Ukraine war: Russia denies it plans to declare war on 9 May
Russia has dismissed speculation that it will declare all-out war in Ukraine in the coming days as "nonsense".
Moscow has up until now denied it is at war, instead referring to the invasion as a "special military operation".
But Western officials have speculated that President Vladimir Putin could use the 9 May Victory Parade to announce an escalation of military action.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said there was no truth to the rumours "at all".
Russian mercenaries linked to civilian massacres in Mali
Exclusive: Internal Malian army documents show Wagner operatives took part in ‘mixed missions’
Jason Burke in Johannesburg and Emmanuel Akinwotu in Lagos
Russian mercenaries in Africa have been linked to massacres in which several hundred civilians have died, raising new fears about the impact of Moscow’s intensifying interventions on the stability and security of countries across the continent.
Western officials have so far largely steered clear of naming the perpetrators of killings but witnesses, local community leaders, diplomats and local analysts blamed many of the deaths on fighters deployed by the Wagner Group, a network of private companies run by a close ally of Vladimir Putin.
The incidents have occurred in Mali, the strategic west African country where Wagner arrived last year after striking a deal with its new military rulers.
Dirty money from Russia and Europe flooding Dubai real estate, researchers say
Oligarchs, mobsters and embezzlers among owners of billions’ worth of real estate in the glittery city-state
One is a Russian businessman associated with Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, who serves as Vladimir Putin’s attack dog. Another is the alleged leader of an Irish organised crime group involved in cocaine trafficking. Yet another is a Czech national under United States treasury department sanctions for running a cryptocurrency exchange that became a hub of blackmail.
What they have in common, along with hundreds of others revealed in a recently published data leak and investigative research project, is that they own property in Dubai, which has emerged as a major hub for dirty money.
Though an entity of only 3.5 million people, Dubai, one of seven princedoms that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), accounts for up to 3 per cent of global offshore real estate, according to the research.
'This is the final straw': Gabonese activists outraged at yet another oil spill by Perenco
A leak was detected on April 28 in a petrol terminal run by the French-British petrol company Perenco near Port-Gentil, the economic capital of Gabon. The company, which has already been accused of serious environmental violations, has insisted the leak is under control. But our Observer says that the leak is a serious pollution risk.
The Cape Lopez petrol terminal, located a few kilometres north of Port-Gentil on Mandji Island, is the largest in Gabon. The site is run by Perenco, the largest producer of petrol in this central African nation.
Late in the morning of April 28, Perenco located a leak in a tank in Cape Lopez containing 50,000 cubic metres of crude oil, or 300,000 barrels.
Boiled alive: how India’s record heatwaves test the limits of survival
By Ruth Pollard and David Fickling
The city feels like it is on fire. The heat comes off the road in blistering waves, and the water that flows from the cold tap is too hot to touch. Daytime temperatures have hit 44 degrees and often do not fall below 30 at night. A giant landfill on the outskirts of the capital spontaneously combusted a week ago, and the 17-storey-high dump that contains millions of tons of garbage continues to smoulder, worsening the city’s already dangerously polluted air.
Daily power outages driven by a surge in demand for electricity have resulted in blackouts as long as eight hours in some parts of India, while coal stocks — the fuel that accounts for 70 per cent of the country’s electricity generation — are running low, prompting warnings of a fresh power crisis. The northern wheat crop is scorched. It was the hottest March in 122 years. Spring just didn’t happen, and those extreme temperatures continued into April and May (though they are predicted to ease this week). Still, it’s not until June that the monsoon is expected to arrive and provide any kind of relief.
Is Lavrov's Hitler remark the last straw for Israel?
By Hadas Gold, CNN
In the months since Russia invaded Ukraine, Israel has tried to maintain a delicate diplomatic balancing act.
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