Fierce fighting in north of Ukraine’s Bakhmut, says Russian head of Wagner militia
Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the founder and head of the Wagner group, said his soldiers were “fighting for every street, every house, every stairwell”
Updated 05 February 2023
Reuters
The head of Russia’s private Wagner militia said on Sunday that fierce fighting was ongoing in the northern parts of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which has been the focus of Russian forces’ attention for weeks.
Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the founder and head of the Wagner group, said his soldiers were “fighting for every street, every house, every stairwell” against Ukrainian forces who were not retreating.
‘Many dead’ after Russian strike on Ukrainian city: mayor
Updated 5 sec ago
AFP
KYIV: Ukrainian officials on Sunday said there were “many dead” after a Russian missile attack on the northeastern city of Sumy, which has come under intense attack from Moscow’s forces in recent weeks.
“Many dead today as a result of a missile strike,” the acting mayor of Sumy, Artem Kobzar, said on social media, adding that “the enemy has struck civilians again.”
China’s Xi vows to Indonesia’s Prabowo to deepen partnership, Xinhua says
Updated 44 min 17 sec ago
Reuters
SHANGHAI: Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to deepen his country’s strategic partnership with Indonesia in a call with President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Xi told Prabowo the bilateral partnership had strategic significance and impact globally, as the two exchanged congratulations over the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties, Xinhua said.
Beijing is trying to persuade other nations to hew to a common line against US import tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.
Xi will visit Indonesia’s fellow Southeast Asian nations Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia from Monday, aiming to consolidate ties with some of China’s closest neighbors as trade tension escalates with the United States.
South Korea’s ex-president Yoon to face insurrection trial
Updated 13 April 2025
AFP
SEOUL: Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol will face his first criminal trial on Monday for insurrection after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, which plunged the democratic country into political turmoil.
Yoon sought to impose military rule on the country when he ordered the suspension of political activity and the censorship of media on December 3. The decree lasted just six hours as it was voted down by opposition MPs.
The disastrous attempt led to Yoon’s impeachment by the National Assembly shortly thereafter, with the Constitutional Court fully stripping him of his presidential duties on April 4.
Although he has lost all presidential privileges, Yoon still faces a criminal trial on insurrection charges, which will kick off Monday.
During a preliminary hearing in February, Yoon’s lawyers argued that his detention had been procedurally flawed, an argument accepted by the court, leading to his release 52 days after his arrest.
He was detained in January in a dawn raid after holding out against police and prosecutors for weeks, becoming the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
If convicted, Yoon could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
On Friday, the 64-year-old former leader vacated the presidential residence and returned to his private home in Seoul, greeting supporters along the way.
“Now, I return to being an ordinary citizen of the Republic of Korea, and I will seek a new path in service of our country and our people,” he said in a statement.
With Yoon’s removal, South Korea is set to hold a snap election on June 3 to elect his successor. Until then, the country is governed by acting president Han Duck-soo.
Japanese leader says he hopes Osaka expo will help reunite a divided world
Expo 2025 Osaka officially opened Sunday, with the theme of life, world and the future
It is Osaka’s second world expo after the 1970 event that scored a huge success and attracted 64 million visitors — a record until Shanghai in 2010
Updated 13 April 2025
AP
OSAKA, Japan: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, speaking at Saturday’s opening ceremony for the Osaka expo, expressed his hope that the event will help restore global unity in a world plagued by conflicts and trade wars.
“The world, having overcome the coronavirus pandemic, is now threatened by an array of divisions,” Ishiba said. “At a time like this, it is extremely meaningful that people from around the world gather here and discuss the theme of life and experience cutting-edge technology, diverse ideas and culture.”
Expo 2025 Osaka officially opened Sunday, with the theme of life, world and the future, and Japan hopes to bring unity and portray a future society.
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba takes to the podium to deliver a speech at the official opening ceremony of the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka on April 12, 2025, a day before the event opens to the public for six months. (AFP)
But the event’s celebrations have been somewhat dampened by US President Donald Trump’s recent tariff threats, which add to global tension and uncertainty, with Russia’s war in Ukraine and conflict in the Middle East dragging on.
