TOP NEWS

May 16 (UPI) — A bronze statue of first lady Melania Trump was stolen from its perch in a city in her home country of Slovenia, five years after it replaced a wooden sculpture damaged by arson.

Police confirmed Friday they are now investigating after the bronze statue went missing earlier in the week from the Slovenian village of Rozno.

“[Police] conducted an inspection of the crime scene and collected information. The investigating judge and the district state prosecutor were informed about the theft,” Slovenian National Police Force spokesperson Alenka Drenik Rangus said in a statement Friday.

The Slovenian newspaper Delo reported the statue was “sawed off” at the bottom.

Officials unveiled the bronze figure of the first lady in 2020 to replace a wooden statue that was damaged after being lit on fire on July 4 of that year.

The statue site is near the first lady’s hometown of Sevnica in central Slovenia.

Artist Brad Downey constructed the bronze version, based on the original wooden statue crafted by conceptual artist Ales Zupevc, aka Maxi.

The damaged wood statue was quickly removed to a museum in Slovenia.

Bronze was chosen for the replacement to ensure it was fireproof.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 16 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump‘s unexpected approach to Syria has presented a significant opportunity for the country’s interim president, Ahmad Sharaa, to prove that he can overcome the enormous challenges he faces and lead the war-torn nation toward recovery and stabilization, political analysts and experts said.

Trump’s announcement of the cessation of U.S. sanctions, along with his meeting with Sharaa — a former jihadist who, until recently, was on the U.S. most-wanted list with a $10 million bounty on his head — marked a turning point and the beginning of a new chapter for Syria nearly six months after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad and his Baathist regime.

With Assad gone, the sanctions were increasingly seen as only prolonging the suffering of the Syrian people and worsening the already catastrophic humanitarian conditions.

Had the sanctions remained in place, Syria would have become a failed state, as it was just weeks away from financial collapse, according to Mouaz Mustafa of the Syrian Emergency Task Force. In an interview with PBS NewsHour, Mustafa warned that continued sanctions would have led to disastrous consequences for both the region and the world.

With layers of sanctions in place since 1979, the process of lifting them remains unclear, and experts say it will take time.

“There is a huge difference between deciding to lift sanctions and actually lifting them,” Nanar Hawach, a senior Syria analyst for the International Crisis Group, told UPI.

However, he said it would be “a game-changer” for the economy, giving the green light for the private sector and other stakeholders involved in Syria to step in and “be more bold.”

Since taking over after Assad’s ouster, Sharaa has repeatedly called for the lifting of U.S. and other international sanctions to allow his country to breathe again. He understands that without funding and financial support, there is little he can do to put Syria back on track.

Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the continuation of sanctions was hindering the country’s ability to recover and move forward.

Yacoubian noted that removing the sanctions would open the way for Gulf countries in particular to “do more” and channel more resources toward Syria’s early recovery and stabilization, and eventually, reconstruction — provided it is done “transparently and in a responsible way.”

However, Syria’s problems will not be resolved simply by ending the sanctions.

Sharaa is facing “very significant issues,” including sectarian tensions, the need for transitional justice, and how to manage the more extreme elements of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS — the group he led before becoming president — as well as affiliated factions on which he continues to rely while trying to consolidate control.

“So how will he use this newfound breathing space and the anticipated resources to consolidate his personal power, or rather to put Syria on a more sustainable path toward stability and, ultimately, peace?” Yacoubian asked rhetorically.

She added that he will have to demonstrate a willingness to undertake complex processes related to transitional justice, inclusive governance, and national reconciliation.

According to Hawach, Trump has given Sharaa “the benefit of the doubt,” and the new leadership in Damascus will need to seize this opportunity to meet internal and external expectations.

“How willing are they to take bold, risky steps such as distancing themselves from their radical base and expanding to include a broader range of constituencies?” he asked. “Are they prepared to take courageous actions to rein in or address the presence of foreign fighters? Would they focus on other issues, such as building institutional capacity or strengthening military capabilities?”

Trump, who described Sharaa as an “attractive, tough guy,” urged him to join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel, expel foreign fighters from Syria, deport Palestinian militants, assist the U.S. in preventing an ISIS resurgence and take responsibility for ISIS detention centers in northeast Syria.

What Syrians want most is a more inclusive national dialogue and political process, the formation of a national army and measures to address the fears of minority groups.

Anas Joudeh, a political researcher and founder of the Nation Building Movement in Syria, said the first step would be for Sharaa to seriously engage with all of the country’s constituencies, restart the national dialogue, adopt a new constitution, and form a more inclusive government.

“We can’t expect things to be perfect right now,” Joudeh told UPI. “We will strongly support any move toward greater inclusivity, as the country is heading toward total economic and social collapse.”

He said the key to Syria’s successful transition is the formation of a national army, which poses a “big challenge” for Sharaa. This includes absorbing the armed factions, addressing the foreign fighters who still maintain control in several areas and convincing the Druze, Alawites and Kurds to lay down their weapons.

“But that would be very difficult if Sharaa keeps on [running the country] with the same mentality,” Joudeh said.

Sharaa will, therefore, need to address the concerns of the Druze, Alawites and Kurds, find solutions to mitigate feelings of existential threat, impose security and, ultimately, act not as a faction leader, but as the leader of the entire country, Hawach said.

“If they decide to make positive steps towards these communities, this is the perfect time to do so,” he added.

He explained that with the possibility of accessing much-needed funds, the country can recruit for the army, establish better command control and gain more leverage to deal with armed factions that are not yet fully under the new authorities’ control.

Makram Rabah, a political activist and history professor at the American University of Beirut, said Trump’s meeting with Sharaa will put more pressures on him to act as a political leader.

“Lifting the sanctions sent a message not only to Sharaa but also to the Druze, Kurds and Alawites: that there is political cover, a form of settlement, and a need to work together,” Rabah told UPI. “However, this is far from easy.”

United States House Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill”, a wide-ranging tax and spending legislation, is at a crucial moment.

The nearly 400-page legislation proposes sweeping changes which include extending the 2017 tax cuts, slashing taxes for businesses and individuals, and enacting deep cuts to social programmes like Medicaid and SNAP.

While Republicans tout the bill as a boon for economic growth and middle-class relief, nonpartisan analysts warn it could add trillions to the national debt and strip millions of Americans of medical and food assistance.

