Russia says tanker hit in Ukrainian attack near Crimea
A Russian tanker with 11 crew members has been hit in a Ukrainian attack in the Black Sea, Russian officials say.
They said the vessel’s engine room was damaged in the overnight strike in the Kerch Strait. No-one was hurt.
Ukraine has not publicly commented. But a Ukrainian security service source told the BBC a sea drone had been used.
Saturday’s attack is the second in as many days involving such weapons. Russia, however, has not admitted any damage during Friday’s attack.
Naval drones, or sea drones, are small, unmanned vessels which operate on or below the water’s surface. Research by BBC Verify suggests Ukraine has carried out several attacks with sea drones.
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan sentenced to three years in jail
Khan arrested in Lahore after court ruling bans him from politics for five years for corruption
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has been arrested after a court in Islamabad sentenced him to three years in jail and disqualified him from politics for “corrupt practices” involving the sale of state gifts.
Khan, 70, was picked up by police from his home in Lahore on Saturday after a court ruled on the Toshakhana case, in which he was accused of illegally selling gifts from heads of state worth hundreds of millions of rupees.
Toshakhana is the government department that stores official gifts given to rulers and government officials. Last October, Pakistan’s election commission began investigating allegations that Khan had bought several of the valuable gifts, including an antique watch given to him by the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and sold them for undeclared profit.
German AfD: Revival of far-right a ‘threat to Jewish life’
Germany’s antisemitism commissioner has spoken out about the surge in support for the Alternative for Germany. The far-right party is meeting in Magdeburg to finalize its list of candidates for the 2024 EU elections.
The German government’s antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, has expressed concern about the resurgence of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as polls suggest the party currently has the backing of a fifth of voters.
The AfD is holding a conference in the eastern German city of Magdeburg this weekend to finalize the list of its candidates and manifesto for the 2024 European elections in Magdeburg.
What did antisemitism commissioner Felix Klein say?
“I’m worried that a party like that would achieve such approval,” Klein told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in remarks released on Saturday.
The latest Deutschlandtrend poll for public broadcaster ARD, published Thursday, suggested if elections were held now, 21% of German voters would back the AfD. That compares to 10.3% two years ago.
US, UK scouts quit S Korea World Scout Jamboree campsite over extreme heat
Hundreds of participants in scouting event in South Korea’s southwest have fallen ill due to soaring temperatures.
Scouts from the United States and the United Kingdom are leaving the site of an international scouting jamboree in South Korea after hundreds of participants fell ill due to extreme heat.
The US scouts will move to a US army base about 175km (109 miles) from the site of the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea’s southwest after taking part in the jamboree programme on Saturday, the Reuters news agency reported, citing an email to parents.
The move comes after the UK Scout Association on Friday announced it would pull more than 4,000 scouts from the campsite and move them into hotels over the weekend due to soaring temperatures.
U.N. group says people abused by late Japanese boy band producer deserve apologies and compensation
By YURI KAGEYAMA
The men who came forward to allege they were sexually abused as teenagers by Japanese boy band producer Johnny Kitagawa now have a powerful listener: the United Nations.
Damilola Olawuyi, chair of the U.N. Working Group on Business and Human Rights, told reporters Friday the number of victims may total several hundred, and he accused Japan’s mainstream media of standing silent about the alleged abuse for decades.
Olawuyi raised serious questions about the sincerity of the response from the talent agency Kitagawa founded, Johnny & Associates. He urged other entertainment industry players to carry out a “transparent and legitimate investigation with a clear timeline.”
Junya Hiramoto, one of seven men who talked with Olawuyi’s team, was moved to tears by the U.N. official’s remarks.
Top Russian soprano axed over Ukraine invasion sues Met Opera
Anna Netrebko requests $360,000 damages after being dropped when manager Peter Gelb demanded she repudiate Vladimir Putin
Soprano Anna Netrebko, once among the Metropolitan Opera’s biggest box office draws, has sued the New York opera company and general manager Peter Gelb, alleging defamation, breach of contract and other violations related to the institution’s decision to drop her following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The suit, filed in US district court in Manhattan on Friday, asks for at least $360,000 in damages for lost performance and rehearsal fees. Netrebko claims the Met caused ”severe mental anguish and emotional distress” that included “depression, humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety, and emotional pain and suffering.”
Recent Comments