International
Intense fighting as Ukrainian forces launch major assault against Russian positions
Intense fighting as Ukrainian forces launch major assault against Russian positions
A substantial Ukrainian force was pushing an assault against Russian positions in the south on Thursday, in an intensification of fighting that some Ukrainian officials and western analysts said marked the start in earnest of Kyiv’s much-vaunted counteroffensive.
The combat against Russian positions south of Zaporizhzhia included western-supplied tanks and armoured vehicles and infantry backed by artillery. There were reports of intense fighting outside of the town of Tokmak, a key Russian logistical hub.
Asked about US media reports that the counteroffensive had begun, a spokesman for Ukraine’s general staff said: “We have no such information. And we do not comment on anonymous sources.”
Ukrainian officials, however, have insisted that they would not make an official announcement when the counteroffensive begins and have cautioned against focusing on a single area, suggesting it could involve a number of components.
The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based thinktank that has been producing daily updates on the war, said it had concluded on Thursday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had begun.
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“Activity throughout Ukraine is consistent with a variety of indicators that Ukrainian counteroffensive operations are under way across the theater,” the group tweeted.
Following days of heavy shelling of Russian defences, Ukrainian units were reported to have stepped up efforts to break thorough in the Orihiv-Tokmak sector, which blocks the route to the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol – a key objective for Kyiv.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that German-made Leopard tanks and US Bradleys had been thrown into the battle along with scores of other armoured vehicles.
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said Ukrainian forces from Ukraine’s 47th mechanised brigade, with up to 1,500 troops and 150 armoured vehicles, made “an attempt to break through” but Russian forces dealt the attack “a preventive blow”, although Russian military bloggers painted a far more nuanced picture.
Images posted by the Russian military blogger Rybar purported to show Ukrainian armour immobilised during the assault although neither those claims nor those of Shoigu could be verified.
Intense fighting as Ukrainian forces launch major assault against Russian positions
International
Poland suspends migrants’ right to apply for asylum
Poland suspends migrants’ right to apply for asylum
Poland has temporarily suspended the right of migrants arriving in Poland via its border with Belarus to apply for asylum.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced it would be happening after the controversial bill, which will allow Polish authorities to suspend this right for up to 60 days at a time, was signed into law by President Andrzej Duda.
Tusk had said it would be adopted “without a moment’s delay” while Duda said the changes were needed to strengthen security on the country’s borders.
But the law has been criticized by rights groups including Human Rights Watch, which said the EU should take legal action against Poland if it was implemented.
The group urged the country’s parliament last month to reject the bill, saying it “flies in the face of Poland’s international and EU obligations” and could “effectively completely seal off the Poland-Belarus border, where Polish authorities already engage in unlawful and abusive pushbacks”.
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The government said previously the suspension would only be applied temporarily to people who pose a threat to state security, for example large groups of aggressive migrants trying to storm the border.
Exemptions will be made for unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, the elderly or unwell, anyone exposed to “real risk of serious harm” by being returned and citizens of countries accused of conducting the instrumentalization of migration – like Belarus
Tusk has dismissed criticism from human rights groups.
“Nobody is talking about violating human rights, the right to asylum, we are talking about not granting applications to people who illegally cross the border in groups organised by Lukashenko,” he said in October.
Since 2021, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Finland have seen a huge increase in the number of people crossing into their countries illegally from Belarus and Russia.
Polish authorities have sent thousands of troops and border guards to police its border with Belarus and built a 5.5-metre-high steel fence along 186 km of the frontier where at times several thousand migrants have been left stranded.
Rights groups estimate more than one hundred people have died on the borders between Belarus and Poland, Lithuania and Latvia since 2021.
EU eastern flank countries and the European Commission have accused the Belarusian and Russian authorities of weaponising migration to create a new route into the EU to destabilize the bloc.
Poland suspends migrants’ right to apply for asylum
BBC
International
Trump slaps 25% tariffs on car imports to US
Trump slaps 25% tariffs on car imports to US
US President Donald Trump has slapped new 25% import duties on autos and car parts entering the US, threatening to escalate the global trade war.
Trump said the additional duties would go into effect on April 2, with levies on businesses importing autos beginning the next day. Charges for parts are scheduled to begin in May or later.
The president stated that the proposal would result in “tremendous growth” for the auto industry, saying that it would boost jobs and investment in the United States.
However, analysts believe the measure will result in a temporary stoppage of significant US vehicle production, higher costs, and strained relations with allies.
Last year, the US imported approximately eight million cars, accounting for approximately $240 billion (£186 billion) in trade and roughly half of total sales.
Mexico is the top foreign supplier of cars to the US, followed by South Korea, Japan, Canada, and Germany.
Trump’s latest move could disrupt global car trade and supply chains. Many US car companies have operations in Mexico and Canada under the terms of the long-standing free trade agreement.
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However, the new taxes on parts from Canada and Mexico are exempt until US Customs and Border Patrol establish a method to assess the duties, according to the White House. Every day, billions of dollars in goods cross borders between neighbouring countries.
On Wednesday, General Motors’ stock fell almost 3%. The sell-off spread to other firms, including Ford, following the president’s speech that reaffirmed the tariffs.
When asked during a news conference if there was any chance he would change his mind, Trump responded no, later adding, “This is permanent.”
“If you build your car in the United States there is no tariff,” he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated that his government would consider all measures in reaction to the taxes.
Japan, home to several major automakers, is the world’s second-largest vehicle exporter.
Japanese automakers’ shares, including Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, sank in early trading in Tokyo.
A tariff is a levy on imports levied by the government and paid by the company importing the goods.
Trump has welcomed the instrument, intending to use it to target a wide range of imported goods as part of a larger effort to defend American industries and increase production.
However, while the rules can protect domestic industries, they also increase costs for businesses that rely on imported parts, such as carmakers.
According to the Anderson Economic Group, 25% tariffs on parts from Mexico and Canada alone could increase the cost of a car by $4,000 to $10,000, depending on the type.
Trump slaps 25% tariffs on car imports to US
International
Three girls arrested for attempting to stab mother
Three girls arrested for attempting to stab mother
Three teenage sisters in Texas have been charged with trying to stab their mom to death for turning off the Wi-Fi.
The sisters, ages just 14, 15, and 16, were busted after chasing their 39-year-old mother from their Houston home late Sunday allegedly bashing her with a brick and then knocking over their grandmother when she tried to stop them, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
“The three siblings allegedly coordinated a plan to try and kill the mother,” Gonzalez wrote on X.
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“The mother was struck with a brick” and ” In the process, “the grandmother was knocked over while trying to protect” her, the sheriff said, without further identifying any of those involved.
Luckily, both adults escaped serious injury, he said.
All three sisters were arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and were booked into the Harris County Juvenile facility.
Three girls arrested for attempting to stab mother
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