Russia continues to accuse Ukraine of delaying planned exchange of dead fighters

Russia continues to accuse Ukraine of delaying planned exchange of dead fighters

Russian officials said Sunday that Moscow is still awaiting official confirmation from Kyiv that a plannedexchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in actionwill take place, reiterating allegations that Ukraine had postponed the swap. Russian state media quoted Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a representative of the Russian negotiating group, as saying that Russia delivered the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to the exchange site at the border and is waiting for confirmation from the Ukrainian side, but that there are "signals" that the process of transferring the bodies will be postponed until next week. Russia and Ukraine each accused the other on Saturday of endangering plans to swap 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action, which was agreed upon duringdirect talks in Istanbul on Mondaythat otherwise made no progress toward ending the war. Vladimir Medinsky, a Putin aide who led the Russian delegation, said that Kyiv called a last-minute halt to an imminent swap. In a Telegram post on Saturday, Medinsky said that refrigerated trucks carrying more than 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian troops from Russia had already reached the agreed exchange site at the border when the news came. In response, Ukraine said Russia was playing "dirty games" and manipulating facts. According to the main Ukrainian authority dealing with such swaps, no date had been set for repatriating the bodies. In a statement on Saturday, the agency also accused Russia of submitting lists of prisoners of war for repatriation that didn't correspond to agreements reached on Monday. It wasn't immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting claims. In other developments, one person was killed and another seriously wounded in Russian aerial strikes on the eastern Ukrainian Kharkiv region. These strikes came after Russian attacks targeting the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, killed at least four people and wounded more than two dozen others on Saturday. Russia fired a total of 49 exploding drones and decoys and three missiles overnight, Ukraine's air force said Sunday. Forty drones were shot down or electronically jammed. Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry said that its forces shot down 61 Ukrainian drones overnight, including near the capital. Two people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at a chemical plant in the Tula region. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine athttps://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

byMario Satorik

in

June 08, 2025

Russia continues to accuse Ukraine of delaying planned exchange of dead fighters

Russia continues to accuse Ukraine of delaying planned exchange of dead fighters Russian officials said Sunday that Moscow is still awaiting...

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Leo, the first US pope, criticises nationalist politics at Sunday Mass

Leo, the first US pope, criticises nationalist politics at Sunday Mass

By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo criticized the emergence of nationalist political movements on Sunday, calling them unfortunate, without naming a specific country or national leader. Leo, the first pope from the U.S., asked during a Mass with a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter's Square that God would "open borders, break down walls (and) dispel hatred." "There is no room for prejudice, for 'security' zones separating us from our neighbours, for the exclusionary mindset that, unfortunately, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms," said the pontiff. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected on May 8 to succeed the late Pope Francis as leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church. Before becoming pontiff, Prevost was not shy about criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump, sharing numerous disapproving posts about Trump and Vice President JD Vance on X in recent years. The Vatican has not confirmed the new pope's ownership of the X account, which had the handle @drprevost, and was deactivated after Leo's election. Francis, pope for 12 years, was a sharp critic of Trump. The late pope said in January that the president's plan to deport millions of migrants in the U.S. during his second term was a "disgrace." Earlier, Francis said Trump was "not Christian" because of his views on immigration. "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," Francis said when asked about Trump in 2016. Leo was celebrating a Mass for Pentecost, one of the Church's most important holidays. (Reporting by Joshua McElwee; editing by Sophie Walker)

byMario Satorik

in

June 08, 2025

Leo, the first US pope, criticises nationalist politics at Sunday Mass

Leo, the first US pope, criticises nationalist politics at Sunday Mass By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Leo criticized the eme...

