The EU’s high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, has urged the European Union to take action to close a loophole that enables India to be a centre for Russian oil that is resold as refined fuels to Europe, violating sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. India has emerged as a top purchaser of Russian oil in the past year, which has been rejected by western states such as the US and its allies. Access to cheap oil has enabled Indian refineries to boost profits by exporting refined fuel to Europe.
The effectiveness of international sanctions is being challenged as Russia, China and Iran implement alternative financial systems, which blunts the impact of US policies and allows them to hide questionable behaviour. While the alternative financial system is currently limited, more nations will enter Beijing's orbit as China's economy grows, and the alternatives to the dollar will rise in popularity. It is essential that the US revitalises domestic manufacturing and makes and keeps friends. The US must build a coalition of its own to balance Beijing’s growing anti-American coalition, and to keep the dollar as strong as possible.
A man staying with his Ukrainian girlfriend in Bangkok’s luxury condominium complex is accused of hacking her apart with a handsaw and using Google’s translation service to communicate with a taxi driver he asked to help dismember her body for the equivalent of about £35 ($44). The taxi driver called the hotel where the couple was staying after becoming alarmed by the suspect’s behaviour, and police found his partner dead on the bed. It is suggested that Polish entrepreneur Jan Jerzy Lagoda-Filippow was going to try to flee to Cambodia.
An investigation has been launched after a zookeeper was found dead in an animal enclosure in Slovakia. The cause of the death is not yet known, and an autopsy is being carried out. Local media has reported that the zoo breeds lions, tigers, goats, sheep, llamas, camels, donkeys, and monkeys.
The director of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Fremaux, has defended Johnny Depp's attendance to the festival, despite his libel cases and controversy surrounding his former partner, Amber Heard. Fremaux brushed off concerns regarding how Depp has been portrayed in the media, saying that he believes in freedom of speech, and Depp's inclusion in the festival was based on the aforementioned principle. This statement follows an argument by a French actress of Cannes defending “rapist chiefs” in the film industry, due to allegations of systemic sexual abuse.
A Muslim woman has accused Oxford University professor and Islamic studies scholar Tariq Ramadan of rape and abuse. The unnamed Swiss woman claims that Ramadan “penetrated [her] with blows to the head and insults” whilst she was in fear of her life, before almost suffocating her during oral sex. Ramadan has been on leave since he was charged with rape in France, and has repeatedly denied all the allegations.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs has predicted a slight uptick in financial growth rates for China, the European Union and the US, but warns the global economy will remain weak owing to a number of factors, including inflated pricing and the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The body flagged stubbornly high inflation rates, alongside credit squeezes and environmental factors, as negatively impacting growth in emerging markets. While revised projections indicate a 2.3% rise in the world GDP in 2023, this is far below a 3.1% increase experienced in 2022.
Molson Coors, the Canadian brewing company that owns Miller Lite, has refused to back down after conservative activists criticised an advertisement celebrating Women's History Month, in which comedian Ilana Glazer condemned the use of scantily clad women to advertise beer. In contrast to Bud Light, which has removed two executives and seen its stock price fall after an ad campaign featuring transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney caused a backlash, Molson Coors insisted there was "nothing controversial" about its advert.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination soon. Pence seeks to establish a Reagan coalition of evangelicals, fiscal conservatives and national security hawks, taking on his former boss Donald Trump. The former Vice President plans to highlight clear domestic and foreign policy differences with Trump. He is expected to espouse a policy of “free trade with free nations”, support a national abortion ban and differentiate himself from Trump by backing Ukraine against Russia in what he sees as a new “Cold War”.
US President Joe Biden has cancelled his trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea as his team attempts to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling crisis. Although the president will still travel to Japan for the G7 summit, he has shortened his visit in order to return to the US on Sunday. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has argued that a default on the country's debt would trigger a global economic downturn. The US government could run out of money as soon as June if no resolution is found.