The bill will be voted on by the House Budget Committee today and, if passed, will be voted on the floor next week.

The most substantive part of the bill is an extension of the 2017 tax cuts. The tax bill would add at least an additional $2.5 trillion to the national deficit over the next 10 years and decrease federal tax revenue by roughly $4 trillion by 2034.

Passing the legislation will also raise the debt ceiling, which sets the amount of money the government can borrow to pay for existing expenditures, by $4 trillion, a sticking point for hardline Republicans who want deeper cuts.

Here are some of the key measures in the proposed bill in its current form.

Changes for households

The bill increases standard deductions for all Americans. Individual deductions will increase by $1,000, $1,500 for heads of households, and $2,000 for married couples.

The bill extends the child tax credit of $2,000, which would otherwise have ended with the expiration of the 2017 tax cuts at year’s end.

It bumps up the child tax credit by $500 per child for this tax year and runs through the end of 2028. It also includes a $1,000 savings account for children born between December 31, 2024 and January 1, 2029. The legislation would also allow families to annually contribute $5,000 tax-free.

There is a new tax deduction for Americans 65 and older. The new bill would give a $4,000 annual deduction starting this year for people making a gross income of $75,000 for a single person and $150,000 for a married couple. If passed, the rule would take effect for the current tax year and run until the end of 2028.

“It will just make tax paying more complicated and more uncertain when a lot of these things ultimately expire,” Adam Michel, director of tax policy studies at the right-leaning Cato Institute, told Al Jazeera.

Another provision in the bill modifies state and local tax (SALT) deductions. It allows filers to be able to write off some of what they paid in local and state taxes from their federal filings.

Under the 2017 tax act, that was capped at $10,000, but the new legislation would raise that to $30,000. Some Republicans, particularly those in states with higher taxes like New York and California, have been pushing to raise the cap or abolish it altogether. However, they have faced fiscal hawks and those who see the increases as relief for those already wealthy.

The bill includes an increased benefit for small businesses that allows them to deduct 23 percent of their qualified business income from their taxes, up from the current 20 percent.

There is also a call for no taxes on overtime pay for select individuals. It would not apply to people who are non-citizens, those who are considered “highly compensated employees,” and those who earn a tipped wage.

The bill, however, also eliminates taxes on tips, a critical campaign promise by both Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The bill would allow people who work in sectors like food service, as well as hair care, nail care, aesthetics, and body and spa treatments, to specifically deduct the amount of tipped income they receive.

At the federal level, employers will still not be required to pay tipped workers more than the subminimum wage of $2.13 hourly. The intention is that workers will be able to make up the difference in tipping the receipt from customers.

Cuts to the social safety net

The legislation calls to make $880bn in cuts to key government programmes with a focus mostly on Medicaid and food stamps.

The CBO found that more than 10 million people could lose Medicaid access and 7.6 million could lose access to health insurance completely by 2034 under the current plan.

Even far-right Republicans have called out the Medicaid cuts. In an op-ed in The New York Times this week, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri said the cuts are “morally wrong and politically suicidal”.

According to a new report from One Fair Wage shared with Al Jazeera, tipped workers could be hit especially hard, as 1.2 million restaurant and tipped workers could lose access to Medicaid.

“A no tax on tips proposal, which is like a minuscule percentage of their income and doesn’t affect two-thirds of tips workers because they don’t earn enough to pay federal income tax, is just nowhere near enough to compensate for the fact that we’re going to have millions of these workers lose the ability to take care of themselves, in some cases go into medical debt, in many cases just not take care of themselves,” Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, an advocacy group for restaurant workers, told Al Jazeera.

The bill also introduces work requirements to receive benefits, saying that recipients must prove they work, volunteer or are enrolled in school for at least 80 hours each month.

At the same time, the bill also shortens the open enrolment period by a month for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare. This means people who have employer-funded healthcare and lose their job might lose eligibility to buy a private plan on the healthcare exchange.

“It’s taking folks like 11 to 12 weeks to find a new job. The worse the labour market gets, that number will tick up. If you’re unemployed for three months, you get kicked off Medicaid,” Liz Pancotti, managing director of policy and advocacy at the Groundwork Collective, told Al Jazeera.

“Then, if you try to go buy a plan on the ACA marketplace, you are no longer eligible for subsidies … which I think is really cruel.”

Other major proposed cuts will hit programmes like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme or SNAP, which helps 42 million low-income individuals afford groceries and comes at a time when food costs are still 2 percent higher than a year ago. The CBO found that 3 million people could lose SNAP access under the new plan.

The bill would also force states to take up more responsibility in funding the programmes. States would be required to cover 75 percent of the administrative costs, and all states would have to pay at least 5 percent of the benefits — 28 states would need to pay 25 percent.

“States are now going to be on the hook for billions of dollars in funding for these two vital programmes. They have a tough choice. One is, do they cut funding from others like K-12 education, roads, veteran services, etc, to cover this gap, or do they raise taxes so that they can raise more revenue to cover this gap,” Pancotti added.

Under the current law, the federal government is solely responsible for shouldering the cost of benefits. The proposed cuts would save $300bn for the federal government but hit state budgets hard.

Bill fuels Trump administration priorities

The bill would also cut the $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicle purchases and $4,000 for a used EV, a move which could hurt several major US automakers that are already reeling from the administration’s tariffs on automobiles.

General Motors pumped billions into domestic EV production in the last year, which has included a $900m investment to retrofit an existing plant to build electric vehicles in Michigan and alongside Samsung, the carmaker invested $3.5bn in EV battery manufacturing in the US.

In February, Ford CEO Jim Farley said that revoking the EV tax credit could put factory jobs on the chopping block. The carmaker invested in three EV battery plants in Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. The federal government under the administration of former President Joe Biden paid out more than $2bn in EV tax credits in 2024.

The proposed legislation would also give the Trump administration authority to revoke the tax exempt status of nonprofit organisations that it deems as a “terrorist supporting organisation”. It would give the secretary of the treasury the ability to accuse any nonprofit of supporting “terrorism”, revoke their tax exempt status without allowing them due process to prove otherwise, which has raised serious concerns amongst critics.

“This measure’s real intent lurks behind its hyperbolic and unsubstantiated anti-terrorist rhetoric: It would allow the Treasury Department to explicitly target, harass and investigate thousands of U.S. organizations that make up civil society, including nonprofit newsrooms,” Jenna Ruddock, advocacy director of Free Press Action, said in a statement.

