Zelensky expects 'important decisions' on Ukraine at G7 summit
By Alex Smith, BBC News • James Landale, Diplomatic correspondent, @BBCJLandale
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says he expects "important decisions" at the G7 summit of leaders from seven of the world's richest nations to help his country fight invading Russian forces.
"A large part will be devoted to Ukraine, our defence and economic resilience," he said in a post on Telegram.
The White House says the G7 has made good progress on a US plan to use frozen Russian assets to raise $50bn (£39bn) a year for Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky, who is at the summit in Puglia, southern Italy, on Thursday signed a security deal with Japan. A similar agreement is expected with the US.
Unrwa accuses Israel of frequently preventing aid deliveries to Gaza
UN relief agency says authorities are hampering operations by failing to grant requests for access permits
The UN’s relief agency for Palestinians, the largest aid organisation operating in Gaza, has said Israeli authorities are frequently preventing it from delivering aid and hampering its operations in the territory.
“We are getting very few positive responses to our requests for aid delivery and permits to move around Gaza,” said Tamara Alrifai, the director of external relations for Unrwa.
Alrifai said the organisation maintained contact with Cogat, the Israeli body that oversees the Palestinian territories and coordinates with aid groups, but “this contact doesn’t always bring positive results – as we can see, from the obstructions to delivery, to our ability to receive [aid] trucks”.
Russia denies coercing Nigerian students to fight in Ukraine
Moscow has refuted a report that Nigerian students were being "forced" to fight in Ukraine or face deportation from Russia.
The Russian Embassy in Nigeria has denied reports claiming Nigerian students based in Russia are being coerced into signing up for the military to help Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine, Nigerian media reported on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, a Bloomberg report alleged that Russia has been forcing African students to join in the fight against Ukraine before getting a renewal for their visas.
The report by the international news agency suggested Moscow is sending thousands of migrants and foreign students, including Nigerians, to fight alongside its troops in the war against Ukraine. The Bloomberg article had also been circulated among Nigerian media outlets.
Record 120 million people forcibly displaced worldwide, UN says
A staggering total of 120 million people are living forcibly displaced by war, violence and persecution, the UN said Thursday, branding the ever-increasing number a “terrible indictment on the state of the world”.
The United Nations’ refugee agency UNHCR said forced displacement globally had once again smashed records, with conflicts in places like Gaza, Sudan and Myanmar forcing even more people to flee their homes.
The global displaced population is now equivalent to that of Japan, it pointed out in a statement.
“Conflict remains a very, very big driver of mass displacement,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi told reporters.
At the end of last year, 117.3 million people were displaced, UNHCR said in a report.
Basket Pour Toutes: Fighting against France’s sports and Olympics hijab ban
Ahead of Paris 2024, France’s secularism rule is forcing female Muslim basketball players to choose between faith and the game.
Diaba Konate was a rising star in French basketball.
Called up by the French Federation of Basketball (FFBB) at 17, she went on to play in the national youth teams in three major tournaments, reaching the finals of the U18 European Championship and the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, and winning a gold medal at the 2019 World Beach Games
At the time, the sky was the limit.
She moved to the United States on a full scholarship to play with UC Irvine, surpassing 1,000 points in her collegiate career after scoring a season-high 20 against UC Santa Barbara in February 2023.
Jailed US reporter Evan Gershkovich to stand trial in Russia on espionage charges, authorities say
Russian prosecutors have sent the espionage case against the jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich to court, accusing him of spying for the CIA.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s office said Thursday it had approved the indictment and Gershkovich will stand trial in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, where the reporter was arrested in March 2023 – becoming the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges since the Cold War.
An office spokesman said Russia’s federal security service (FSB) had “established and documented” that Gershkovich was acting on CIA instructions in the month he was arrested, alleging he had “collected secret information” about a Russian tank factory.
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