Ukraine hopes for more evacuations from besieged steel mill
Ukrainian officials and the United Nations say they hope to arrange more evacuations from the bombed-out steel mill in Mariupol. Their comments came as scores of civilians reached relative safety after enduring weeks of shelling that targeted the city’s last pocket of resistance. While the evacuees savored hot food, clean clothing and other comforts that were denied to them while underground, Russian forces on Tuesday began storming the plant, where some Ukrainian fighters were still holed up. The U.N. said the evacuation effort over the weekend allowed 101 people to emerge from the bunkers under the Azovstal steelworks. That group included women, the elderly and 17 children.
North Korea launches suspected missile toward sea
North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his nuclear arsenal “at the fastest possible pace” and threatened to use them against rivals. The launch came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to accelerate the development of nuclear weapons and threatened to use them if provoked in a speech at a military parade. The launch is the latest in a string of weapons tests by North Korea, which experts say are aimed at boosting its weapons arsenal and pressuring its rivals to ease international sanctions.
West adds support and arms for Ukraine
President Joe Biden spoke in a factory that built the Javelin missiles Ukrainian soldiers used against Russian tanks. Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain addressed Ukraine’s parliament, extolling its “finest hour.” President Emmanuel Macron of France pressed Vladimir Putin to end his “devastating aggression.” Germany helped Finland and Sweden — Russia’s Nordic neighbors — inch closer to joining NATO. On Tuesday, the leaders of the West sought to capitalize on Russia’s apparent lack of battlefield momentum to show Ukraine support and strengthen its resolve. That display of determination came as the European Union moved toward a united embargo against Russian oil.
Cuban migrants arrive to US in record numbers, on foot
Cuban migrants are arriving in the United States in the highest numbers seen in four decades, with about 150,000 expected to arrive this year, according to senior U.S. officials. For decades, Cubans trying to flee repression, food insecurity and economic devastation boarded rickety boats. Now they are coming in record numbers on foot, aided by Nicaragua, which dropped visa requirements late last year for Cubans, giving them a starting point for migrating north. U.S. officials have accused Nicaragua’s president, Daniel Ortega, of enacting the policy to pressure the United States to drop sanctions on his country.
By wire sources