“The bill’s language lacks any meaningful safeguards against abuse. Instead it puts the burden of proof on organizations rather than on the government. It’s not hard to imagine how the Trump administration would use it to exact revenge on groups that have raised questions about or simply angered the president and other officials in his orbit.”

The bill would introduce new taxes on colleges, including a varying tax rate based on the size of a university’s endowment per student with the highest at 14 percent for universities with a per student endowment of more than $1.25m but less than $2m and 21 percent for those of $2m or more.

This comes amid the Trump administration’s increased tensions with higher education. In the last week, the Trump administration pulled $450m in grants to Harvard on top of the $2.2bn it pulled in April — a move which will hinder research into cancer and heart disease, among other areas. Harvard has an endowment of $53.2bn, making it one of the richest schools in the country.

The legislation would also increase funding for a border wall between the US and Mexico, which the administration has argued will help curb undocumented immigration. However, there is no evidence that such a wall has deterred border crossings.

A 2018 analysis from Stanford University found that a border wall would only curb migration by 0.6 percent, yet the bill would give more than $50bn to finish the border wall and maritime crossings. The bill would also provide $45bn for building and maintaining detention facilities and another $14bn for transport.

May 16 (UPI) — President Donald Trump‘s legislative agenda megabill failed to advance after a band of far-right Republicans objected to it during a meeting of the House Budget Committee on Friday.

House Freedom Caucus members — Reps. Andrew Clyde, Josh Brecheen, Ralph Norman and Chip Roy — were joined by Rep. Lloyd Smucker in voting against letting the bill out of committee.

“We are writing checks we cannot cash, and our children are going to pay the price. I am a no on this bill unless serious reforms are made today, tomorrow, Sunday,” Roy said in the committee meeting. “Something needs to change, or you’re not going to get my support.”

Roy said on social media that the critics of the bill were “making progress” in negotiating it, but the vote was called “and the problems were not resolved.”

Norman similarly aired his issues with the bill on Friday on social media. “Why rush the process when we should be working overtime to get it right?” he said.

Clyde affirmed on social media that he “fully” supports Trump’s agenda but said the bill did not go far enough in addressing alleged waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid, among other grievances.

Committee chair Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, adjourned the meeting after the vote was read and said they would not meet again until after the weekend.

Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., predicted in comments to NBC News that the bill would eventually pass after negotiations. “It has to pass,” he said.

Smucker, who initially voted for the bill before changing his vote, also said he hopes the bill can pass the committee by Monday.

Hours before the vote, Trump hit out at his critics on his Truth Social platform, saying that the “grandstanders” must unite behind his agenda.

“Not only does it cut taxes for all Americans, but it will kick millions of illegal aliens off of Medicaid to protect it for those who are the ones in real need,” Trump said.

“The country will suffer greatly without this Legislation, with their taxes going up 65%. It will be blamed on the Democrats, but that doesn’t help our voters. We don’t need ‘grandstanders’ in the Republican Party.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson has plans to put the legislation on the floor for a vote before Memorial Day.

Roy said Thursday in a post to X that “the House proposal fails to meet the moment,” and that “it does not meaningfully change spending,” and then added that he feels “many of the decent provisions and cuts, don’t begin until 2029 and beyond. That is swamp accounting to dodge real savings.”

Currently, the bill’s work requirements for Medicaid recipients without disabilities and children would not launch until 2029.

Aside from Roy and Norman, a contingent of GOP members from New York have made it clear they won’t vote for the bill unless it addresses state and local taxes, or SALT.

The bill as is raises the current $10,000 cap on SALT that can be written off on federal tax returns to $30,000, but the Empire State Republicans want it to be even higher.

“My Republican colleagues need to remember that maintaining the majority means they have to work together with swing seats like mine, where SALT is a priority. It’s time to negotiate; they need to pass the SALT, or I’m voting no,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R- N.Y. announced Wednesday on social media.

Fellow GOP and New York Congressman Nick LaLota stated on X Thursday that “$250K might be rich in Missouri,” but “not on Long Island,” and that “A $30K SALT cap doesn’t cut it. Before 2017, SALT was unlimited. We proposed $62K/$124K caps to fully protect 98% of my district.”

“I want to say yes to the One Big Beautiful Bill, but not without a real SALT fix,” LaLota said.

President Donald Trump responded to the impending showdown Friday via Truth Social, where he insisted “Republicans must unite behind, ‘The One, Big Beautiful Bill,'”

“We don’t need ‘grandstanders in the Republican Party. Stop talking and get it done!” Trump wrote.

The bill if passed would both extend the life of tax cuts set during Trump’s first term and enact up to $1.5 trillion in new tax breaks, with an increase of federal deficit by $1.5 trillion as Trump seeks to spend as much as $175 billion on border security and immigration enforcement, as well as an additional $150 billion for military spending.

The legislation would also increase fossil fuel production and the mining of public lands. To offset the spending, there will be $1.5 trillion in cuts to spending of safety-net programs.

“We have a duty to know the true cost of this legislation before advancing it,” Brecheen said. “If we are to operate in truth, we must have true numbers, even if that means taking some more time to obtain that truth.”

An aide worker in Gaza who has witnessed Israel’s increased bombardment of the enclave calls it “shocking,” as Palestinians struggle with a lack of food and medical supplies. Afeef Nessouli with Gila International tells Al Jazeera Israel is also keeping medical workers from coming in or out.

May 16 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday blocked the administration of President Donald Trump from using the rare wartime Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan detainees accused of being members of violent gangs.

The Supreme Court, in its decision, also rebuked judges from a U.S. District Court in North Texas for waiting too long to act on urgent requests related to the impending deportations.

The decision, which sent the case for deliberation back to the Fifth Circuit court, effectively blocks any removals under the Alien Enemies Act until the case can be properly reviewed.

The case is rooted in an April 17 request from two Venezuelan detainees for a temporary restraining order to stop their removal from the United States, which the district court denied that evening.

Later that night, the two detainees were given notice of their imminent removal, leading their lawyers to file a second, emergency request for a temporary restraining order to halt their deportation just after midnight.

“The named applicants, along with putative class members, are entitled to constitutionally adequate notice prior to any removal, in order to pursue appropriate relief,” the Supreme Court wrote in its latest ruling.

The lawyers asked the court to rule on the second request or hold a status conference by 1:30 p.m. The district court failed to rule on the request or hold a status conference that day, with their inaction becoming central to the Supreme Court’s rebuke.