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Merab Dvalishvili stops Sean O'Malley in Round 3 at UFC 316

Merab Dvalishvili stops Sean O'Malley in Round 3 at UFC 316

Merab Dvalishvili effortlessly defeated Sean O'Malley in the main event of UFC 316 on Saturday night in Newark, N.J., securing a third-round modified choke in their rematch to retain the bantamweight championship. With President Donald Trump watching from cageside, Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA) emphatically displayed his wrestling base to tire out the former champion and make an argument as one of the sport's best bantamweights, perhaps of all time. Dvalishvili, who won at 4:42 of the third round for his 13th consecutive victory, said he would welcome his next title defense against Cory Sandhagen (18-5 MMA), a winner of four of his last five fights. "You're the man, let's go," Dvalishvili said, indicating that he would be interested in fighting Sandhagen next. O'Malley (18-3 MMA) fell to Dvalishvili last September by unanimous decision, relinquishing his title. O'Malley confirmed the loss is a minor setback, reassuring of a steady return. "100 percent, thank you guys for coming out," O'Malley said. The women's bantamweight title changed hands in the co-main event, as Kayla Harrison submitted Julianna Pena with a second-round kimura. Harrison and Pena embraced in the Octagon afterward, showing utmost class for one another after Harrison controlled every aspect of the fight. Harrison said during her post-fight interview that her weight cut was so draining on Thursday night that she "wanted to quit," but it would have been a mistake in her eyes, given that most fighters in MMA don't win a UFC title. Harrison (19-1 MMA) called out Pena's (13-6 MMA) former rival, Amanda Nunes. Nunes (23-5 MMA) is a former two-division champion who retired in 2023. As time passed, she teased a comeback. It now seems inevitable, as Harrison and Nunes posed for a face-off and talked of a bout later this year as the Prudential Center crowd beamed. Middleweight Joe Pyfer made good on his UFC return, defeating TUF alumnus Kelvin Gastelum by unanimous decision 29-28, 29-27, 30-27. Pyfer (14-3 MMA) has won his last two outings, whereas Gastelum (19-10 MMA) is in the midst of a slump. The soon-to-be UFC Hall of Fame "Fight Wing" inductee and ex-interim middleweight title challenger, Gastelum has yet to win back-to-back fights in six years. His last win came last June, defeating Daniel Rodriguez (19-5 MMA) by unanimous decision. Bantamweight Mario Bautista shut down the UFC debut of Patchy Mix, winning a one-sided unanimous decision 29-28, 30-27-30-27. The fight primarily stayed on the feet, as Bautista (16-2 MMA) has won eight in a row while Mix (20-2 MMA) was presumed to be a possible title challenger upon entry into the promotion. The former Bellator champion must assess what went wrong before attempting to find himself in the top-15. Kevin Holland kicked off the UFC 316 main card in style, securing a D'Arce choke over Vicente Luque at 1:03 of the second round. Holland (28-13 MMA) has now won three of his last five, emphasizing the need to remain a prominent welterweight contender. Luque (23-11-1 MMA), who resides in New Jersey via Brazil, has lost two of his last three. --Field Level Media

byMario Satorik

in

June 08, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili stops Sean O'Malley in Round 3 at UFC 316

Merab Dvalishvili stops Sean O'Malley in Round 3 at UFC 316 Merab Dvalishvili effortlessly defeated Sean O'Malley in the main event ...

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Mariners star Julio Rodríguez appears OK after being knocked out of an 8-6 loss to Angels

Mariners star Julio Rodríguez appears OK after being knocked out of an 8-6 loss to Angels

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Seattle Mariners slugger Julio Rodríguez was unable to dodge a grounder in the third inning of Saturday night's8-6 lossto the Los Angeles Angels. Rodríguez was attempting to steal third base when Randy Arozarena's 98-mph grounder that appeared headed through the shortstop hole hit Rodríguez on top of his right ankle, knocking him out of the game. The two-time American League All-Star got better news later in the evening when X-rays on his ankle were negative, and Rodríguez was listed as day-to-day with a contusion. "It's kind of a day-to-day thing, we'll see how it goes," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said after his team's fifth consecutive loss. "But it could have been a lot worse." Rodríguez, who is batting .254 with 10 homers and 32 RBIs in 61 games, had singled and scored on Cal Raleigh's three-run homer in the first inning and singled and stole second base to open the third. With one out and Arozarena batting against Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz, Rodríguez took off for third. He heard the crack of Arozarena's bat, but the ball struck him just as he was about to turn his head to look for it. Arozarena was credited with a single. Rodríguez was ruled out and remained on the ground near the third-base coaching box for a minute or two before being escorted back to the dugout. "At first, it was very painful — like I couldn't really feel my foot a whole lot or move it a whole lot," he said. "But after they started treating it, the swelling went down, and everything started reacting better right away. So that made me feel really good. … There's a high chance that I should be in the lineup (Sunday)." Rodríguez's absence was felt immediately. Leody Taveras took over in center field and misjudged Zach Neto's flare to lead off the bottom of the third. The ball dropped in front of him and then bounced away for a single and an error. Neto scored on first baseman Rowdy Tellez's fielding error, and Chris Taylor followed with a catchable drive to the gap in right-center. But Taveras mistimed his leap on the warning track, and the ball clanged off the palm of his glove hand for an RBI double that tied the score at 4 and erased the Angels' four-run second-inning deficit. Angels center fielder Jo Adell broke the tie with his second homer of the game in the fourth, and the Angels pulled away with runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. "That's a tough situation (for Taveras) coming off the bench there, and the ball finds him right away," Wilson said. "He's been so good for us, and he's run a lot of balls down out there, so just a tougher night for him." ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

