Jul 25, 2022

*) Ukraine vows to take Kherson back by Sept as fighting enters sixth month A Ukrainian official has said the country's southern region of Kherson, which fell to Russian troops early in their February offensive, will be recaptured by September. The Ukrainian army, emboldened by deliveries of Western-supplied long-range artillery, has been clawing back territory in the Kherson region in recent weeks. Meanwhile, there was no let-up in fighting as the conflict entered its sixth month, with the Ukrainian military reporting Russian shelling in the north, south and east. *) Tunisia votes on new constitution bolstering president's grip on power Tunisians are voting in a referendum on a new constitution that critics of President Kais Saied fear will hurt the democracy that emerged from a 2011 revolution by handing him nearly total power. Monday's vote is being held on the first anniversary of Saied's ousting of an elected parliament, when he established emergency rule and began governing by fiat. It is not clear when the results will be announced after polls close at 2100 GMT, but analysts expect a 'yes' vote with low turnout. *) Myanmar junta executes pro-democracy activists Myanmar has carried out its first executions in nearly 50 years, hanging a former lawmaker, a democracy activist and two men accused of violence after the country's takeover by the military last year. The announcement sparked widespread condemnation and heightened fears that more death sentences will be carried out. The four were executed for leading "brutal and inhumane terror acts", the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported, without saying when or how the men were killed. *) Pope arrives in Canada for 'penitential pilgrimage' over Indigenous abuse Pope Francis will visit a former residential school in Canada, where he is expected to make a historic personal apology to Indigenous survivors of abuse committed over decades at the Catholic-run institutions. The 85-year-old pontiff arrived on Sunday in Edmonton for a six-day visi