“A district court’s inaction in the face of extreme urgency and a high risk of ‘serious, perhaps irreparable,’ consequences may have the effect of refusing an injunction,” the Supreme Court ruled.

By 3 p.m. on April 18, the lawyers for the detainees appealed to the Fifth Circuit, claiming that the district court’s inaction amounted to a constructive denial — which is when a court does not officially decline a request but acts, or fails to act, in a way that is effectively a denial.

The Supreme Court previously ruled in this case, ordering an emergency injunction that evening to stop the deportations before midnight. That ruling was a procedural hold, not a final ruling, and did not weigh in on the legality of the deportations.

In the days following the emergency injunction, the Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal, reasoning that the detainees had not given the district court enough time to respond before escalating the case.

This prompted the process for the case to return before the Supreme Court as the detainees asked the high court to treat their emergency application as a formal petition for the court to hear the case, review the lower court’s rulings and to settle the constitutional questions raised by their deportations.

The Supreme Court has vacated the Fifth Circuit court’s dismissal and sent it back to the lower court for a proper legal review, preventing the government from further deportations until the case can be properly decided.

The high court clarified that, as on April 19, its ruling does not address the underlying merits of each side regarding removals under the Alien Enemies Act.

“We recognize the significance of the Government’s national security interests as well as the necessity that such interests be pursued in a manner consistent with the Constitution,” the Supreme Court wrote. “In light of the foregoing, lower courts should address AEA cases expeditiously.”

Justice Samuel Alito dissented, joined by Clarence Thomas, arguing that the Supreme Court never had the legal authority to step in because there was no valid appeal since the district court never actually denied the temporary restraining order request.

More than a trillion dollars worth of investments were pledged during the US president’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week.

The US is preparing to lift decades-long sanctions on Syria, and could be close to a nuclear deal with Iran.

Previous US presidents might have been expected to make a stop in Egypt, Jordan or Israel.

But notably Trump’s deal-making tour did not include those countries.

So, are the Gulf nations now in sync with the US on some of the biggest challenges in the region?

And is Trump re-shaping the Middle East or is it the Gulf states that will dictate future US foreign policy?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Giorgio Cafiero – CEO at Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consultancy

Hassan Barari – Professor of international affairs at Qatar University

Alon Pinkas – Former ambassador and consul general of Israel in New York and a columnist at the Independent

A recent United States ambassador to Ukraine has published an opinion column explaining her decision to resign her post, and criticising President Donald Trump for siding with Russia over Ukraine.

On Friday, former diplomat Bridget Brink published an article in the Detroit Free Press, a newspaper in her home state of Michigan, expressing concern about current US foreign policy.

The US has long been an ally of Ukraine, and since 2014, it has provided the war-torn country with military assistance, as it fends off Russia’s attempts at invasion and annexation.

But Brink wrote that there has been a shift since President Trump returned to office for a second term in January.

“I respect the president’s right and responsibility to determine U.S. foreign policy,” she wrote.

“Unfortunately, the policy since the beginning of the Trump administration has been to put pressure on the victim, Ukraine, rather than on the aggressor, Russia.”

Brink pointed out that her time at the US Department of State included roles under five presidents, both Democrat and Republican. But she said the shift under the Trump administration forced her to abandon her ambassadorship to Ukraine, a position she held from 2022 until last month.

“I cannot stand by while a country is invaded, a democracy bombarded, and children killed with impunity,” she said of the situation in Ukraine.

“I believe that the only way to secure U.S. interests is to stand up for democracies and to stand against autocrats. Peace at any price is not peace at all ― it is appeasement.”

Brink’s position as ambassador has spanned much of the current conflict in Ukraine. After annexing Crimea and occupying other Ukrainian territories starting in 2014, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Brink assumed her post that May.

But the slow-grinding war in Ukraine has cost thousands of lives and displaced many more. While campaigning for re-election in 2024, Trump blamed the war’s eruption on the “weak” foreign policy of his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.

He also pledged to end the war on his first day back in office, if re-elected. “I’ll have that done in 24 hours. I’ll have it done,” Trump told one CNN town hall in 2023.

Since taking office, however, Trump has walked back those comments, calling them an “exaggeration” in an interview with Time Magazine.

Still, his administration has pushed Ukraine and Russia to engage in peace talks, as part of an effort to end the war. How those negotiations have unfolded under Trump, however, has been the source of scrutiny and debate.

Ukraine and its European allies have accused Trump of sidelining their interests in favour of his one-on-one negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They also have criticised Trump and his officials for seeming to offer Russia concessions even before the negotiations officially began.

On February 12, for instance, his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told an international defence group in Brussels that Ukraine may never regain some of its occupied territory.

“We must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” he said, adding that membership in the NATO military alliance was also unlikely. “Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”

Trump has gone so far as to blame Ukraine’s NATO ambitions as the cause of the war, something critics blast as a Kremlin talking point.

Amid the negotiations, the relationship between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has grown increasingly testy. Already, during his first term, Trump faced impeachment proceedings over an alleged attempt to pressure Zelenskyy by withholding military aid.

During his second term, though, Trump upped the ante, calling the Ukrainian president a “dictator” for not holding elections, something prohibited under Ukraine’s wartime laws.

One public display of frustration came in the White House on February 28, when Trump shouted at Zelenskyy, calling him “disrespectful” during a gathering with journalists.

The US president also used the appearance to defend his warm relationship with Russia’s president. “ Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” Trump told Zelenskyy.

The shouting match led to a brief suspension of US aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

In the months since, their two countries have agreed to a deal that would establish a joint investment fund that would allow Washington access to Ukraine’s mineral resources — a long-desired Trump goal.

The US president has voiced concern about the amount of money invested in Ukraine’s security, with Congress appropriating more than $174bn since the war began in 2022. He has also argued that a US mining presence would help deter foreign attacks in Ukraine.

But peace between Russia and Ukraine has remained elusive. Talks between the two warring parties on Friday ended after less than two hours, though they did agree to an exchange of 1,000 prisoners each.

In her op-ed column, Brink was clear that she held Russia responsible for the ongoing aggression.

“Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, it has done what can only be described as pure evil: killed thousands of civilians, including 700 children, with missiles and drones that hit their homes and apartments in the dead of night,” she wrote.

