The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed that his forces have captured the whole of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine. His troops will leave the destroyed city on Thursday. This is the latest claim in a confusing dispute between the Ukrainian military and Mr Prigozhin over the city. Ukrainian officials immediately denied that the mercenary group had taken the city, insisting that they were still fighting for it. There has been fighting in only a few roads inside Bakhmut’s northwest region. Analysts have said that Wagner mercenary forces have lost tens of thousands of men fighting in Bakhmut, with most of the troops being convicted criminals recruited from Russian prisons. Prigozhin is known for being one of Vladimir Putin’s most loyal allies, and has many times before accused Russia’s military leadership of causing unnecessary deaths.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has expressed concern over Russia's decision to place a prosecutor and judges on a wanted list, saying that it regrets the "acts of intimidation" and attempts to undermine the court's mandate. The ICC issued a warrant for Vladimir Putin in March, citing his role in the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. Russia has denied any violation of international law.
Russia has added Karim Khan, the British prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, to its wanted list after he issued an arrest warrant for President Putin on war crimes charges. An ICC warrant gave orders to arrest Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s ombudsman for children’s rights, for war crimes committed during the kidnapping of Ukrainian children. Following the issuing of the order against Putin, Russia placed Khan and three other ICC judges on a list of people wanted for “violating the rights” of 24 Russian citizens who were detained and then released by militia loyal to Ukraine. Russia denies that it has committed any war crimes, stating that it has been victimized by lies by the West, and they have denounced the ICC warrant as a “joke” and a “political order”. Putin is unpopular with many in Ukraine, particularly after the seizure of the Crimean peninsula in 2014. Ukraine is not a member of the ICC and, while petitions have been lodged with the ICC in the past in relation to the conflict, they have been dismissed because of lack of jurisdiction.
The battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region has become the longest and bloodiest of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The timeline of key events spans from May 2022 to May 2023, with Ukrainian forces withdrawing from Popasna, a crucial town before Russian forces advanced towards Bakhmut and pounded it with artillery. The battle is ongoing, with Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claiming to have captured the city, while Ukraine says its troops are still defending the southwestern part of Bakhmut.
Russian troops have taken control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which has been the site of fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces for months. The claim has been disputed by Kyiv, which said fighting continued. Russia controls around half of Donetsk province and claimed to have annexed it in the autumn of 2022. Kiev has faced a simmering military conflict against Russian-backed separatists in the region since 2014, which has claimed more than 13,000 lives to date.
The Russian defence ministry has stated that Russian troops have taken control of Bakhmut, an eastern Ukrainian city which has been fiercely fought over for months. The head of the Wagner Group, a group of Russian mercenaries, had reported the capture earlier on the same day. The Russians refer to the city by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk.
The British Army had to hire bearskin caps for troops to wear during the Coronation ceremony because the demands of the event required more than were available. While the companies involved with these "contingency" caps did not feature during the parade, military sources confirmed their importance in allowing the event to run smoothly. The Ministry of Defence said that every guardsman on parade wore a bearskin from existing stocks, and the few contingency caps the army had already were not required. Almost 1,000 bearskin pelts have been purchased by MoD in the last seven years.
Qatar's embassy in Sudan was reportedly "ransacked" by an armed group over the weekend. None of the embassy's diplomats or staff were apparently harmed, however, as they had been evacuated. Qatar has criticised the Yemeni government for failing to guard the embassy, which was vandalised by an unknown group. Yesterday's attack comes at a tricky time for the Sudanese authorities, following the sudden-death of General Mohamed Abu-Fatima and the outbreak of several days of factional fighting in several parts of Khartoum.
The Chinese government's ongoing anti-corruption campaign has seen an improvement in scrutiny of state-owned enterprise executives' business practices and family assets. In addition to annual asset declarations, there are new tools being used to aid the fight against corruption. One of these is the e-CNY, China's central bank digital currency, which can be traced and is being used to pay civil servants and other state sector employees in one of the country's cities. The national real estate registration system has also been completed, potentially allowing investigation of the housing assets of officials and their families, whilst financial institutions have been heavily reliant on compliance with anti-money laundering regulations to discourage criminal money laundering. Furthermore, cryptocurrency mining has been banned.
The Chinese government has cancelled and postponed notable events in the past week, ranging from a folk festival to a convention for female tech entrepreneurs. Some individuals relate these sudden cancellations to a $2m fine and suspension of performances of production company Xiaoguo after a comedian made a joke about a military slogan. However, the cancellations are not solely based on assumed criticism of the government. Xiaoguo’s scandal and subsequent measures could be a reason for the heightened amount of event cancellations, but this has yet to be confirmed by the Chinese Government. Beijing musicians have also stated they believe cultural shows are given more focus during a crackdown and that international performers are typically the first to be targeted during such times of law enforcement. Event organisers issued apologies citing 'force majeure', however, this is perceived a euphemism for higher powers such as government agencies that can halt events.
