Month: August 2022

Russian Forces Shell Eastern, Southern Ukraine

Ukraine’s military reported Monday heavy shelling by Russian forces in the eastern Donbas region, as well as in areas in southern Ukraine, including towns around Kherson and Mykolaiv. The report from the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces also cited tank fire and aerial attacks in towns to the east and south of Zaporizhzhia. Tensions have been high around Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with the two sides continuing to accuse each other of firing weapons near the plant. Russia captured the facility in March, shortly after it invaded Ukraine. The plant’s operator reported the facility was at risk of violating …

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Putin Says Russia, North Korea to Expand Bilateral Relations – KCNA

Russian President Vladimir Putin told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the two countries will “expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts,” Pyongyang’s state media reported Monday. In a letter to Kim for Korea’s liberation day, Putin said closer ties would be in both countries’ interests and would help strengthen the security and stability of the Korean peninsula and the Northeastern Asian region, North Korea’s KCNA news agency said. Kim also sent a letter to Putin saying Russian-North Korean friendship had been forged in World War II with victory over Japan, which had occupied the Korean peninsula. …

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Fireworks Blast at Market in Armenia Kills 2, Injures 60

A strong explosion at a fireworks storage area tore through a popular market in Armenia’s capital Sunday, killing at least two people, injuring 60 others and setting off a large fire. Firefighters labored into the night after the early afternoon blast at the Surmalu market to put out the blaze that sent a towering column of thick smoke over the center of Yerevan. Rescue workers and volunteers searched amid still-exploding fireworks for victims who might be trapped under slabs of concrete and twisted metal. Emergencies Minister Armen Pambukhchyan said the ministry has received 20 reports from people who said they …

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Scotland’s Police Investigate Threat Made to JK Rowling After Rushdie Tweet

Scotland’s police said Sunday they are investigating a report of an “online threat” made to the author JK Rowling after she tweeted her condemnation of the stabbing of Salman Rushdie. The Harry Potter creator said she felt “very sick” after hearing the news and hoped the novelist would “be OK.” In response, a user said, “don’t worry you are next.” After sharing screenshots of the threatening tweet, Rowling said: “To all sending supportive messages: thank you police are involved (were already involved on other threats).”   A spokeswoman for Scotland’s police said: “We have received a report of an online …

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German Minister Decries Ecological Catastrophe in Oder River

Germany’s environment minister said the mass die-off of fish in the Oder River is an ecological catastrophe and it isn’t clear yet how long it will take for the river to recover. Steffi Lemke spoke Sunday at a news conference alongside her Polish counterpart, Anna Moskwa, after a meeting in Szczecin, a Polish city on the Oder River. The Oder runs from the Czech Republic to the border between Poland and Germany before flowing into the Baltic Sea. Ten tons of dead fish were removed from it last week, but Moskwa said the cause of the mass die-off still has …

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Двоє людей загинули, підірвавшись на невідомому пристрої в Одеській області – ОК «Південь»

«Група чоловіків, ігноруючи проголошені обмеження щодо відвідування узбережжя і купання в прибережних водах,… влаштувала відпочинок із купанням на одному з пляжів» …

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Love in a Time of Plague and War

Before the pandemic, before the war in Ukraine, before new came to define normal, Netchanok “Love” Promkao and Dmytro Denysov met in a Bangkok restaurant when Netchanok’s friends asked the solo traveler to join them. A gym-fit Ukrainian with dark blond hair, Denysov was “breaking bad, drinking and smoking” in September 2019, with Bangkok another stop on a monthslong Asia trek. He had just broken up with his girlfriend in China. Netchanok had just broken up with her boyfriend in South Korea. They bonded as rebound buddies. Each had been married and divorced. Denysov helped Netchanok build online engagement for …

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Italy’s Lake Garda Shrinks to Near-Historic Low Amid Drought

Italy’s worst drought in decades has reduced Lake Garda, the country’s largest lake, to near its lowest level ever recorded, exposing swaths of previously underwater rocks and warming the water to temperatures that approach the average in the Caribbean Sea.  Tourists flocking to the popular northern lake Friday for the start of Italy’s key summer long weekend found a vastly different landscape than in past years. An expansive stretch of bleached rock extended far from the normal shoreline, ringing the southern Sirmione Peninsula with a yellow halo between the green hues of the water and the trees on the shore.  …

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