byMario Satorik

in

June 08, 2025

Mariners star Julio Rodríguez appears OK after being knocked out of an 8-6 loss to Angels

Mariners star Julio Rodríguez appears OK after being knocked out of an 8-6 loss to Angels ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Seattle Mariners slugger Ju...

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Rwanda quits Central African bloc in dispute with Congo

Rwanda quits Central African bloc in dispute with Congo

KIGALI (Reuters) -Rwanda has said it would withdraw from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), underscoring diplomatic tensions in the region over an offensive this year by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo. Kigali had expected to assume the chairmanship of the 11-member bloc at a meeting on Saturday in Equatorial Guinea. Instead, the bloc kept Equatorial Guinea in the role, which Rwanda's foreign ministry denounced as a violation of its rights. Rwanda, in a statement, condemned Congo's "instrumentalization" of the bloc and saw "no justification for remaining in an organization whose current functioning runs counter to its founding principles." It wasn't clear if Rwanda's exit from the bloc would take immediate effect. The office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said in a statement that ECCAS members had "acknowledged the aggression against the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and ordered the aggressor country to withdraw its troops from Congolese soil." M23 seized eastern Congo's two largest cities earlier this year, with the advance leaving thousands dead and raising concerns of an all-out regional war. African leaders along with Washington and Doha have been trying to broker a peace deal. Congo, the U.N. and Western powers accuse Rwanda of supporting M23 by sending troops and weapons. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces were acting in self-defence against Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed around 1 million people, mostly ethnic Tutsis. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration hopes to strike a peace accord between Congo and Rwanda that would also facilitate billions in Western investment in the region, which is rich in minerals including tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper and lithium. ECCAS was established in the 1980s to foster cooperation in areas like security and economic affairs among its member states. (Reporting by Philbert Girinema; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Bernadette Baum)

byMario Satorik

in

June 08, 2025

Rwanda quits Central African bloc in dispute with Congo

Rwanda quits Central African bloc in dispute with Congo KIGALI (Reuters) -Rwanda has said it would withdraw from the Economic Community of C...

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New disputes emerge ahead of US-China trade talks in London