South Korea's latest plan to address population decline and support dual-income families is a pilot programme to allow them to hire domestic service workers from Southeast Asia. Families in Seoul will be able to take on overseas domestic workers through certified service providers this year, and the programme will begin the process of introducing foreign domestic workers to the domestic work market more broadly. The hope is that this will ease the burden of household and childcare tasks and offer an affordable solution. Still, there are debates over the programm's effectiveness, potential cultural barriers and discrimination, and fewer people may trust outsiders to take care of their children. The country has backing from Nobel laureate and economist Michael Kremer, who argued that an immigration policy should be made to help include foreign domestic workers.
The G7 summit in Hiroshima has ended with discussions focusing on the Ukrainian war and the dominance of China. They also focused on challenges facing developing economies, including Brazil, Vietnam, Comoros and India. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy made headlines during his time the summit. He was present in the session on Ukraine where it was revealed he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. His itinerary for the rest of the day included visiting the Peace Memorial Park and the museum in Hiroshima to remember the atomic bombing of the city. Zelenskyy continues to make the rounds of G-7 leaders. Earlier on the second day of the summit, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the president on the margins of the summit for the first time since Russia's invasion of the Ukraine and shared images of their encounter to his Twitter page.
The final day of the Group of Seven (G7) summit has passed in Hiroshima, with delegates including Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelenskyy discussing the war, China’s dominance and the issues faced by the Global South. Joining the leaders were a number of key Asia-Pacific figures such as the Indian, South Korean, Indonesian and Australian prime ministers. The triennial met throughout the summit, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took some time off to visit Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park and Museum. President Joe Biden met with Zelenskyy, Ukrainian Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister for talks. The G7 laid out a common de-risking path on China, while India's Narendra Modi commented that he would “amplify concerns of the Global South” at the summit.
The Group of Seven (G7) has sought “constructive” relations with China while criticising its human rights record and territorial claims. The G7 sought collaboration in areas such as climate change while also expressing concerns over Beijing’s growing influence, particularly in the East and South China Seas, and the crackdowns on freedoms in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang. The club of wealthy democracies acknowledged the need for “de-risking and diversifying” rather than decoupling from China to ensure economic resilience in the face of their increasing “non-market policies and practices”. China rejected the G7 statement as interference in its internal affairs.
The Ukraine conflict was at the forefront of G7 meetings in Hiroshima, Japan, over the weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was among the invitees to the meetings, which discussed China's growing dominance and issues affecting the so-called "Global South." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed the need for a "resilient and diversified" approach to supply chains, while UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak commented on the summit's significance for consolidating peace. Meanwhile, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for the issue of nuclear weapons to be discussed openly, and said it was "historically significant" for the G7 leaders visiting the Peace Memorial Museum to publish a focus on nuclear disarmament – known as the Hiroshima Vision. The G7 summit heralded a number of warm bilateral meetings, concluding with talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the conflict on Sunday afternoon.
Ontario's Ministry of Transportation has scheduled six road closures for May 21, 2023, in Toronto, including the 401 Highway and the Queen Elizabeth Way. The closures are for planned repairs and maintenance, though schedules could change if there is inclement weather or other issues, the ministry said.
The Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan has ended, with discussions centring around the Ukraine war, China’s growing dominance and support for the “Global South”. According to a communique, the G7 nations have agreed to support public-private initiatives to swerve China's “belt and road” initiative, to implement measures to counter state-backed “malicious cyber activities”, and to decarbonise energy systems by the end of the century. The G7 also signed a declaration committing to the protection of international maritime regulations, including the peaceful resolution of maritime disputes, navigation rights, and safety along sea lanes. G7 leaders expressed concern over the situation in the East and South China seas. The summit also saw the invitees from Indonesia, South Korea, India and Australia discuss issues such as Ebola, the impact of Brexit, terrorism and trade. President Zelenskyy of Ukraine was in the spotlight throughout the summit.
The G7 summit in Japan's Hiroshima was dismissed as an "anti-Russian" and "anti-Chinese" event that undermines global stability by Russia's Foreign Ministry. Moscow accused the G7 of increasing "hysteria", rather than contributing to the resolution of conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was present at the Hiroshima summit as a guest, speaking to attendees about what members could do to support Kyiv as it continues its war with Russia.
As part of a drive to reduce poverty, Chinese officials are warning of the risks of mounting rural debt. They point to weaknesses, particularly in the agricultural sector, and a lack of options as collateral for loans as contributing to risk in the sector. A deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs’ budget and finance department warned there is "too much risk" for lenders operating in rural areas. The Chinese central government is continuing to provide financial support for rural areas with loans totalling ¥49.25tn ($7.03tn) across agriculture and rural development.
A leading campaigner for nuclear disarmament, Setsuko Thurlow, has condemned the Group of Seven nations’ summit as a "huge failure" after the leaders released a statement backing existing nonproliferation policy. The three-day Japanese conference was designed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to support a "world without nuclear weapons." Thurlow, who supports the nuclear-ban treaty, said the statement was "blasphemy against atomic bomb survivors." In the document, the leaders, including nuclear states such as the US, France and Britain, promised to "maintain and create a global environment in which all countries fully observe relevant international law" but did not outline specific new ideas for disarmament. The statement was issued on the same day as the G7 leaders visited Hiroshima’s Peace Park and the museum. Thurlow was 13 when an atomic bomb destroyed her home city of Hiroshima in 1945, and eight of her relatives were killed. She has since given over 2,000 speeches promoting disarmament and has supported the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
