Wagner leader Prigozhin breaks silence over mutiny: ‘We didn’t want to overthrow government’
We were only protesting about the state of the war, says mutiny leader in first public message
Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has issued his first public statement since the aborted march on Moscow, claiming he had never intended to overthrow Putin’s government.
In his first public comments since Saturday’s dramatic events, he said the one-day mutiny was intended to be a protest at the ineffectual conduct of the war in Ukraine.
Prigozhin spoke in an 11-minute audio message released on the Telegram messaging app.
He denied trying to overturn the Russian state and said he acted in response to an attack on his force that killed some 30 of his fighters.
Far-right AfD wins local election in ‘watershed moment’ for German politics
Central Council of Jews says it is devastated by populist party’s first victory in eastern town of Sonneberg
The far-right Alternative für Deutschland has won a district council election in Germany for the first time, in what is being referred to as a watershed moment in the country’s politics.
The eastern town of Sonneberg, in the state of Thuringia, elected Robert Sesselmann to the post of district administrator, the equivalent of a mayor, with 52.8% of the vote, ousting the Christian Democrats’ (CDU) Jurgen Köpper on 47.2%.
The Thuringia branch of the anti-immigrant party has been classed as rightwing extremist by intelligence services. It is led by Björn Höcke, who is considered to be part of the AfD’s far right or völkisch wing, which was officially disbanded but is still widely believed to exist.
Australia: Russia loses court bid over new Canberra embassy
Australia had blocked Russia from building a new embassy in the capital after intelligence agencies warned it could be used to spy on lawmakers. Russia then sought a legal injunction to not be evicted from the site.
The High Court of Australia on Monday dismissed a request for an injunction that would have prevented Russia from being evicted from a site where it plans to build a new embassy in the capital, Canberra.
Australia had blocked Russia from building a new embassy at the site after intelligence agencies warned it could be used as a base to spy on lawmakers.
Court: Moscow's challenge to eviction 'weak'
High Court Justice Jayne Jagot said that Moscow's challenge was "weak" and "difficult to understand."
Last week, the Russian Embassy launched an injunction to temporarily hold onto the land.
Humans approaching limits of ‘survivability’ as sweltering heatwaves engulf parts of Asia
Heavy showers blanketed northern India over the weekend, offering some much needed respite from a blistering heatwave that ravaged the region. But with mercury levels expected to remain high in other areas, the soaring heat has highlighted how millions in the world’s most populous nation are among the most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis.
The weekend downpour in Uttar Pradesh was a welcome change for the northern state of 220 million after temperatures in some areas soared to 47 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) last week, sickening hundreds with heat-related illnesses.
On Sunday, temperatures dropped acutely in Lucknow to around 32 degrees Celsius (87 Fahrenheit), as the capital, along with other cities, experienced the first rain during this year’s monsoon season. Video broadcast on local television showed people getting soaked in the rain and commuters navigating waterlogged roads.
New images show Chinese spy balloons over Asia
New evidence of China's spy balloon programme - including flights over Japan and Taiwan - has been uncovered by BBC Panorama.
Japan has confirmed balloons have flown over its territory and said it's prepared to shoot them down in future.
China has not directly addressed the evidence presented by the BBC.
US-China relations were thrown into turmoil earlier this year, when an alleged Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the US coast.
China claimed the balloon seen over north-western US in late January was a civilian airship, used for scientific research such as meteorology - and that it was an unintended and isolated event.
'More than words': The Japanese men joining Ukraine's fight
By Harumi OZAWA
Yuya Motomura, a mahjong parlor manager in Japan, had always wanted a way to prove himself to a society he felt looked down on him. Then Russia invaded Ukraine.
The 45-year-old is one of a handful of Japanese men who have joined Ukrainians battling the Russian invasion, defying their government's warnings and bucking a decades-long national principle of pacifism.
Japan's military is constitutionally limited to defense and has not fought since World War II.
Still, Motomura said he was immediately captivated by the idea of fighting in Ukraine when he saw President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talking about "defending our independence, our country".
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