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🌎  7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Putin at Russian Victory Day parade, missiles target Kyiv: Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the Russian Victory day parade at the Red Square in Moscow, celebrated every year on May 9th to mark the Nazi defeat. In his speech he said civilization was at a “decisive turning point” and that “real war has been unleashed” against Russia. Earlier, Russia launched around 15 cruise missiles at Kyiv, all of which have been shot down.

• Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 13: At least 13 Palestinians, including three commanders of the militant group Islamic Jihad, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Some 20 people were injured. Israel said it had launched an operation targeting militants who posed an imminent threat to its citizens.

• Pakistan’s former leader Khan arrested: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been arrested and taken into custody during a court appearance on Tuesday in the capital Islamabad, following an alleged corruption probe. Khan was ousted in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership.

• Thousands of Serbs protest against gun violence: Tens of thousands of Serbs have joined protests against gun violence in the capital Belgrade after two mass shootings occurred last week. The protesters are demanding that top government officials resign, and want newspapers and TV stations that they say promote violence to be shut down.

• China expels Canadian diplomat: China has just announced the expulsion of a Canadian diplomat in retaliation against Ottawa ordering a Chinese diplomat to leave the country over alleged threats he made against a Canadian lawmaker and his family. It said Jennnifer Lynn Lalonde, the top Canadian diplomat, has been asked to leave by May 13 and that China “reserves the right to take further actions in response.”

• Deadly ethnic riots in India: Sixty people have been killed in ethnic clashes in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur with mobs attacking homes, vehicles, churches and temples. N Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, said that more than 200 people were injured and tens of thousands displaced in the clashes. The violence erupted last week after indigenous communities held a rally to protest against demands by the main ethnic group in the state for tribal status.

🗞️  FRONT PAGE

The Timesturns over its front page to the new official photo of King Charles, which was released following his coronation Saturday, showing the king in full regalia. The new sovereign thanked everyone who joined the celebration, calling it "the greatest possible coronation gift." Around 2,000 people attended the ceremony and more than 20 million people tuned in to watch the event in Britain alone, though viewership was lower than both the funerals of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana.

#️⃣  BY THE NUMBERS

$215 million

Leading global investment banking group Goldman Sachs will pay $215 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging gender bias in pay and promotions. Former female employees accused the company of paying women less than men and hindering their career growth with unfair performance reviews. The settlement covers approximately 2,800 female associates and vice presidents in specific divisions of Goldman Sachs such as investment banking and management.

📰  STORY OF THE DAY

How Colombia's “prosperity preachers” squeeze the masses, with the state's blessing

In traditionally Catholic Colombia, Protestant preachers have learned to effectively combine marketing and religion to make themselves enormously wealthy. And thanks to political lobbying and religious freedom, they are exempt from the law and taxes, reports Karem Racines for Colombian alliance of journalists and media outlets La Liga Contra El Silencio.

⛪💸 Esteban Acosta, a self-proclaimed apostle, and his wife, pastor Lisbeth Bello, convince their followers to make donations in exchange for religious favors, while they amass fortunes to afford a life of luxury. They use marketing strategies and a repetitive message with a simple promise: the more money they give to God through them, the more progress they will have on earth as a reward. They call it the "prosperity gospel."

🇺🇸 This doctrine, which was born in the United States in the 1980s, offers hope in exchange for banknotes. The Pentecostal writer Daniel McConell elaborates further: "The doctrine of prosperity is an example of the cultural accommodation of the church to the mundane values of North American materialism." In the late 1990s, the concept spread easily to Protestants in traditionally Roman Catholic Latin America because the promise of a miracle, health and abundance has greater penetration in unequal contexts.

🛐 In their persuasive speeches, prosperity theology speakers combine self-help phrases with references to biblical passages. In the Sunday afternoon service, Acosta says: “Brothers, do not settle for what you are and what you have, trust the power of affirmation to achieve wealth. We have to be willing to give money in exchange for favors.”

📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

📣 VERBATIM

“A real war has been unleashed against our homeland.”

— In a 10-minute speech at Moscow’s Red Square during the annual Victory Day parade, Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at the West and told Russians they were “engaged in a patriotic struggle for the future of their country.” Putin’s use of the word “war” marks a shift from the Kremlin’s claim so far that the Russian invasion was a so-called “special military operation.”

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