She added that Europe has not experienced “violence so systematic, so widespread and so horrifying in Europe since World War II”.

Brink warned that, if the US did not stand up to Russia, a domino effect could occur, paving the way for military assaults on other countries.

“If we allow Putin to redraw borders by force, he won’t stop with Ukraine,” she wrote. “Taken at his word, Putin’s ambition is to resurrect an imperial past ― and he can’t do that without threatening the security of our NATO allies.”

The FA Cup was not Manchester City’s top priority this season, but now that they are in a third straight final, the club will go all out to win the trophy at Wembley, manager Pep Guardiola said.

City have had a “horrific season” in the words of striker Erling Haaland, with Guardiola’s side falling by the wayside in the Premier League title race while they were also eliminated in the Champions League knockout phase playoffs.

City are fourth in the Premier League and yet to secure Champions League qualification for next season – winning the FA Cup when they face Crystal Palace on Saturday may not be enough to salvage their campaign.

“That is the problem, right? The FA Cup now is not the first choice. Of course, we want it. Once we are here, of course, we want the trophy. It is massively important,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.

“It was a disappointment last season [losing in the final to Manchester United]. But I’m pretty sure we’ll perform well, and we are going to compete against them.

“It’s the final of the FA Cup, it’s an honour and a privilege. Third time in a row being there, and we have to perform well. We travel to London to win the title.”

Guardiola also praised Oliver Glasner’s Palace, who knocked out fellow Premier League sides Fulham and Aston Villa to reach the final.

Palace, who are 12th in the league table, are seeking their first major trophy, having fallen in the final in 1990 and 2016, losing to Manchester United on both occasions.

“It is a fantastic team. They have had a really good second part of the season. They have had more than a year with Oliver working with the same players,” Guardiola said.

“They are a threat because they have quality. [Striker Jean-Philippe] Mateta is strong and the quality in [Eberechi] Eze is obvious and, of course, the pace from [fellow forward Ismaila] Sarr … [Adam] Wharton is a really good holding midfielder.

“They are well structured defensively and their set-pieces are one of the best in the Premier League.”

It’s 90 percent about us, says Palace manager

The quiet confidence seeping out of Crystal Palace’s training ground before the final against Manchester City was summed up by manager Oliver Glasner on Friday.

“We’re focused on what we want to do at Wembley. We analysed Man City, but 90 percent, we were talking about us,” Glasner, who will become the first Austrian to lead a team in an FA Cup final, told reporters.

“This is what we can influence. We can influence our performance. We can influence what we want to do in and out of possession. And the focus was on our game. We have a lot of confidence and looking forward to the final.”

Palace may be 12th in the Premier League, but have matched their record points tally with two games still to play.

In the FA Cup, they have clicked impressively, winning 3-0 at Fulham in the quarterfinals and then beating Villa by the same margin at Wembley in the semis.

Now, they have one last obstacle to get over and claim the south London club’s first major trophy in its 120-year history.

Palace drew 2-2 with City at Selhurst Park in the league and led 2-0 in the return fixture, only to lose 5-2. They also lost 4-2 last April, a couple of months after Glasner took charge.

Scoring goals against Pep Guardiola’s team has not been a problem, but Glasner knows they will need to adjust defensively to give themselves the best possible chance at Wembley.

“In every single game [against City] we scored two goals, but we just had one draw, because we conceded four, two and five, so we have to make a few adjustments in our defending,” he said. “Because when you concede five, it’s tough to win, but when you score two, you should be able to win.

“So, we have confidence that we will create our chances, we will create our situations to score goals, but we have to do better in defence, and I don’t mean the back three or the back five. So as a team, maybe we have to adjust a few things, and this is what we want to do tomorrow.”

Palace fans, hoping it will be third time lucky in Cup finals after defeats in 1990 and 2016, produced a wall of sound and colour in the semifinal against Villa and are bound to give their side passionate support again on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson was one of several Palace players to donate to a fundraising campaign for a giant “tifo” against Villa, and another 45,000 pounds has been raised for one to be unfurled before Saturday’s Wembley showdown.

“The one against Villa was top class,” said Henderson. “I don’t know what they are going to do with 40-odd grand – but I’m excited to see it.”

May 16 (UPI) — Charter Communications, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the United States, announced a merger Friday with privately held Cox Communications in a multi-billion-dollar deal.

Once the merger is completed, the new entity will retain the name of Atlanta-based Cox, a subsidiary of parent company Cox Enterprises, a private firm founded in 1898 that also has dealings in the automotive industry. Cox acquired its first cable franchise in 1962.

The deal gives Cox Communications a value of approximately $34.5 billion.

Charter Communications’ stock climbed sharply on the Nasdaq Composite at market open Friday before retreating somewhat. The company’s shares were up $7.03 or 1.68% at 10:42 a.m. EDT.

Under the terms of the deal, Connecticut-based Charter is acquiring all of Cox’s commercial fiber and managed IT and cloud businesses. Cox will also get $4 billion worth of cash and approximately $17.9 billion worth of combined shares, giving the parent company an approximately 23% ownership stake in the new venture.

The new company will remain headquartered in Stamford, Conn., and also assume an existing $12 billion worth of Cox Communications’ debt.

Prior to the deal, Charter was the largest cable operator in the United States, reaching over 32 million subscribers in 41 states. It was also the fifth-largest provider of residential phone lines.

Charter’s Spectrum brand will survive the merger and will “become the consumer-facing brand within the communities Cox serves.”

In 2017, Charter announced a partnership with Comcast Communications to share information about wireless services, a year after its $78.7 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable.

“Cox and Charter have been innovators in connectivity and entertainment services — with decades of work and hundreds of billions of dollars invested to build, upgrade, and expand our complementary regional networks to provide high-quality internet, video, voice and mobile services,” Charter President and CEO Chris Winfrey said in a jointly-issued statement.

“This combination will augment our ability to innovate and provide high-quality, competitively priced products, delivered with outstanding customer service, to millions of homes and businesses.

“We will continue to deliver high-value products that save American families money, and we’ll onshore jobs from overseas to create new, good-paying careers for U.S. employees that come with great benefits, career training and advancement, and retirement and ownership opportunities.”

Winfrey will retain both executive titles upon completion of the deal.

“Our family has always believed that investing for the long-term and staying committed to the best interests of our customers, employees and communities is the best recipe for success,” Cox Enterprises Chairman and CEO Alex Taylor said in the companies’ statement.

