) has called Lai a “dictator” and accused him of pushing Taiwan closer to war with China, while Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suggests the KMT is a tool of Beijing and is undermining Taiwan’s security.
Tensions have escalated into physical fights inside parliament and thousands of supporters of the DPP and opposition parties holding rival street protests.
On Tuesday, Lai said the government wanted to “strengthen cooperation among political parties” and that his national security team would start providing “important national security briefings” to the opposition.
“On the basis of the same facts, we can exchange views frankly and sincerely, discuss national affairs, and work together to face the challenges of the country,” Lai said.
Analysts said Lai’s remarks were more restrained than in previous speeches, which have drawn criticism from Beijing.
“Lai is dialling down the messaging and keeping Taiwan’s head low to avoid getting into anybody’s crosshairs amid this geopolitical uncertainty,” Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told AFP.
National Cheng Kung University politial science professor Wang Hung-jen said Lai “was careful to know when to stop.”
Lai has seen his approval rating fall to 45.9 percent from 58 percent nearly a year ago, according to a survey by Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation in April.
His disapproval rating rose to 45.7 percent — the highest since he took office — which the polling group linked to the Lai government’s handling of US tariffs on Taiwan and the DPP’s unprecedented recall campaign targeting the opposition.
DPP supporters are seeking to unseat around 30 KMT lawmakers through a legal process that allows legislators to be removed before the end of their term.
While the threshold for a successful recall is high, the DPP only needs to win six seats to wrest back control of parliament.
A rival campaign to unseat 15 DPP members has been embroiled in controversy after KMT staffers were accused of forging the signatures of dead people.
The KMT has also threatened to recall Lai.
Indian boycotts grow of Turkish coffee, chocolates and fashion
- Distributor body that supplies 13 million mom-and-pop grocery stores announces “indefinite and total boycott” of Turkish goods
- Indian fashion websites owned by Walmart-backed Flipkart and Reliance have removed numerous Turkish apparel brands
MUMBAI: Small Indian grocery shops and major online fashion retailers are boycotting Turkish products ranging from chocolates, coffee, jams and cosmetics to clothing amid growing anger at Turkiye’s support for Pakistan in a confrontation with India.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan expressed public solidarity with Pakistan, another majority-Muslim country, after India conducted military strikes in response to a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. Cross-border fighting continued for four days before a ceasefire was declared.,
On Monday, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), which supplies 13 million mom-and-pop grocery stores, said it was launching an “indefinite and total boycott” of all Turkish-origin goods, which would affect chocolates, wafers, jams, biscuits and skincare products.
Indian fashion websites owned by Walmart-backed Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance have removed numerous Turkish apparel brands, according to three sources and a review of their websites
Flipkart’s fashion website Myntra removed listings of Turkish brands including Trendyol, known for women’s clothing, street and casual wear brand LC Waikiki and jeans producer Mavi, said one source with direct knowledge.
Myntra removed the brands “in the national interest” without Walmart’s involvement, a second source with direct knowledge said.
Reliance’s fashion website AJIO also removed Turkish brands, including Trendyol, Koton, LC Waikiki from its app, and many of those listings were shown as out of stock on Monday. A source cited “national sentiments” as a reason.
Flipkart, Reliance Retail and the Turkish brands Trendyol, LC Waikiki, Koton and Mavi did not respond to requests for comment.
India has not ordered companies to boycott Turkiye, and India’s annual $2.7 billion in goods imports from Turkiye are dominated by mineral fuels and precious metals.
But a consumer boycott could still be significant. AICPDF said its ban would affect around 20 billion rupees ($234 million) of food products. Apparel imports were worth $81 million last year, according to the Trading Economics reference website.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, one of India’s biggest apple-growing states, said on Monday he would ask for a ban on apple imports from Turkiye, which were worth around $60 million last year.
Moreover, last week Flipkart said it was suspending flight, hotel and holiday package bookings to Turkiye “in solidarity with India’s national interest and sovereignty.”
Indians have been canceling holidays to Turkiye and New Delhi has canceled the security clearance of the Turkish-based aviation ground handling firm Celebi. Reuters reported on Friday that Air India was lobbying Indian officials to disallow rival
IndiGo’s leasing tie-up with Turkish Airlines, citing business impact as well as security concerns sparked by Ankara’s support for Pakistan.
