April 27, 2022

*) UN chief and Russia’s Putin agree on Ukraine evacuation UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed in principle on arranging evacuations from a besieged steel plant in the battered city of Mariupol. The announcement came from UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric after the two met one-on-one for the first time since the Ukraine conflict began. Dujarric said further discussions will take place between the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Russian defence ministry. The last Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol are hunkered down after months of Russian siege and bombardment at the Azovstal steel complex. *) Britain says Ukraine controls majority of its airspace The UK's defence ministry has said that Ukraine retains control over the majority of its airspace, adding that Russia has failed to effectively destroy the country's air force or suppress its air defences. "Russia has very limited air access to the north and west of Ukraine, limiting offensive actions to deep strikes with stand-off weapons," the ministry said on Twitter. "Russian air activity is primarily focused on southern and eastern Ukraine, providing support to Russian ground forces," it added in a regular bulletin. *) Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 5 years for corruption A court in military-ruled Myanmar has convicted the country’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption and sentenced her to five years in prison. Suu Kyi, who was ousted by an army takeover last year, had denied the allegation that she had accepted a bribe of $600,000 in cash and gold bars. Suu Kyi still faces a raft of other criminal charges and could be jailed for more than 100 years if convicted on all counts. *) Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank clashes Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian man and wounded three others in the occupied West Bank, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. The dead man was identified as 21-year-old Ahmad Massad, from the village of Burqin i