News Trending War

Ukraine war: Grave sites prompt calls for tribunal over Russian killings

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In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union leadership has called for an international tribunal. The appeal came from the Czech Republic, which is presently in charge of rotating the bloc’s presidency. It was made in response to the discovery of hundreds of graves in Izyum, a town that Ukrainian forces had just just recaptured.

It is said that many of them are civilians, including women and children. Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Lipavsky stated, “We support the prosecution of all war criminals.” In Izyum, where 59 remains have already been exhumed and more are anticipated from graves in a forest on the outskirts of the city, Ukraine claims it believes war crimes have been committed.

“In the 21st Century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and abhorrent,” Mr Lipavsky said.

“We must not overlook it. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals,” he said.

“I call for the speedy establishment of a special international tribunal that will prosecute the crime of aggression.”

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, announced in his weekly address on Saturday night that additional proof of torture against those interred in Izyum, in the Kharkiv region, had been uncovered.

More than ten torture chambers have already been discovered in various cities and towns throughout the Kharkiv region’s freed territory, according to Mr. Zelensky.

The Russians would be required to respond, he warned, “on the battlefield and in courtrooms.”

President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated on Thursday that she wanted Mr. Putin to testify before the International Criminal Court over war crimes committed in Ukraine.

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Twitter sued by Dutch town Bodegraven-Reeuwijk over paedophilia rumour

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A Dutch town has filed a lawsuit against Twitter for spreading the rumour that a group of paedophiles who worship Satan formerly lived there. In 2020, three men spread the first untrue information that Bodegraven-Reeuwijk was the scene of the abuse and murder of several children in the 1980s.

The primary perpetrator said he had seen the crimes when he was a young boy. He had grown up in the town close to The Hague. The posts should all be deleted, according to local officials. Numerous individuals have been drawn by the allegations to visit the town’s Vrederust cemetery and pay their respects to the graves of seemingly unrelated dead youngsters.

Prior to a hearing in The Hague District Court on Friday, Jens van den Brink, Twitter’s attorney, declined to comment. The same court ordered the three original guys to delete all tweets against the town last year, yet the allegations are still being spread.

Cees van de Sanden, the town’s attorney, claimed that Twitter had ignored a request in July for it to track down and take down all posts connected to the allegations. According to RTL Nieuws, Mayor Christiaan van der Kamp described the allegations as “extremely distressing and occasionally even dangerous for the relatives of the deceased.”

The three men who made the claims are currently in jail after being found guilty in separate incidents of inciting and issuing threats to kill several people, including Dutch Prime Minister.

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Italy: Floods and rain kill at least 10 overnight – officials

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Authorities in Marche, Italy, reported that at least 10 people had perished as a result of nocturnal flash floods. Late on Thursday, torrential rain forced rivers and streams to overflow, flooding coastal towns near the regional capital of Ancona.

A half-worth year’s of rain, or about 400mm (16 inches), fell in a few of hours. Four more people, including a kid who was split up when a river burst its banks, are still missing and being sought for by rescuers. Local mayor Ludovico Caverni told the state-run RAI radio station that “it was like an earthquake.”

A mother who managed to leave her car while holding her infant in her arms reportedly lost sight of him after becoming submerged in water when the River Misa burst its banks.

Emergency personnel were able to save the woman over night, but several people remain unaccounted for, according to local media. In addition to the 10 confirmed fatalities, 50 additional patients were reportedly being treated in hospitals in Italy for hypothermia and other flood-related injuries.

More than 180 firefighters are helping with the rescue operations by removing residents who were compelled to scale trees or climb onto their roofs to flee the rising water overnight. Video reveals that some of the rescuers reached the stranded families using dinghy rafts and helicopters.

The neighbouring coastal areas were parched after an extremely dry summer and unable to absorb the massive amounts of water that were raining down.

Local officials claim that even though rain was predicted for the area, the accompanying flash floods completely caught everyone off guard.

