A destroyed apartment building in Uman, central Ukraine, after Russia launched a new series of airstrikes that left at least 12 people dead across Ukraine.
👋 Gude!*
Welcome to Friday, where Russian airstrikes kill at least 12 across Ukraine, an attack on a Burkina Faso military post leaves 33 soldiers dead and the Stone of Destiny heads to London ahead of the coronation of King Charles III. Meanwhile, Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda looks at how Ukraine is buying used armored vehicles sold at auction in the UK and delivering them to the frontline.
[*Tok Pisin, Papua New Guinea]
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🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Russian airstrikes kill 12 across Ukraine: Russia launched missiles on cities across Ukraine early on Friday, killing at least 12 people. This is the first large-scale air strike in nearly two months. The morning attacks were carried out as Kyiv prepares to launch a counteroffensive to try to retake Russian-occupied territory. Meanwhile at least 10 people were killed in an apartment building fire in the central city of Uman.
• Attack on Burkina Faso military leaves 33 soldiers dead: An attack on a military base in eastern Burkina Faso has killed 33 soldiers and left 12 wounded. The troops were attacked by suspected armed terrorist groups in eastern Burkina Faso. The country has been fighting a jihadist insurgency.
• Pence testifies before grand jury in Trump case: Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has testified before a federal grand jury investigating alleged efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The former vice president's appearance comes as he is exploring a possible challenge to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
• Sudan truce extended, fighting continues: Rival groups of Sudan’s military have agreed to renew a three-day ceasefire, following intensive diplomatic efforts by neighboring countries. Still, reports continue of heavy fighting in the capital, Khartoum. The previous truce allowed thousands of people to attempt to flee to safety, while dozens of countries have tried to evacuate their citizens.
• BBC chairman resigns after breaching rules over Boris Johnson loan: BBC Chairman Richard Sharp has resigned after an independent report found he had breached public appointment rules by not disclosing potential conflict of interest in his role in securing a $1 million loan for the then-prime minister, Boris Johnson.
• Jerry Springer dies: Iconoclastic U.S. talk Show host Jerry Springer has died at age 79. A former mayor of Cincinnati, he was best known for his 27 years on air with his talk show often featuring guests who purportedly engaged in controversial, excessive and often overtly sexual behavior.
• Stone of Destiny heads south for coronation of King Charles III: The Stone of Destiny has left Edinburgh Castle for the first time in more than 25 years as it heads to London for the coronation of King Charles III. The stone is an ancient symbol of Scotland's monarchy and was seized by King Edward I of England in the late 13th Century and taken to Westminster Abbey.
🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Italian weekly Internazionale devotes its front page to “The utopia of green flights.” The development of electric aircraft would make it possible to make a highly polluting sector such as aviation more sustainable. The obstacles to overcome are enormous but the European Union recently signed the ReFuelEU Aviation law that will force airlines and airports to use more sustainable fuels for flights.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
$3.2 billion
Online retail giant Amazon announced on Thursday that it had registered a profit of $3.2 billion in the first quarter, following the loss of $3.8 billion that it incurred during the same period last year. The profit figure also exceeded the predictions of financial analysts by a considerable margin. The company also announced two rounds of layoffs and canceled products.
📰 STORY OF THE DAY
How a private UK market helps get used tanks to Ukraine's frontlines
Even as Ukraine's Western allies are sending much needed military hardware, there is an unofficial market for used equipment — from armored vehicles to drones and satellites — that has been vital for Kyiv. But how do these second-hand goods make it from Britain to the front? asks Bohdan Miroshnychenko in Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.
🎖️ After the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the country's defense ministry began reducing its army and selling off armored vehicles. Cannons, "Spartans," "Sultans" and other armored vehicles are now being sold at auction. According to the Army Technology portal, more than 150 units of tracked armored vehicles were put up for auction in Britain in 2022 alone. Many of them went to Ukraine.
🤝 There are professional companies on the market that buy equipment at auction, repair, paint and send them off in large batches for export. Ukrainian charitable foundations cooperated with these firms to acquire the old tanks. Volunteers, many of them Ukrainian refugees, combed through advertisements for armored vehicles in the UK. Like cars, quality and prices varied, and not every machine was suitable for combat.
💸 Until 2022, prices for armored vehicles were stable and not extortionate. For example, a Spartan tank had an average market price of $35,000. But when Ukrainian volunteers came with public money, the market began to stir. Now, the same Spartan would cost you $79,000. "Some companies that knew about our intentions, bought the equipment we needed so that we would come to them," Ulyana Fedoryachenko, from the Serhiy Prytula Foundation, explains.
➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com
📣 VERBATIM
“Serbia cannot and will never recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo, nor will it ever accept Kosovo becoming a member of the UN.”
— Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić reiterated his country’s hardline stance on its Balkan neighbor, at the UN on Thursday. The United Nations mission in Kosovo has warned that the worsening relations between Kosovo and Serbia, could lead to a physical confrontation, as the longstanding tensions between the two nations escalated recently when the local Serbian majority boycotted an election in northern Kosovo.
👉 MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH
• World Rolls Eyes At “Nonno” Biden’s Reelection Run — WORLDCRUNCH
• Iran's Violence Against Women Runs Deep — And Can No Longer Be Swept Away — KAYHAN-LONDON
• The Bitter Core Of Uganda's Billion-Dollar Cocoa Industry: Economic Injustice — GLOBAL PRESS JOURNAL
✍️ Newsletter by Emma Albright, Anne-Sophie Goninet, Inès Mermat, Sophie Jacquier and Ginevra Falciani
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