Fighters stuck in steelworks 'only have days of supplies left'
A Ukrainian woman who has friends stuck in the Azovstal steel plant - the last part of the southern city of Mariupol not under Russian control - says they are surrounded by the Russian army with no chance of getting out, and only have supplies left for a few more days.
Lyuba Shipovich, in Lviv, is in daily contact with her friends who are fighting in the Ukrainian military - but she says time is running out for them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is "the only person who knows the answer" about when they will get out of the plant, she told BBC's Ukrainecast.
Fighters from the Azov battalion and the 36th marine brigade are still trying to defend the plant but "it's impossible to vacate Mariupol so they're just trying to fight and stay as long as they can", she says.
UN says up to 40% of world’s land now degraded
Rising damage, caused mostly by food production, puts ability to feed planet’s growing population at risk
Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent
Human damage to the planet’s land is accelerating, with up to 40% now classed as degraded, while half of the world’s people are suffering the impacts, UN data has shown.
The world’s ability to feed a growing population is being put at risk by the rising damage, most of which is caused by food production. Women in the developing world are particularly badly affected as they often lack legal titles to land and can be thrown off it if conditions are tough.
Degraded land – which has been depleted of natural resources, soil fertility, water, biodiversity, trees or native vegetation – is found all over our planet. Many people think of degraded land as arid desert, rainforests maimed by loggers or areas covered in urban sprawl, but it also includes apparently “green” areas that are intensely farmed or stripped of natural vegetation.
Chinese drone company suspends business in Russia and Ukraine
Decision marks a rare case of a Chinese firm pulling out of Russia due to its war in Ukraine
Drone company DJI Technology has temporarily suspended business activities in Russia and Ukraine to prevent use of its drones in combat, in a rare case of a Chinese company pulling out of Russia because of the war.
“DJI is internally reassessing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. Pending the current review, DJI will temporarily suspend all business activities in Russia and Ukraine,” the company said in a statement.
Many western brands and companies have withdrawn from the Russian market due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but Chinese firms have kept operating there.
Central African Republic adopts bitcoin as legal currency
The Central African Republic has adopted bitcoin as legal tender, the president's office said Wednesday, becoming the second country in the world to do so after El Salvador.
Lawmakers unanimously adopted a bill that made bitcoin legal tender alongside the CFA franc and legalised the use of cryptocurrencies.
President Faustin Archange Touadera signed the measure into law, his chief of staff Obed Namsio said in a statement.
The CAR "is the first country in Africa to adopt bitcoin as legal tender", Namsio said.
Deadly border attacks test Pakistani gov’t relations with Taliban
Pakistan’s alleged air raids inside Afghanistan in response to the killing of its soldiers have raised tensions between the South Asian neighbours.
Tensions are high between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border attacks, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of doing little to stop attacks that have increased since the Taliban came to power last August.
Pakistan says its security forces are being targeted from across the border in Afghanistan. Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP (Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), and ISIL (ISIS) affiliated fighters, who operate along the porous border between the two countries have carried out numerous attacks inside Pakistan since 2007.
Jerusalem violence puts century-old status quo to the test
By Zeena Saifi, CNN
A recent spike in violence at some of Jerusalem's key holy sites has left Jordan in a difficult position vis-a-vis its nearly century-old custodial obligations in the city.
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