According to Reuters, regional administrator for the Marche region Stefano Aguzzi told reporters, “We were given a regular rain alert, but nobody had expected anything like this.”

Weather forecasters claimed that a combination of two factors—unusual high temperatures in September and an ongoing drought throughout the summer—explained the intensity of the floods.

Due to the heat, the water was warmer than usual for the season, which increased the amount of moisture in the air. Because of the extreme summer drought, the land was unable to quickly absorb the rain that a storm later discharged as moisture.

Fears about the effects of climate change have increased as a result of unusually hot weather and low rainfall levels in northern Italy.

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“24 Years Feels Like 24 Hours”: Roger Federer Announces Retirement

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The only male tennis player to win 20 grand slam titles, Roger Federer, has declared his intention to stop competing after the Laver Cup in 2022. Federer posted a message on his Twitter account announcing his choice. When he won the Wimbledon championship in 2003, Federer captured his maiden grand slam. Since then, he has won six Australian Opens, one French Open, eight Wimbledons, and five US Opens. He’s been dealing with a knee problem for a very long time.

He announced it on his Twitter account: “The Laver Cup next week in London will be my final ATP event.”The 20-time Grand Slam champion, 41, has been out since losing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2021 before requiring more knee surgery. Serena Williams’ retirement and Federer’s announcement are related events. Serena retired having won the second-most grand slam titles in women’s tennis (23). In terms of the total number of grand slam titles won, Federer sits third, behind his top competitors Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

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Jean-Luc Godard: Legendary film director dies at 91 by assisted suicide

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The revolutionary French New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard has passed away at the age of 91. With 1960’s bout de souffle (Breathless), Godard made his debut and launched a string of critically acclaimed films that changed the norms of cinema and influenced filmmakers from Martin Scorsese to Quentin Tarantino.

According to a family member, he committed assisted suicide in Switzerland. Godard, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, “has the vision of a genius.” Mr. Macron described him as “like an apparition in French cinema” in a tribute on Twitter. He eventually mastered it.

“The most iconoclastic of the New Wave filmmakers, Jean-Luc Godard, created a resolutely contemporary, passionately free work. A guy with the vision of a genius has been lost to us; he was a national treasure.”

According to the AFP news agency, Godard’s legal counsel Patrick Jeanneret stated that the Franco-Swiss filmmaker “had recourse to legal assistance in Switzerland for a voluntary departure as he was plagued with’multiple invalidating illnesses,’ according to the medical report.”

In rare cases, assisted suicide is permitted in Switzerland.

Before taking the helm of the elegant and edgy Breathless, Godard worked as a cinema reviewer. The film’s actors, Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo, were glamorous in a fresh, laid-back way, and the editing and dialogue were both semi-improvised.

“It was a film that took everything that cinema had done — girls, gangsters, cars — exploded all this and put an end, once and for all, to the old manner,” the filmmaker once said.

Jack Lang, a former minister of culture in France, stated to the news agency Reuters: “He crammed philosophy and poetry into the movies. We were able to notice the undetectable because to his keen eye.”

Actor Antonio Banderas was among many who paid tribute, writing: “Thank you monsieur Godard for extending the horizons of the film.”

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News Trending War

Ukraine war: We’ve retaken 6,000 sq km from Russia, says Zelensky

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According to the president of the nation, Ukrainian forces are continuing their counteroffensive and have taken additional Russian land. According to Volodymyr Zelensky, forces have now liberated more than 6,000 sq km (2,317 sq miles) of territory in the east and south from Russian rule in September.

Some military experts believe that Russia’s admission that it lost important cities in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine could be a turning point in the war. Moscow refers to its recent troop pullout from the area as a “regrouping” with the intention of concentrating on the Luhansk and Donetsk areas in eastern Ukraine. Even in Russia, where many social media users have mocked the idea, the purported pullout has been called “shameful.”