Once of the most audacious robberies in recent German history, the theft of diamond-encrusted jewels collected by the Saxonian monarchy from the Green Vault museum in Dresden, has resulted in the jailing of five members of a notorious Berlin mafia family. The men, who are close relatives and share the name Remmo, were given jail terms of between four and six years. The length of the sentences has been criticised, with Berlin’s prosecutor’s association saying it will encourage the mafia to act “more offensively” in the future.
A family fight broke out at Florida's Disney World on 14 June after a larger family refused to move as the smaller group posed for a photograph in front of the 100th-anniversary sign. The larger family punched several family members, with video footage showing a man falling to the ground and Disney employees calling for backup. One person received medical treatment. Two people from the larger family were told to leave the park without charges being pressed. In December 2019, Disneyland warned guests about behaviour after an increase in violent outbursts.
Between now and July, one person is due to die of hunger every 28 seconds warns Oxfam, as parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have suffered from five consecutive failed rainy seasons and South Sudan has experienced a fifth consecutive season of severe flooding. The situation has been compounded by ongoing conflict and high food prices, with over 40 million people in East Africa now facing severe hunger, up by over two-thirds from last year, and 85,000 people in Somalia and South Sudan on the brink of famine. The World Food Programme now estimates that globally, 345 million people are experiencing high levels of food insecurity.
A US Patriot missile system is unlikely to have to be removed from Ukraine, despite being damaged in a recent attack. The Russian defence ministry had claimed that a Kinzhal missile had destroyed the system, but two US officials have said that it likely suffered damage but had not been destroyed. Ukrainian officials say that the attack included drones, cruise missiles and potentially ballistic missiles. A total of 27 missiles were reportedly fired by Russia over 24 hours, including six Kinzhal missiles. The Council of Europe has created a “register of damages” to record Russia’s destruction of Ukraine for future compensation.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has lost an appeal against corruption charges but will now serve his remaining one-year detention sentence at home with an electronic bracelet. Sarkozy, who was accused of influence peddling and seeking favours from a judge in a case exposed by wiretaps, was banned from public office for three years. His lawyer said the defence would appeal the decision. The former president, who served one term, will also face a retrial on appeal from November 2023 in the so-called Bygmalion case. Sarkozy's team was accused of overspending twice the legal limit on his 2012 election campaign.
65 former students who attended the independent Catholic Kilbreda College girls' school in Melbourne have each received a letter containing a used condom. The women, who left the school in 1999, live in south and south-eastern Melbourne. At least 100 letters have been sent, each in similar handwriting, with graphic messages. The women have speculated that their details may have been taken from an old year book. The case is being treated as a targeted attack.
A man entered the home of US President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in the middle of the night without being detected by his Secret Service detail, a major breach that is under investigation. The individual appeared confused and was asked to leave by Sullivan. There were no immediate reports of a motive or arrest, and Sullivan was physically unharmed. The Secret Service has launched a mission assurance investigation.
A South Korean court has ordered the country's largest adoption agency to pay £60,000 ($82,000) in damages to a man who was adopted as a young boy to the US, suffering abuse through his childhood, reported The Telegraph. Adam Crapser, now 48, was adopted along with his sister in the 1970s during a period described as "child export" from South Korea. Raised by two sets of abusive parents, he was deported in adulthood after being unable to gain US citizenship. The ruling may embolden other South Korean adoptees to file lawsuits over corruption allegations in historical international adoption cases.
UK and German defence ministers have stated that the decision to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine rests with the White House, despite a "coalition" being announced by Britain and the Netherlands this week. The fighter jet alliance was revealed by chancellor Rishi Sunak and Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in Iceland, saying they would form an "international coalition to provide Ukraine with combat air capabilities, supporting everything from training to procuring F-16 jets". Nevertheless, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Britain has no F-16 jets and wouldn't send any Typhoon planes from its fleet.
The Council of Europe is creating a 'register of damages' to record Russia's destruction of Ukraine over the past few years for future compensation. It will be lodged at the Hague and aimed to record the costs that Russia has exacted on Ukraine since the war began, not just morally, but financially. The action aims to hold Moscow accountable long-term for the situation in Ukraine. Germany’s government has said it is looking into further mechanisms to secure war damages, including the possibility of using frozen Russian assets as compensation.