New disputes emerge ahead of US-China trade talks in London

BEIJING (AP) — U.S.-China trade talks in London this week are expected to take up a series of fresh disputes that have buffeted relations, threatening afragile truceovertariffs. Both sides agreed in Geneva last month to a 90-day suspension of most of the 100%-plus tariffs they had imposed on each other in an escalating trade war that had sparkedfears of recession. Since then, the U.S. and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors that powerartificial intelligence, "rare earths" that are vital to carmakers and other industries, andvisas for Chinese studentsat American universities. President Donald Trumpspoke at lengthwith Chinese leader Xi Jinping by phone last Thursday in an attempt to put relations back on track. Trump announced on social media the next day that trade talkswould be heldon Monday in London. Technology is a major sticking point The latest frictions began just a day after the May 12 announcement of the Geneva agreement to "pause" tariffs for 90 days. The U.S. Commerce Department issued guidance saying the use of Ascend AI chips fromHuawei, a leading Chinese tech company, could violate U.S. export controls. That's because the chips were likely developed with American technology despite restrictions on its export to China, the guidance said. The Chinese governmentwasn't pleased. One of its biggest beefs in recent years has been over U.S. moves to limit the access of Chinese companies to technology, and in particular to equipment and processes needed to produce the most advanced semiconductors. "The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to immediately correct its erroneous practices," a Commerce Ministry spokesperson said. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wasn't in Geneva but will join the talks in London. Analysts say that suggests at least a willingness on the U.S. side to hear out China's concerns onexport controls. China shows signs of easing up on rare earths One area where China holds the upper hand is in the mining and processing ofrare earths. They are crucial for not only autos but also a range of other products from robots to military equipment. The Chinese government started requiring producers to obtain a license to export seven rare earth elements in April. Resulting shortages sent automakers worldwide into a tizzy. As stockpiles ran down, some worried they would have to halt production. Trump, without mentioning rare earths specifically,took to social mediato attack China. "The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US," The Chinese government indicated Saturday that it is addressing the concerns, which have come from European companies as well. A Commerce Ministry statement said it had granted some approvals and "will continue to strengthen the approval of applications that comply with regulations." The scramble to resolve the rare earth issue shows that China has a strong card to play if it wants to strike back against tariffs or other measures. Plan to revoke student visas adds to tensions Student visas don't normally figure in trade talks, buta U.S. announcementthat it would begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students has emerged as another thorn in the relationship. China's Commerce Ministryraised the issuewhen asked last week about the accusation that it had violated the consensus reached in Geneva. It replied that the U.S. had undermined the agreement by issuing export control guidelines for AI chips, stopping the sale of chip design software to China and saying it would revoke Chinese student visas. "The United States has unilaterally provoked new economic and trade frictions," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a May 28 statement that the United States would "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields." More than 270,000 Chinese students studied in the U.S. in the 2023-24 academic year.

byMario Satorik

in

June 08, 2025

New disputes emerge ahead of US-China trade talks in London

New disputes emerge ahead of US-China trade talks in London BEIJING (AP) — U.S.-China trade talks in London this week are expected to take u...

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Cowser hits tiebreaking HR, Laureano has HR among 3 hits as Orioles beat Athletics 7-4

Cowser hits tiebreaking HR, Laureano has HR among 3 hits as Orioles beat Athletics 7-4

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Colton Cowser hit a tiebreaking 455-foot home run in the sixth inning and the Baltimore Orioles held on to beat the Athletics 7-4 on Saturday night. Ramón Laureano also homered and had three hits and three RBIs to help the Orioles get their seventh win in eight games. Gunnar Henderson also had three hits. Cowser, who homered on Tuesday in his first game back off the 60-day injured list, crushed a first-pitch cutter from A's starter Luis Severino (1-6) that landed deep into the grass beyond the outfield wall in right field. Keegan Akin (1-0) retired one batter for the win. Felix Bautista struck out three in the ninth for his 12th save. Jacob Wilson and Lawrence Butler each had two hits for the A's. Tyler Soderstrom, the team leader with 14 home runs, walked four times. Severino allowed eight hits and six runs — five earned — in 5 2/3 innings. The A's got to Morton for four runs in a wild first inning that included five hits, a bases-loaded walk and a ground-rule double that bounced into the stands near third base. Max Schuemann also drove in a run with an infield single when he slid under Morton's tag attempt near first base. The 41-year-old Morton retired seven batters and allowed six hits and four walks. Key moment JJ Bleday led off the fifth with a walk for the Athletics but was thrown out sliding into home plate trying to score on Butler's double Key stat Seven Orioles pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts, extending the team's streak with at least eight Ks to 12 games, the longest active streak in the majors. Up next Orioles RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (5-3, 3.04 ERA) pitches the series finale Sunday. The A's have not announced a starter. ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

byMario Satorik

in

June 07, 2025

Cowser hits tiebreaking HR, Laureano has HR among 3 hits as Orioles beat Athletics 7-4

Cowser hits tiebreaking HR, Laureano has HR among 3 hits as Orioles beat Athletics 7-4 WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Colton Cowser hit a ti...

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