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Europe · Ukraine Oleksandr Taran's mobile artillery unit isn't officially part of Ukraine's military, but that hasn't stopped his men from destroying Russian targets on their own dime. "We ... get by thanks to the pension fund," the 68-year-old commander - whose call sign is "Grandpa" - said with a chuckle. Taran's all-volunteer unit, the Steppe Wolves, is comprised of dozens of Ukrainian men mostly over 60 years old who are considered too old to be drafted but still want to fight. Roving behind the front line with truck-mounted rocket launchers, they take orders from field commanders and work with other troops, contributing to the war effort despite lacking official support from the military. The unit is funded by donations and stocked with faulty rounds they repair themselves as well as weapons captured from the enemy. Both are delivered to them by front-line troopsSee the Story
Ukrainian 'Grandpa' leads over-60s unit fighting Russian forces free of charge
49% Center coverage: 8 sources
Philippines Politics · PhilippinesThe Philippines will suspend in-person classes in all public schools for two days due to extreme heat and a nationwide strike by jeepney drivers, the education department said Sunday. Extreme heat has scorched Southeast Asia in recent weeks, prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person operations and authorities to issue health warnings. Many schools in the Philippines have no air conditioning, leaving students to swelter in crowded, poorly ventilated classrooms. "In view of the latest heat index forecast... and the announcement of a nationwide transport strike, all public schools nationwide shall implement asynchronous classes/distance learning on April 29 and 30, 2024," the department said on Facebook.See the Story
Philippines suspends in-person classes due to heat, jeepney strike
Coverage: 15 sources
Joe Biden · United StatesNow the online platform she relies on to support her family is poised to be banned in what entrepreneurs using TikTok condemn as an attack on their livelihoods. "It's so essential to small businesses and creators; it's my full-time job," the 23-year-old Chicago resident told AFP. "It makes me really worried that I live in a country that would pass bans like these instead of focusing on what's actually important, like gun control and healthcare and education." A new US law put TikTok's parent, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, on a nine-month deadline to divest the hugely popular video platform or have it banned in the United States.See the Story
TikTok creators fear economic blow of US ban
62% Center coverage: 8 sources
Vladimir Putin · RussiaRussian officials threatened the West on Sunday with a "severe" response in the event that frozen Russian assets are confiscated, promising "endless" legal challenges and tit-for-tat measures.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia would never cede territories seized from Ukraine in exchange for the return of frozen assets. "Our motherland is not for sale," Zakharova wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "An Russian assets must remain untouched because otherwise there will be a severe response to Western thievery. Many in the West have already understood this. Alas, not everyone. In response to Russia's war in Ukraine, the United States and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia's central bank and finance ministry and blocked about $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West, most of which are in European not American financial institutions.See the Story
Russia Threatens West With 'Severe' Response If Its Assets Are Touched
50% Right coverage: 12 sources
Europe · FranceFrench Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné arrived in Lebanon Sunday as part of diplomatic attempts to broker a deescalation in the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border. Séjourné was set to meet with United Nations peacekeeping forces in south Lebanon and with Lebanon’s parliament speaker, army chief, foreign minister and caretaker prime minister. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has exchanged strikes near-daily with Israeli forces in the border region — and sometimes beyond — for almost seven months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hezbollah ally Hamas in Gaza.See the Story
Top French diplomat arrives in Lebanon in attempt to broker a halt to Hezbollah-Israel clashes
57% Center coverage: 23 sources
Asia · GuangzhouAerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed the wide devastation of a part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging over a hundred buildings.See the Story
The tornado that hit China’s Guangzhou has left wide devastation. Yet, cleanup efforts have started
55% Left coverage: 22 sources
Beijing protests after Japan lawmakers visit disputed islands
34% Center coverage: 3 sources