Russia Says It Advances Near Chasiv Yar in Eastern Ukraine 

A Ukrainian tank of the 17th Tank Brigade fires at Russian positions in Chasiv Yar, the site of fierce battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (AP)
A Ukrainian tank of the 17th Tank Brigade fires at Russian positions in Chasiv Yar, the site of fierce battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (AP)
TT

Russia Says It Advances Near Chasiv Yar in Eastern Ukraine 

A Ukrainian tank of the 17th Tank Brigade fires at Russian positions in Chasiv Yar, the site of fierce battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (AP)
A Ukrainian tank of the 17th Tank Brigade fires at Russian positions in Chasiv Yar, the site of fierce battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (AP)

Russia said on Sunday its forces had advanced towards the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine and seized control of the settlement of Bohdanivka, as Kyiv said it urgently needed promised US support to fend off a full-scale offensive.

"Units of the Southern grouping group of forces have fully liberated the settlement of Bohdanivka ... and have improved the situation along the front line," Russia's defense ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Control of Bohdanivka, located just to the west of the Russian-held city of Bakhmut, has been in doubt for some time.

The village lies some 5 kilometers (3 miles) east of Chasiv Yar, a heavily fortified hilltop town and forward artillery base for the Ukrainian army, providing protection for some of the area's largest cities including Kramatorsk and Slaviansk.

The Russian report could not be independently verified and there was no comment from Ukraine regarding Bohdanivka.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, in its daily report, mentioned Bohdanivka as one of a series of villages where it said Ukrainian forces repelled 13 enemy attacks. But it gave no specific details.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his daily video address that he held talks on Sunday with army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov about Chasiv Yar and other hot spots on the frontline.

In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press", aired on Sunday, Zelenskiy urged Washington, where the US House of Representatives has approved a $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, to quickly turn the bill into law and proceed with the transfer of weapons ahead of an anticipated Russian offensive.

"We are preparing (for an offensive)," Zelenskiy said, reiterating Syrskyi's warning that Russia aims to capture the Chasiv Yar by May 9, one of Russia's largest public holidays and which marks Moscow's victory over Nazi forces in World War II.

"I hope we will be able to stay, and the weapons will come on time, and we will repel the enemy, and then we'll break the plans of the Russian Federation with regards to this full-scale offensive."

Ukraine says it expects Russia to launch a broad offensive in spring and summer after capturing the town of Avdiivka, east of Chasiv Yar, during the winter.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry denied last week that Russia had captured all of Bohdanivka, while acknowledging it had lost some positions in the village in eastern Donetsk region.



Ebola Recoveries Bring Signs of Hope in DRC as Suspected Cases Emerge Outside Africa

 People seen in front of the Evangelical Medical Centre (CEM), a new facility as part of the Ebola outbreak response in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP)
People seen in front of the Evangelical Medical Centre (CEM), a new facility as part of the Ebola outbreak response in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP)
TT

Ebola Recoveries Bring Signs of Hope in DRC as Suspected Cases Emerge Outside Africa

 People seen in front of the Evangelical Medical Centre (CEM), a new facility as part of the Ebola outbreak response in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP)
People seen in front of the Evangelical Medical Centre (CEM), a new facility as part of the Ebola outbreak response in Bunia, Congo, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP)

Four nurses who were being treated for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus have been discharged from a hospital in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo after recovering from the disease, the World Health Organization said on Sunday.

More recoveries are expected, especially when people are diagnosed early and able to access care, and as the response to the outbreak intensifies.

A laboratory worker had also recovered earlier this week, the agency said, bringing the total number of people ‌who have recovered from ‌the virus to five.

However, suspected cases are being looked ‌into ⁠in Brazil and ⁠Italy tied to travel to affected nations.

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country has increased to 282, with 42 deaths, after 19 new positive test results were recorded, according to data distributed by the communications ministry.

Earlier this month the WHO declared the outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo version of the virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern, although it does not meet the criteria of ⁠a pandemic emergency.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while on a Saturday visit ‌to Bunia -- the capital of the eastern Congolese province ‌of Ituri -- noted that although there currently is no licensed vaccine or treatment for Ebola caused ‌by the Bundibugyo virus, “it is not without hope," as it can be survived with ‌good medical care.

SUSPECTED CASES OUTSIDE AFRICA

The outbreak -- the 17th in Congo and the third-largest since Ebola was discovered half a century ago -- is outpacing the global response, which got off to a late start.

"The risk of regional spread is already happening," Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for ‌Disease Control and Prevention, said in an FT op-ed published on Sunday.

It said that over 1,100 suspected cases are being ⁠investigated. In Brazil, a ⁠man with a suspected case of Ebola in Sao Paulo tested positive for meningitis.

Another suspected case emerged in Rio de Janeiro, where the patient tested positive for malaria, local health authorities said on Sunday.

In neither case does the diagnosis rule out the possibility of Ebola, they said.

In the Sao Paulo case, a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo presented with a fever after recently visiting the African country, while in Rio the patient had recently traveled to Uganda.

In Italy, protocols for a suspected case of Ebola were triggered in Sardinia's capital Cagliari for a man who had flown back from Congo on Saturday with some symptoms, but the health ministry said early on Monday that he had tested negative.

"We confirm that the risk (of Ebola) in Italy remains very low," the ministry said.


Explosion and Fire at Defense Company in South Korea Kills 5

A vehicle of the National Fire Agency enters the main gate at the Hanwha Aerospace plant in Daejeon on June 1, 2026, after a reported explosion. (Yonhap / AFP)
A vehicle of the National Fire Agency enters the main gate at the Hanwha Aerospace plant in Daejeon on June 1, 2026, after a reported explosion. (Yonhap / AFP)
TT

Explosion and Fire at Defense Company in South Korea Kills 5

A vehicle of the National Fire Agency enters the main gate at the Hanwha Aerospace plant in Daejeon on June 1, 2026, after a reported explosion. (Yonhap / AFP)
A vehicle of the National Fire Agency enters the main gate at the Hanwha Aerospace plant in Daejeon on June 1, 2026, after a reported explosion. (Yonhap / AFP)

An explosion and fire occurred at a defense company in South Korea on Monday, killing five people and injuring two others, officials said.

The deadly incident happened at a worksite run by Hanwha Aerospace in the South Korean city of Daejeon.

Other details, including the cause of the explosion, were not immediately available.

Emergency official Yoon Seong-su said that the area is a government-designated security facility.

Local medical official Kim Ju-yeon said one of the two injured people was in a critical condition. She said authorities haven't yet identified the dead people.

The site is one of Hanwha Aerospace's key facilities where it develops large-sized propellants and surface-to-surface weapons systems, according to Yonhap news agency.


France’s Macron Says French Navy Boarded Russia-Linked Oil Tanker

 France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint press statement with Indonesian President, not pictured, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France May 28, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)
France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint press statement with Indonesian President, not pictured, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France May 28, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)
TT

France’s Macron Says French Navy Boarded Russia-Linked Oil Tanker

 France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint press statement with Indonesian President, not pictured, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France May 28, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)
France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint press statement with Indonesian President, not pictured, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France May 28, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)

The French Navy on Sunday boarded an oil tanker subject to international sanctions and sailing from Russia, the Tagor, ‌French President ‌Emmanuel Macron wrote ‌on ⁠X.

"This operation took ⁠place in the Atlantic Ocean, on the high seas, with the ⁠support of several ‌partners, ‌including the United Kingdom, ‌in strict ‌compliance with the law of the sea," he said.

"It is ‌unacceptable for ships to circumvent ⁠international sanctions, ⁠violate the law of the sea, and finance the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years," he added.