Later on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the counter-offensive by Ukrainian forces had made “substantial progress,” but cautioned that it was still too early to determine the outcome.

According to Mr. Blinken, “The Russians continue to utilise extremely considerable forces, as well as equipment, ammunition, and munitions, against not just the Ukrainian armed forces, but also against civilians and civilian infrastructure.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine completely. About a fifth of the country is still under Russian control. In his late-night video message on Monday, President Zelensky stated: “Our fighters have already liberated more than 6,000 sq km of the territory of Ukraine from the beginning of September till today.

The counteroffensive seems to have started quickly. President Zelensky claimed on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had retaken 1,000 square kilometres, but by Sunday, that claim had increased to 3,000 square kilometres.

Several Ukrainian brigades that participated in the counteroffensive were thanked by Mr. Zelensky, who called their soldiers “real heroes.” He withheld the names of the liberated Ukrainian towns and villages.

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Ukraine war: Russians ‘outnumbered 8-1’ in counter-attack

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According to Russia’s top occupation official there, Ukrainian forces outnumbered Russian ones eight to one during the counterattack last week in the Kharkiv region.  According to Vitaly Ganchev, who appeared on Russian television, the Ukrainian army had taken settlements in the north and reached the Russian border.

In a potential turning point in the six-month war, Ukraine claims to have reclaimed control over 3,000 sq km (1,158 sq miles) of land. The Ukrainian army claims that during its ongoing counteroffensive in the country’s northeast, 20 villages have been retaken in the last 24 hours alone.

Additionally, it said that its troops had taken control of almost 500 square kilometres in the southern Kherson region of the nation.

The success of the Ukrainian army, according to UK defence sources, will have “major ramifications” for Russia’s broader military strategy.

However, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, remained unfazed and declared that operations in Ukraine will continue “until all the tasks that were initially established” had been accomplished. He continued that President Vladimir Putin was regularly informed of the most recent events.

Russia said that its soldiers were conducting strikes in the recent retaken Ukrainian territory. This included the Izyum and Kupiansk targets that Ukraine captured on Saturday. Russia declared that its troops had left both towns and that this would give them time to “regroup.”

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News Trending War

Kharkiv offensive: Ukrainian army says it has tripled retaken area

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Ukraine’s military claims that following a quick counteroffensive in the east of the country, its soldiers had retaken nearly 3,000 sq km (1,158 sq miles). If the impressive advance is true, Kyiv’s soldiers will have tripled their claimed gains in just over 48 hours.

President Zelensky stated the area to be 1,000 sq km on Thursday night and 2,000 sq km on Saturday night. Journalists have been barred access to the front lines, and the BBC is unable to confirm the Ukrainian figures.

Ukrainian army entered the crucial Russian-held supply towns of Izyum and Kupiansk on Saturday during the eastern counterattack. However, violence has persisted outside of those towns, according to UK defence officials. Ukrainian military, according to officials in Kiev, are battling to take control of several nearby communities.

The Russian defence ministry stated that its forces had left Kupiansk and Izyum, which would allow them to “regroup” in areas controlled by separatists backed by Moscow.

Additionally, the Russian ministry acknowledged the removal of forces from Balaklyia, a third significant town, in order to “bolster efforts” on the Donetsk front. On Friday, Ukrainian forces entered the town.

The speed of the counterattack caught the Russians off guard, and Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Chechnya and a fervent Putin supporter, seemed to question Moscow’s military plan.

In a message shared on Telegram, Mr. Kadyrov warned that if Russia’s circumstances did not improve, he would be forced to interrogate the country’s authorities about what was going on.

On Saturday, the leader of the administration that Russia has put in the Kharkiv region suggested that its citizens leave for Russia in order to “save lives.”

Unverified social media video appeared to show long traffic lines forming at border crossings. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod border area, claimed that “thousands” of migrants had entered the nation.

The military chief of Ukraine, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, reported that his troops had moved to within 50 kilometres (31 miles) of the Russian border.

