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War in Ukraine

Fighting continues unabated across Ukraine as the war with Russia is in its Day 67. The attacks are most fierce in the disputed eastern regions, but they've also reached as far west as the city of Odessa, where local officials say a Russian missile strike from Crimea has destroyed the airport runway. No one was harmed. Moscow says it has struck weapons shipments supplied to Ukraine by the US and European countries. Meantime, in the southern Kherson region, Russia says Ukrainian shelling of a school, kindergarten and cemetery has killed and injured civilians. So far, no reaction from Kiev to that. And in the Russian-held port city of Mariupol, nearly 50 civilians, including several children, have managed to leave a besieged steel plant. Ukrainian soldiers and hundreds of civilians remain holed up there. Earlier evacuation efforts have all failed.

US House speaker in Kiev 

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has paid an unannounced visit to Kiev, where she met President Volodymyr Zelensky. During the meeting, she vowed that the US would stand by Ukraine until the end of the war with Russia. Zelensky, for his part, thanked the US and its Congress for, in his own words, the powerful signal of support. Pelosi was being accompanied by several lawmakers on her trip, that came after last weekend's visit by the US Secretaries of state and defense to Ukraine. Later in a statement, Pelosi said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 'diabolic invasion', had taken a devastating human toll on Ukrainians. She also pledged imminent additional American support for Ukraine. The US alone has already provided three billion dollars in aid. And in a major increase of such funding, President Biden has called on Congress to provide another 33 billion dollars, in mostly military assistance. But Moscow has warned that the aid would only fuel the conflict, and raise the risk of direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

May Day rallies

Workers and activists worldwide have held rallies to mark International Labor Day, also known as May Day. In Turkey, police have clashed with protesters as they were trying to reach Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square. Over 160 people were arrested in Istanbul. Riot police are now deployed across the city. The Turkish protesters were angry at raging inflation in their country that was 61 percent last month. That’s the highest there in 20 years. In France, demonstrators filled the streets in various cities, including Marseille and the capital Paris. They slammed the French government’s economic policies, and expressed anger at rising unemployment in their country. The demonstrators called for better working conditions and higher wages. In Cuba, people also turned out in their thousands to mark May Day. 

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