Russia accused of filling empty homes in Kherson
Russia has been accused of trying to house its servicemen in abandoned homes in the city of Kherson.
A Ukrainian intelligence update says Russian troops have been asking housing associations in two different districts for lists of empty properties.
Kherson, in the south, is the only major city Russia has gained since launching its invasion in February.
The Ukrainian update suggests the Kremlin is trying to tighten its grip there: increasing checkpoints and patrols, and attempting to convince the local population to succumb to the new regime.
Summary
- Fierce battles are continuing in Donbas, in Ukraine's east, where Russia is pounding areas with artillery
- Serious battles are said to be taking place around the towns of Rubizhne and Bilohorivka; the town of Popasna fell to Russian forces on Sunday
- Odesa is under curfew after repeated missile strikes. A strike earlier today forced visiting European Council President Charles Michel to take cover
- Earlier, Vladimir Putin told a huge military parade in Moscow's Red Square that Russian troops were "defending the motherland"
Sri Lanka’s PM resigns after weeks of protests over economic crisis
Police are imposing nationwide curfew following violence at protest site in Colombo
Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi
Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has resigned after months of protests over the country’s deepening economic crisis and calls for leaders from the ruling family dynasty to step down.
The move came as a nationwide curfew was imposed following violence at a major protest site in Colombo, where pro-government supporters attacked demonstrators and police responded with teargas and water cannon.
Mahinda Rajapaksa was reportedly asked to resign by his brother, the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at a special meeting on Friday, in an attempt to appease demonstrators.
Mysterious series of deaths among Russian oligarchs
Seven Russian oligarchs, many involved with oil and gas, have recently died under mysterious circumstances. Though suicide is officially suspected, speculation about the Kremlin's involvement abounds.
April 19, Lloret de Mar, Catalunya: The Spanish police received a telephone call from Fedor Protosenya, the son of a Russian oligarch, whose family owns a villa in the area. He reported that he had been trying for hours to call his mother from France but that no one was picking up the phone. When the police arrived at the family property, they were met with the bodies of Protosenya's parents and sister. The police initially assumed that his father, the millionaire Sergei Protosenya, had stabbed the women and then hung himself in the garden of the villa — but it didn't take long for doubts to surface about that course of events.
Indonesia faces international pressure over palm oil export ban
Signs of discontent with Jakarta are emerging in countries that rely heavily on palm oil, such as India and Pakistan.
Indonesia is coming under growing international pressure over its ban on palm oil exports amid soaring food prices worldwide.
The ban by the world’s largest palm oil exporter has put pressure on edible oil prices at a time when supplies are already under strain due to poor harvests, the Ukraine war, and labour shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has justified the ban, announced on April 22, as a short-term measure after domestic prices of cooking oil, of which palm oil is a key ingredient, soared more than 50 percent.
‘Guardian of Constitution’ has no records of first-strike plan
By NAOTAKA FUJITA/ Senior Staff Writer
May 9, 2022 at 17:11 JST
The Cabinet Legislation Bureau confirmed it has not produced a document on whether Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s proposal to give Japan first-strike capabilities against enemy bases is compatible with the pacifist Constitution.
The bureau is called the “guardian of the Constitution” because of its role of assisting the Cabinet on legislative matters, including whether proposed bills are consistent with the Constitution.
In response to an information disclosure request from The Asahi Shimbun, the bureau said no document “has been produced or obtained by the bureau” over the proposal to allow the Self-Defense Forces to strike enemy bases that are planning attacks against Japan.
Polls close in pivotal Philippines election that could put Marcoses back in power
Updated 1125 GMT (1925 HKT) May 9, 2022
Polls closed on Monday in a pivotal election in the Philippines that could see the son of a late dictator elected to the country's highest office.
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