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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)
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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.

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World

Iran Executes Two Men Accused of Leading Early 2026 Protests

Commuters make their way along the busy Sadeghiyeh Square in Tehran on May 31, 2026. (AFP)
Commuters make their way along the busy Sadeghiyeh Square in Tehran on May 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Executes Two Men Accused of Leading Early 2026 Protests

Commuters make their way along the busy Sadeghiyeh Square in Tehran on May 31, 2026. (AFP)
Commuters make their way along the busy Sadeghiyeh Square in Tehran on May 31, 2026. (AFP)

Iran executed two men convicted over their role in unrest in Tehran in January 2026, including setting fire ‌to a ‌mosque, damaging ‌public ⁠property and clashing with ⁠security forces, the judiciary's news outlet Mizan reported on Monday.

Mizan ⁠identified the men ‌as ‌Mehrdad Mohammadinia ‌and Ashkan Maleki and ‌said they were among the main perpetrators of ‌an attack on the Jafari Mosque ⁠in ⁠Tehran's Gisha neighborhood.

Their death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court before being carried out, Mizan added.

World

China Patrols Waters East of Taiwan in Response to Japan, Philippine Maritime Border Talks

A Taiwan Coast Guard boat patrols, as seen from a boat with Chinese tourists, to observe Taiwan's Kinmen Islands, off Xiamen in China’s southeastern Fujian province on May 25, 2026. (AFP)
A Taiwan Coast Guard boat patrols, as seen from a boat with Chinese tourists, to observe Taiwan's Kinmen Islands, off Xiamen in China’s southeastern Fujian province on May 25, 2026. (AFP)
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China Patrols Waters East of Taiwan in Response to Japan, Philippine Maritime Border Talks

A Taiwan Coast Guard boat patrols, as seen from a boat with Chinese tourists, to observe Taiwan's Kinmen Islands, off Xiamen in China’s southeastern Fujian province on May 25, 2026. (AFP)
A Taiwan Coast Guard boat patrols, as seen from a boat with Chinese tourists, to observe Taiwan's Kinmen Islands, off Xiamen in China’s southeastern Fujian province on May 25, 2026. (AFP)

China's Coast Guard on Monday said it had conducted "law enforcement" patrols in waters east of Taiwan in response to Japan and the Philippines' plans to launch maritime border delimitation talks, which overlap with areas claimed by China.

Taiwan condemned the move, but said it spotted only two Chinese ships to its southeast which did not enter restricted waters.

Japan and the Philippines said last week they would begin formal talks on delimiting the maritime boundary of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf between the two countries "in accordance with ‌international law."

Delimitation involves ‌the legal and cartographic process of defining a boundary between two ‌regions ⁠or countries.

While they ⁠did not give details, China's foreign ministry on Friday said that area covered waters east of Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, adding that such talks are "completely illegal, null and void."

In a statement, China's Coast Guard said a flotilla had carried out the patrol in accordance with the law to the east of Taiwan, though it did not specify where exactly.

"This is a necessary action taken in response to Japan and the Philippines unilaterally announcing the ⁠initiation of maritime boundary delimitation negotiations in the waters east of China's ‌Taiwan island," it said.

"We urge Japan and the Philippines ‌to immediately cease all illegal actions that infringe upon China's sovereign rights and interests."

Taiwan's Coast Guard said ‌it monitored with its own ship two Chinese vessels operating southeast of its Orchid Island ‌in the Pacific Ocean and condemned China for claiming to carry out "law enforcement activities."

"The sovereignty of the Republic of China must not be infringed upon," it said in a statement, using Taiwan's formal name. "We are firmly committed to defending national sovereignty and ensuring the security of our waters."

The Philippine and Japanese ‌embassies in Beijing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

TAIWAN ANGERED

Late Sunday, Taiwan's foreign ministry denounced China's comments.

"China has no right to ⁠interfere in Taiwan's ⁠territorial sovereignty and sovereign rights over its relevant maritime areas," it said.

Taiwan reports that Chinese warships and warplanes operate around the island almost daily, sometimes joined by Chinese Coast Guard ships.

Last month, a Chinese coast guard ship approached close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands at the top end of the South China Sea, but left after a stand-off with Taiwan's coast guard.

Speaking to reporters in parliament on Monday, Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo said while the Coast Guard had the primary role around the Pratas, the military had a role to play by helping Taiwan's Coast Guard.

"The navy will provide the necessary assistance in accordance with our joint cooperative protocols," he added without elaborating.

China claims Taiwan and almost the entire South China Sea via a "nine-dash line" on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's claim.

World

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)
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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.