Citing the expo’s iconic lattice-like wooden “Grand Ring,” which symbolizes unity and encircles the venue, Ishiba said: “I sincerely hope the world will unite again through interactions among countries and visitors in and outside of this ring.”
The costly ring, the world’s largest wooden architectural structure, is 20 meters (65 feet) high and has a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) circumference.
During the six-month event on the reclaimed island and industrial waste burial site of Yumeshima, which means dream island, in the Osaka Bay, the city is hosting some 180 countries, regions and organizations showcasing their futuristic exhibits inside of about 80 pavilions of unique designs.
Visitors queue for the gates to open at 9 a.m. on the first day of the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka on April 13, 2025. (AFP)
It is Osaka’s second world expo after the 1970 event that scored a huge success and attracted 64 million visitors — a record until Shanghai in 2010.
This time, Japan has faced dwindling public interest, and support and was hit by soaring construction costs due to the weaker yen. The cost nearly doubled from the initial estimate to 235 billion yen ($1.64 billion), about 14 percent of which went to the ring, triggering criticisms from many Japanese over the government’s use of their tax money.
The cost increase also caused construction delays for some countries. Several pavilions, including those of Nepal and India, were not quite ready Saturday. Conflicts also affected preparations for Ukraine and the Palestinians. Russia did not participate.
Signage that reads "not for sale" is seen above the Ukraine pavilion on the first day of the six-month 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka on April 13, 2025. (AFP)
Ticket sales have been slow. So far, 9 million advance tickets had been sold, far short of the organizers’ target of 14 million. Organizers hope to have more than 28 million visitors at the event that lasts through Oct. 13.
Emperor Naruhito, in his address at Saturday’s opening ceremony, recalled visiting the earlier expo as a fascinating experience for a then 10-year-old prince.
“I vividly remember how excited I was coming across the latest technology, playing with a wireless phone and looking at the moon rock,” brought back by the US Apollo 12 lunar mission, said the emperor, now 65.
Naruhito said he hoped the second Osaka expo would be as successful and expressed hope that children will learn more about people, regions and the world and think about future society by interacting with next-generation technologies and efforts for sustainable future.
Trump says Ukraine talks may be going OK, but there is a time ‘to put up or shut up’
US envoy Witkoff held talks with Putin in Russia on Friday
Trump has warned of sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil
Updated 13 April 2025
Reuters
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/MOSCOW: US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine may be going OK, but “there’s a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up.”
Trump made the comment to reporters a day after he showed frustration with Russia and told it to “get moving” on reaching a deal.
“I think Ukraine-Russia might be going OK, and you’re going to be finding out pretty soon,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, while adding:
“There’s a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up and we’ll see what happens, but I think it’s going fine.”
On Friday, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the search for a peace deal.
The talks came at a time when US-Russia dialogue aimed at agreeing a ceasefire ahead of a possible peace deal to end the war appeared to have stalled over disagreements around conditions for a full pause in hostilities.
Trump has shown signs of losing patience and has spoken of imposing secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil if he feels Moscow is dragging its feet on a deal.
Earlier on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov praised Trump for what he said was a better understanding of the Ukraine conflict than any other Western leader.
“When we speak about eliminating root causes of any conflict, including the Ukrainian conflict, this is the only way to resolve the problem and to establish long-lasting peace. Remove root causes,” Lavrov said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in southern Turkiye.
“President Trump was the first and so far, I think, almost the only one among the Western leaders who repeatedly, with conviction, several times stated that it was a huge mistake to pull Ukraine into NATO. And this is one of the root causes which we quoted so many times.”
Putin, who launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has long cast Ukraine’s tilt to the West, including its desire to join NATO, as a threat to Russia.
Commenting on an agreement between Ukraine and Russia to pause strikes on each other’s energy facilities, Lavrov said that Moscow has been keeping its word and accused Kyiv of striking Russian energy infrastructure almost every day.
“I gave to our colleagues from Turkiye, to (Foreign) Minister (Hakan) Fidan, what we gave to the Americans, to the UN, to the OSCE — the list of facts listing the attacks by Ukraine during the last three weeks against Russian energy infrastructure.”
Ukraine has made similar accusations against Russia since the US-backed moratorium was approved.