However, Russians still control about 5% of the nation, and few people think that the war will finish quickly.

Oleksii Reznikov, the defence minister of Ukraine, praised his forces while announcing the possibility of a Russian counterattack in an interview with the Financial Times.

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Kharkiv offensive: Russian forces retreat as Ukraine takes key towns

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In response to a quick Ukrainian counterattack, Russian forces have left strategic eastern towns. According to Ukrainian sources, on Saturday, troops entered Kupiansk, a crucial supply base for Russian forces in the east.

The Russian defence ministry then declared that its troops had left nearby Izyum so they could “regroup.” The ministry has acknowledged the removal of troops from Balaklyia, a third significant town, in order to “bolster efforts” on the Donetsk front.

If maintained, the Ukrainian advances would be the biggest since Russia retreated from regions near Kiev in April.

Fighting was fierce in the early phases of the invasion at Izyum, a significant military centre for the Russians.

The Russian statement stated that a three-day operation was conducted to draw down and organise the transfer of the Izyum-Balakliya group of troops to the Donetsk People’s Republic’s territory.

“A powerful fire defeat was inflicted on the enemy to avert damage to the Russian soldiers.”

Shortly after, according to the Russian state-run TASS news agency, the head administrator of the Kharkiv region’s areas under Russian authority advised its citizens to flee to Russia “to save lives”.

Additionally, the governor of the nearby Russian region of Belgorod declared that those waiting in line to cross the border would have access to mobile food, heating, and medical care.

While Ukraine continues to request military assistance from the West, the successes will be seen as proof that its army can retake Russian-occupied territory. The victory for Ukraine would be a humiliating blow for Russia because Russian soldiers entered and conquered the region in the first week of the war.

Earlier, UK defence authorities said that Ukraine had entered previously Russian-held territory 50 kilometres (31 miles) in advance. The Russian military was probably caught off guard, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. “Ukrainian soldiers have captured or encircled many towns, and the area was only tenuously held.”

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Queen Elizabeth II: World leaders remember a ‘kind-hearted Queen’

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Leaders and dignitaries from around the world have been honouring Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at the age of 96. They have honoured the Queen’s warmth and humour as well as her strong sense of responsibility and tenacity.

Emmanuel Macron of France took the lead during the honours, recalling “a generous queen” who was “a friend of France.” When he first visited Elizabeth Majesty 40 years ago, US President Joe Biden referred to her as “more than a monarch – she defined an age.” She “charmed us with her humour, moved us with her generosity, and freely shared with us her wisdom,” Mr. Biden said of his visit to the UK in 2021 while serving as president.

“Queen Elizabeth II was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity constancy who deepened the bedrock of the Alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States. She helped make our relationship special,” Mr Biden added.

Following the Queen’s demise, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his “sincere sympathies to the British government and people,” adding that “her passing is a big loss to the British people.”

There have been 12 prime ministers in Canada under Queen Elizabeth II’s rule. An emotional Justin Trudeau said the Queen had “an obvious deep and abiding affection for Canadians.” He has known the Queen for decades and first met her when he was a child, when his father was prime minister.

“In a complicated world, her steady grace and resolve brought comfort to us all,” the prime minister said, adding that he would miss their “chats” where she was “thoughtful, wise, curious, helpful, funny and so much more”.

“She was one of my favourite people in the world, and I will miss her so,” he said, holding back tears.

African leaders also paid respect to Queen Elizabeth, who was supportive of their cause as head of the Commonwealth and knew many of them personally.

William Ruto, the incoming president of Kenya, acknowledged her “historic legacy” and expressed regret for the “friendly ties she enjoyed” with the nation.

For the king, Kenya, a former British colony that gained independence in 1963, was a particularly important country. It was the first place she became queen. When her father, King George VI, passed away in his sleep there in 1952, the young princess, who was just 25 years old at the time, was on vacation there.

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