“In Charter, we’ve found the right partner at the right time and in the right position to take this commitment to a higher level than ever before, delivering an incredible outcome for our customers, employees, suppliers and the local communities we serve.”

The strike leaves hundreds of thousands of commuters in New Jersey and New York without rail access.

New Jersey’s commuter rail engineers are on strike after negotiations for higher wages failed to materialise, leaving trains idle for commuters in the third-largest transit system in the United States for the first time in more than 40 years.

The strike began on Friday after The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents 450 NJ Transit engineers who drive the agency’s commuter trains and agency management, broke off talks late Thursday after an unsuccessful 15-hour bargaining session.

The labour clash came weeks after negotiators had agreed on a potential deal in March, but the union’s members voted overwhelmingly to reject it.

NJ Transit has said it cannot afford the pay rises that the engineers are seeking because 14 other unions that negotiate separate labour contracts with the agency would demand the same, higher wage rates for their members.

The union pushed back on the gripe and has said that “NJT claims it doesn’t have the money to pay engineers a salary in line with industry standards, but somehow found a half-billion dollars for a new and unnecessary headquarters.”

New Jersey Transit opened a new headquarters earlier this year.

The union has said it is simply aiming to raise the engineers’ salaries to match those at other commuter railroads in the region.

“They [rail engineers]  have gone without a raise for six years and have been seeking a new contract since October 2019,” the union said in a statement.

NJ Transit says the engineers currently make $135,000 on average and that management had offered a deal that would yield an average salary of $172,000. But the union has disputed those figures, saying the current average salary is actually $113,000.

The parties have exchanged accusations of bad-faith bargaining.

The strike means that hundreds of thousands of daily passengers in New Jersey and New York are without service. NJ Transit said its rail system began its shutdown at 12:01am local time Friday.

In a news conference, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and NJ Transit’s Chief Executive Officer Kris Kolluri told reporters talks had paused but that management remained willing to resume negotiations at any time.

“We must reach a final deal that is both fair to employees and affordable,” Murphy, a Democrat, told reporters. “Let’s get back to the table and seal a deal.”

Murphy and Kolluri said the US National Mediation Board had reached out to both sides to propose reopening talks on Sunday morning, or sooner if the parties wished.

The union statement made no mention of when talks might be restarted. Protests began at several locations across the rail system, including NJ Transit’s headquarters in Newark, Penn Station in New York City, and the Atlantic City rail terminal.

The governor and the NJ Transit CEO also outlined contingency plans for dealing with the work stoppage, the first transit strike to hit New Jersey since a three-week walkout in 1983.

Workers urged to stay home

The looming strike had already prompted the agency to cancel trains and buses to MetLife Stadium for pop star Shakira’s concert last night and again for this evening.

In an advisory, NJ Transit encouraged commuters to work from home starting on Friday if possible.

The agency said it would increase bus services on existing lines and charter private buses to operate from several satellite lots in the event of a rail strike but warned buses would only be able to handle about 20 percent of rail customers.

Kolluri said last week that the union was “playing a game of chicken with the lives of 350,000 riders”.

“We have sought nothing more than equal pay for equal work, only to be continually rebuffed by New Jersey Transit,” Tom Haas, the union’s general chairman, said earlier this week.

May 16 (UPI) — Eleven inmates escaped the Orleans Parish jail Friday morning as the New Orleans facility was locked down. Sheriff Susan Hutson said during a press conference the escapees should be considered armed and dangerous.

Louisiana State Police caught one of the suspects, according to CBS affiliate WWL. The sheriff’s office identified him as Kendell Myles.

The inmates were discovered missing at an 8:30 a.m. head count.

“We are urging the public to stay alert,” Hutson said during a news conference.

One of the escapees, Gary Price, was charged with attempted first-degree murder.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said a people believed to be victims of the inmates were evacuated from their homes and “taken to safety.” She urged any witnesses to the crimes of the inmates do the same.

The Orleans Parish Justice Center was fully locked down Friday.

According to WSDU, the inmates dug a hole inside the jail to escape.

Sheriff Hutson said several of the escaped inmates face second-degree murder charges.

The escapees are Antoine Massey, Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, Kendell Myles, Derrick Groves, Jermain Donald, Corey Boyd, Gary Price, Robert Moody, Decannon Dennis and Keith Lewis.

An investigation into the escape is underway as a manhunt continues.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

ICC says Karim Khan will take a leave of absence pending the conclusion of UN-led investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has taken a leave of absence pending the conclusion of UN-led investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Khan’s office said on Friday that he had informed colleagues he would step aside until the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) wraps up its probe. The OIOS has been conducting the external investigation since December, following complaints raised with the ICC’s oversight body.

Khan has denied the allegations, which were first reported in October last year. The court said that he would remain on leave until the inquiry concludes, though a timeline for its completion remains unclear. During his absence, the court’s two deputy prosecutors will assume his responsibilities.

Khan’s decision to step aside temporarily follows months of growing pressure from human rights groups and some court officials, who had urged him to withdraw while the investigation was ongoing.

“Stepping aside helps protect the court’s credibility and the trust of victims, staff, and the public. For the alleged victim and whistleblowers, this is also a moment of recognition and dignity,” said Danya Chaikel of human rights watchdog FIDH.

The court has not confirmed when the OIOS investigation will conclude, but the case comes at a time of rising global scrutiny of the ICC’s role and credibility.

High-profile investigations

The decision comes as the court is pursuing high-profile investigations, including into Russia’s assault on Ukraine and Israel’s war on Gaza.

Khan requested arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children, and for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The United States, a vocal critic of the court’s recent moves, imposed sanctions on Khan over his pursuit of Israeli officials. ICC leadership has since warned that such political attacks could endanger the institution’s survival.

Liftoff for Starlink mission 15-5 was 9:43 a.m. EDT from Vandenburg Space Force base, lofting 26 more Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit. Depicted is a Starlink launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on Wednesday. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo

May 16 (UPI) — SpaceX Friday launched another routine Starlink satellite launch from California, the 20th this year.

Liftoff for Starlink mission 15-5 was 9:43 a.m. EDT from Vandenburg Space Force base, lofting 26 more Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

The Falcon 9 first stage booster B1093 launched the satellites and then touched down in the Pacific Ocean a little more than eight minutes later on the droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’

The launch was live streamed.

