May 9, 2022

*) Ukraine's Zelenskyy says Russian strike at school killed about 60 Sixty civilians have died in the bombing of a school in eastern Ukraine's Lugansk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is appalled by the reported attack which hit a school where many people were apparently seeking shelter from the ongoing fighting. Guterres reiterated, in a statement, that civilians and civilian infrastructure must always be spared in times of war. *) Putin to mark Soviet Union's WW2 victory over Nazi Germany President Vladimir Putin will lead anniversary celebrations of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany as Russian forces fight Ukrainians in one of the deadliest European conflicts since World War Two. Putin has in recent years used Victory Day to needle the West from a tribune in Red Square before a parade of troops, tanks, rockets and ballistic missiles. *) Philippines votes for new president in 'most consequential election' Filipinos have begun voting for a new president with the son of an ousted dictator and a champion of reforms and human rights as top contenders. Monday's election pits Vice President Leni Robredo against former senator and congressman Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of a dictator. Opinion polls put Marcos, popularly known as "Bongbong", leading his rival by over 30 percentage points, having topped every poll this year. *) Dozens killed in 'CODECO militia' raid on DRC gold mine Raiders have killed at least 35 people in an attack on a gold mine in Ituri, in Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources said. One local official of the rural Mungwalu settlement in Djugu, Ituri, said the militia carried out the attack on the artisanal mine. 29 bodies had been retrieved, while another six burnt bodies had been found buried at the site. And, finally... *) Türkiye inaugurates renovated Armenian church in Diyarbakir Türkiye has officially reopened a 16th-century Armenian church that had been damaged by terrorists before restora