May 24, 2023

*) Russia says Ukraine’s attack on Belgorod region ‘repelled’ Several drones struck Russia’s border region of Belgorod overnight, a day after an armed group infiltrated the area from Ukraine, the local governor said. Belgorod’s governor wrote on Telegram that the drones struck houses and a government building, leaving one woman dead and injuring eight others. Meanwhile, calling it a “terrorist” attack, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that Ukraine’s attack on the Belgorod region was repelled. *) Thousands rally in Israel against budget 'looting' for ultra-Orthodox Jews Thousands of Israelis have protested the allocation of funds to ultra-Orthodox Jews in the far-right government's proposed state budget. Ahead of the budget votes beginning late Tuesday and continuing on Wednesday, the drum-beating protesters, bearing Israeli flags, marched to parliament. They accused the ruling coalition of "looting" the state's money. *) Over 450 Catholic clergy sexually abused nearly 2,000 children in Illinois More than 450 Catholic clergy in Illinois have sexually abused nearly 2,000 children since 1950, the state's attorney general has found in an investigation. The investigation revealed that the problem was far worse than the church had let on. But the Illinois State Attorney General Kwame Raoul said at a news conference on Tuesday that the statute of limitations has expired in many cases and that those abusers "will never see justice in a legal sense." *) 'Stolen': UK royals refuse to return remains of teenage Ethiopian prince Buckingham Palace has refused to return the body of a teenage Ethiopian prince who was buried at Windsor Castle 144 years ago. A descendant of Prince Alemayehu – an orphan who was adored and supported financially by Queen Victoria and died at the age of 18 – has demanded that his remains be returned to Ethiopia. However, Buckingham Palace has rejected the call once again, saying that removing the body would affect others buried in the catacombs of St George's Chapel in Windsor Cas