Friday’s launch brought the number of Starlink satellites in orbit to over 1,000.

It was the second flight for booster B1093. It was used 39 days ago in the Starlink 11-11 mission launched from Vandenburg.

SpaceX advised that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties could possibly hear sonic booms from the launch.

Who: Manchester City vs Crystal Palace
What: English FA Cup final
Where: Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
When: Saturday at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)

Follow Al Jazeera Sport‘s live text and photo commentary stream.

Manchester City and Crystal Palace go head-to-head for the FA Cup in a final that has captured the imagination the world over since its inception.

English football’s showpiece cup final has been a tale of a team from any level – even non-professional – rising to the top to take down the giants of the game.

The Eagles of South London are no minnows in this story, but their opponents are as big as they come in the global game.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at a showdown that carries great weight for both teams in the world’s oldest cup competition.

Why is the FA Cup so important to both finalists?

History beckons for Crystal Palace against a Manchester City side that have one final shot at avoiding a rare trophyless season under Pep Guardiola.

Twice FA Cup runners-up, Palace have never won a major trophy in their 119-year history.

The Eagles sense this may finally be their time up against a City side far from their former glories of Guardiola’s trophy-laden reign.

What is Crystal Palace’s form?

Palace warmed up for the Wembley showpiece by cruising to a 2-0 win at Tottenham last weekend to equal their record of 49 Premier League points with two games of the season to spare.

The south London club finished in the top 10 for the first time in the Premier League era last season after just a few months under Oliver Glasner.

Another top-half finish looks unlikely, but progress has continued under the Austrian thanks to their FA Cup heroics, including a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Champions League quarterfinalists Aston Villa in the last four.

How @CPFC reached the #EmiratesFACup Final 🦅 pic.twitter.com/w81rxlyzdZ

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) May 16, 2025

Who is Crystal Palace’s key player?

Eberechi Eze is the main man for City to fear with five goals in his last four games.

But he is one of just four England internationals that reached the final of Euro 2024 likely to start for Palace on Saturday alongside Dean Henderson, Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton.

“It means everything,” said Eze on the prospect of delivering the club’s first taste of silverware.

“We know what it means to the fans, to the club. We’re going to give everything that we’ve got to put ourselves in the best position.

“We’re confident. We know that we’ve just got to do what we do and be the best version of ourselves, and we’ve got the chance of beating any team.”

Victory would also secure entry to one of Europe’s major club competitions for the first time in Palace’s history, with a place in the Europa League at stake.

What is Man City’s form?

City’s laboured display in drawing a blank at bottom-of-the-table Southampton last weekend gives Palace even more reason to believe they can lift the cup.

However, Guardiola’s men are unbeaten in 10 games, including a 5-2 demolition of Palace in the Premier League last month despite falling 2-0 behind.

Will this be De Bruyne’s dream send-off?

City’s fightback at the Etihad Stadium in the last encounter between the clubs was prompted by Kevin De Bruyne rolling back the years.

The Belgian has just three games left as a City player after a glorious decade in Manchester and will be aiming to add one more to his 14 major honours with the club.

“He has had an incredible time at Manchester City,” said City’s top scorer Erling Haaland.

“It is ridiculous how many trophies he has won. Hopefully he will get one more trophy.”

Manchester City’s road to the #EmiratesFACup Final 🩵 pic.twitter.com/SJuPAXbyyE

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) May 14, 2025

Why has City’s season been ‘horrendous’?

After an unprecedented four consecutive English top-flight titles, City find themselves battling just to secure a top-five Premier League finish and a place in next season’s Champions League.

Anything other than victory would cap what Haaland described as a “horrendous” campaign for a squad of serial winners.

City have not ended a season without a trophy since Guardiola’s first at the club in 2016/17.

“It is a good habit to reach Wembley and always important to win trophies. We have the FA Cup final to play for and in a horrific season we still managed to do this,” added the Norwegian.

What was Palace’s finest FA Cup moment?

Palace’s extraordinary and eventually heartbreaking 1990 campaign was their finest hour in the competition.

The semifinals and final(s) that year were arguably the most dramatic in the competition’s long and storied history and remain the emotional high and low point of every Palace fan who watched them.

Palace were struggling in the top flight after promotion and had been humiliated 9-0 by Liverpool early in the season.

In the Cup they were hardly pulling up trees either, beating lower league Portsmouth, Huddersfield Town, Rochdale and Cambridge United to reach the semifinals for the first time since they lost to Southampton as a third division team in 1976.

Facing runaway champions-elect and FA Cup holders Liverpool again in the semis look an insurmountable barrier and an Ian Rush goal had the Reds ahead at halftime at Villa Park.

Things then went crazy as Mark Bright and Gary O’Reilly gave Palace a shock lead. Two goals in two minutes put Liverpool back in front, only for Andy Gray to stun the odds-on favourites in the 88th minute to force extra time.

Amazingly, it was Palace who snatched victory in the 109th minute via Alan Pardew, who would later manage the club.

The cup final itself, against Manchester United, went to a replay after a stunning 3-3 draw in the first encounter.

United won the next match 1-0 with a goal from defender Lee Martin, which handed a young manager by the name of Alex Ferguson his first trophy as boss of the Red Devils.

How many FA Cups have City won?

City are seven-time winners of the cup, with their first victory coming in 1904 against Bolton Wanderers.

Their last win was a 2-1 victory against their fierce rivals Manchester United in 2023.

Head-to-head

This is the 74th meeting between the two teams in a fixture dating back to 1921.

Palace were 2-0 winners in an FA Cup meeting in the third round that year.

City stormed back in the next meeting between the clubs – once again in the FA Cup – beating Palace 11-4 in February 1926.

Overall, City have claimed the spoils on 39 occasions and the Eagles soaring to victory after 17 of the meetings.

Palace haven’t recorded a win in their last seven encounters with City, who have won four in that time.

Man City team news

Haaland is expected to start after making his comeback from six weeks out injured at Southampton last weekend.

Rodri continues his slow return to full fitness, but with an eye on the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in June, the cup final appears to have come too soon for a start.

Crystal Palace team news

Midfielder Adam Wharton has returned to full fitness following an ankle injury.

It means the Eagles have a fully fit squad to choose from.

May 16 (UPI) — Microsoft said Thursday it is proposing a resolution to European Commission concerns over how it bundles Teams with MS Office and Office 365.

Microsoft said its proposed commitments to resolve issues with the Commission “require Microsoft to maintain availability of those suites in the European Economic Area over the next seven years, and they set minimum price deltas that Microsoft must maintain between the versions of those suites without and with Teams.”

“The proposed commitments are the result of constructive, good-faith discussions with the European Commission over several months. We believe that they represent a clear and complete resolution to the concerns raised by our competitors and will provide European customers with more choices.”

Microsoft said that if the Commission accepts their proposed commitments, “we have decided that we will, at the same time, align the options and pricing for our suites and Teams service globally, as we’ve done in the past.”

The commission launched a public consultation period Thursday on Microsoft’s offered commitments.

“Microsoft would make available versions of these suites without Teams and at a reduced price; allow customers to switch to suites without Teams, including in the framework of existing contracts; offer Teams’ competitors increased interoperability with other Microsoft products; and allow customers to move their data out of Teams to facilitate the use of competing solutions,” the commission said under the proposed commitments.

In a preliminary finding, the commission found Microsoft restricted competition in the European market by bundling Teams with other Microsoft software giving Teams a competitive advantage in distribution.

The commission said Microsoft’s proposed commitments include offering customers purchasing EEA versions of its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites without Teams to get a lower price than the one for corresponding suites that include Teams.

In addition, Microsoft would allow Team’s competitors and certain third parties to access effective interoperability with identified Microsoft products and services.

Customers would also be allowed to extract their Teams messaging data for use in competing platforms and to switch to software suites without Teams.

Microsoft’s blog statement said, “We are hopeful that following the market test, the European Commission will conclude that the proposed commitments resolve its concerns, and in the following months, adopt a final decision closing its investigation.”

May 16 (UPI) — The United States and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to form an Artificial Intelligence alliance.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced in a statement that the United States will launch a one-gigawatt AI data center, which in turn will be a part of a five-gigawatt “UAE-U.S. artificial intelligence technology cluster” in the UAE capital city of Abu Dhabi.

The cluster will manage the region’s computation needs that will operate under American-level security standards and be open to the distribution of new AI infrastructure that can serve on an international level.

A group will be formed between the countries within 30 days of its announcement and will “work together to make more efficient the process of inward investments into the United States by UAE Investment Funds,” which also involves UAE investment in American digital infrastructure.

“We are proud to announce the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick posted to X Thursday. “Together we will build the largest AI data center outside the United States, powered by American companies and high tech manufacturing.”

The deal was made public as President Donald Trump continues a trip through the Gulf region and stopped to visit a new AI campus in Abu Dhabi, where American-produced AI chips will computationally power the facility and become the largest project of its type anywhere outside the United States.

The Biden administration had set an “AI Diffusion Rule” in January, under which the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security added exceptions to the facilitation in regard to the export, reexport of transfer of “advanced computing” to ensure the tech ended up with “users in destinations that do not raise national security or foreign policy concerns.”

The Trump administration rescinded that rule Tuesday, a deregulation that now allows the federal government to make deals with other countries to decide how many American chips they would like to purchase.

“The Trump Administration will pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffery Kessler in a Tuesday press release.

Reporters Without Borders and Truth Hounds found that Russia’s attacks on hotels intended to ‘discourage’ war coverage.

Russian attacks have increasingly hit hotels hosting journalists in Ukraine, in what could constitute “war crimes”, according to a new report.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Truth Hounds – a Ukrainian organisation founded to document war crimes – released the report on Friday. It found that Russian attacks on hotels housing journalists moved from being “isolated events” early in the conflict in 2022 to a “sustained threat” by 2025.

At least 31 strikes on 25 hotels being used by journalists have been recorded since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022, the report states.

“These attacks appear to be part of a broader Russian strategy aimed at intimidating journalists and suppressing independent media coverage of Russia’s actions in Ukraine,” the report said.

The hotels hit are mainly close to the front line. Only one was being used for military purposes at the time of the attack, the NGOs said.

“In total, 25 journalists and media professionals have found themselves under these hotel bombings, and at least seven have been injured,” it stated.

According to the RSF, at least 13 journalists have been killed while covering Russia’s war on Ukraine, with 12 of the deaths on Ukrainian territory.

Types of attacks

The report highlighted that the attacks followed a clear pattern, occurring at night, using ballistic missiles launched at civilian hotels that were not “legitimate military targets”.

“Our analysis therefore suggests that these attacks are neither random nor incidental but are instead part of a broader strategy aimed at discouraging independent reporting from the front line,” the authors concluded.

Due to the safety obstacles to reporting from a war zone, 13 percent of respondents to a survey said there had been a “reduction” in assignments to high-risk areas, affecting how the war is covered.

The report called for legal measures to prosecute crimes against journalists at “national and international jurisdictions”, specifically the International Criminal Court.

On this date in history:

In 1804, the French Senate declared Napoleon Bonaparte emperor.

In 1871, U.S. Marines landed in Korea in an attempt to open the country to foreign trade.

In 1920, Joan of Arc was canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had its first Academy Awards ceremony. Wings was named Best Picture in the event at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

In 1932, following the assassination of Premier Inukai Tsuyoshi, fears began to spread that a militarist “super-party” was beginning to take shape in Japan.

File Photo courtesy of the Japan’s National Diet Library

In 1969, the unmanned Soviet spacecraft Venera 5 landed on Venus.

In 1985, the NBA named the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan rookie of the year after he led all players in points.

In 1988, U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said nicotine was as addictive as heroin or cocaine and called for the licensing of tobacco product vendors.

In 1991, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address a joint session of Congress.

UPI File Photo

In 1997, Mobutu Sese Seko — who ruled Zaire for more than 30 years, allegedly looting it of billions of dollars — fled the capital as rebel forces advanced. He died in exile less than four months later.

In 2006, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano appointed Romano Prodi premier amid charges of election fraud from outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

In 2012, Vermont became the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract gas from underground deposits.

In 2013, Britain’s David Beckham announced he would retire from soccer.

In 2014, election results in India gave Narenda Modi and his opposition Bharatiya Janata Party a major victory elevating him to prime minister.

In 2019, the final episode of The Big Bang Theory aired after a 12-season run. The comedy series starred Jim Parsons (Sheldon), Johnny Galecki (Leonard), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Simon Helberg (Howard), Kunal Nayyar (Raj), Melissa Rauch (Bernadette) and Mayim Bialik (Amy).

File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI