00:02Russian forces launched a massive overnight attack on residential neighborhoods and civilian
00:07infrastructure in Ukraine's southern port city of Odessa, regional authorities said on Monday.
00:13The heaviest damage was reported in the city's Primorsky district,
00:17where residential buildings, a hotel and sites in the city's center were hit.
00:21Authorities added that 11 people were injured, including two children.
00:27Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 94 drones overnight across 15 locations,
00:3274 of which were intercepted. At least four people were reported killed across the country over the
00:38past day. The attack comes a day after Russia launched another barrage of strikes across Ukraine
00:45on the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, killing at least 17 people.
00:51On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russian attacks risk repeating
00:56history, a concern echoed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
01:05French prison guards blockaded facilities across the country on Monday in protest of chronic
01:10overcrowding and staff shortages in a strike called by the UFAP-UNSA union representing
01:17prison and ministry of justice workers. The union is demanding emergency measures to fill an
01:22estimated 5,000 vacant guard posts.
01:43As of April 1st, French prisons held nearly 25,000 more inmates than the system's capacity,
01:50an occupancy rate of almost 140 percent. The Council of Europe condemned French prison
01:56conditions in January, warning that conditions in French jails had become degrading.
02:01The Ministry of Justice plans to open 3,000 additional places, half of them by 2027,
02:07in modular prisons for prisoners on short sentences or approaching release.
02:11A 2018 program to build 15,000 new places has yielded fewer than a third of that target.
02:22The number of conscientious objector applications is rising in Germany as debate over military
02:28service and security keeps intensifying. Germany recorded above 2,500 conscientious objector
02:35applications in the first quarter of 2026. It is more than two-thirds of the total registered
02:41across the whole of 2025, according to authorities. New military service legislation has entered into
02:49force at the beginning of the year. The reform requires young men born in 2008 or later to register
02:56for potential conscription, with the Bundestag able to activate compulsory service if voluntary
03:02recruitment falls short. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has framed the reform as a response to a
03:10deteriorating security environment. The debate on whether men of fighting age should be required
03:16to seek authorization before traveling abroad for extended periods has fueled public unease.
03:22Meanwhile, almost 800 people who had previously declared conscientious objector status changed their
03:28mind last year.
03:33A pair of US lawmakers has urged the European Commission to stand firm against mounting pressure
03:40to dilute the European Union's anti-deforestation law just days before the EU executive is due to review it,
03:47potentially revising the list of products covered. The two democratic representatives called on the
03:53Commission to uphold both the substance and the timeline of the EU's deforestation regulation,
03:59which requires suppliers of palm oil, timber, leather, coffee, beef and other commodities to demonstrate
04:05that their production has not led to deforestation. Failure to comply would prevent producers from
04:12selling their goods on EU markets. Originally due to take effect on December 2024, the bloc's
04:19anti-deforestation law has been delayed twice. The US lawmakers framed their plea as a test of global
04:26resolve against climate change. The Environment Commissioner Jessica Roswell said that the simplification
04:32review is aimed at implementing the bloc's anti-deforestation law in the most efficient way.
04:39Police in Northern Ireland say they suspect dissident Irish Republicans could be behind an overnight
04:46car bomb attack outside a police station near Belfast late on Saturday. The car bomb went off after
04:53what was termed a gas cylinder-type device placed in a delivery driver's hijacked car and driven to the
05:00location. According to the police service, dissident Irish Republican paramilitary group, the new IRA,
05:07could be responsible.
05:08It is now the second attack of this nature in just a month. There are very many similarities
05:13between the two incidents and as a consequence of that, our early working hypothesis is that this
05:18may well be the work of the new IRA who claimed responsibility for the attack in Lurgan back on the
05:2230th of March.
05:23Prime Minister Keir Starmar condemned the attack and said, quote, those responsible will be brought to
05:29justice. The attack followed a similar attempted bombing on the 30th of March when the device failed
05:35to explode outside a police station in the nearby town of Lurgan.
05:43The government of Mali is in crisis after the killing of Defense Minister General Sadio Kamara on Saturday.
05:50The junta-run country was struck by one of the biggest coordinated attacks on its army in the
05:55capital, Bamako, and several other cities and towns. General Kamara died after a car bomb driven
06:01by a suicide bomber targeted his residence. Separatist rebels also seized towns and military bases,
06:08which is confirmed by the Malian government. The head of the military junta, General Assimi Goita,
06:13was reportedly moved to a safe location after his home was targeted. Following military coups,
06:18the junta's in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso turned from Western to Russian allies,
06:23looking to Moscow for help in combating Islamic militants. But the security situation has worsened
06:29with the record number of attacks reported since 2025. Russian mercenaries hired by Mali's military
06:35agreed to withdraw from Kidal after two days of clashes, the Separatist Azavat Liberation Front group said.
06:41For years, the FLA has fought to establish an independent homeland in northern Mali,
06:45where it already effectively controls a vast territory.
06:51Hundreds of vessels remain immobilized in the Gulf, leaving tens of thousands of seafarers unable to
06:57cross the Strait of Hormuz as the maritime blockade enters a critical phase. Between 13 and 19 April,
07:03roughly 80 vessels manage to transit the waterway, a staggering drop from the average of 130 transits
07:09per day recorded before the war. The United Nations reports that dozens of ships have come under fire
07:15since the conflict began, with at least 10 mariners killed in the line of duty. Those currently
07:20anchored near Iranian ports describe a tense atmosphere of isolation and constant threat.
07:25We've been here for one month. We've been here for one month.
07:29That's why yesterday we were here, there was a drone attack.
07:34The first time I arrived here, on the 3rd, on the 3rd, there was a drone attack.
07:42But I didn't know the drone from where, but I got the information from Iran.
07:46That's why it was located near the tanki full oil, near our ship.
07:50Although U.S. President Donald Trump has extended the ceasefire indefinitely,
07:55Washington maintains a strict blockade on Iranian ports. In retaliation, Tehran has fired upon
08:01several vessels and seized two others, further complicating any hopes for a safe corridor.
08:07Before the ceasefire, there were so many issues raised by the seafarers that there was a shortage of
08:14the food and some ships started rationing of the water, nearly two hours in the morning, two hours
08:20in the evening. The major failure was the CFS was not able to communicate with their family.
08:28The International Maritime Organization is now calling for an urgent humanitarian corridor
08:32to evacuate trapped crews. However, Tehran continues to demand tolls for passage,
08:37insisting the strait is only open to vessels it deems non-hostile.
08:45At Monday's opening, oil markets reacted sharply to the news that the second round of U.S.-Iran peace
08:51talks stalled over the weekend. The price of Brent crude rose another 1 percent, climbing above $106
08:58per barrel and bringing the total weekly increase to 10 percent. On Saturday, Donald Trump announced that
09:05the United States remained unwilling to return to the negotiating table in Pakistan. He cited Tehran's
09:12failure to meet U.S. demands and noted ongoing uncertainty regarding the country's current
09:17leadership. The regional instability continues to impact global logistics. Due to the threat of
09:23Iranian missile attacks, tankers are still being forced to bypass the Strait of Olmos.
09:28In response to the crisis, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakshi expressed interest in seeing Oman
09:34join future efforts to secure the Strait. Seeking further diplomatic support, Arakshi traveled to
09:41St. Petersburg on Monday to discuss a potential Middle East settlement with Vladimir Putin.
09:51The unique replica of an ancient merchant ship from 300 BC is sailing in Cypriot waters as part of Cyprus's
09:57presidency of the European Council. The vessel Kyrenia II was built in 1985, using the same
10:05techniques and shipbuilding methods as the original wreck, discovered on the Cypriot sea bed in 1965,
10:11which was reconstructed by a specialized team from the University of Pesilvania.
10:18The replica sailed in 1985 from Piraeus where it was constructed and reached Paphos.
10:2441 years later, it has been taught by the Cypriot national guard to sail once again in Cypriot waters,
10:30highlighting the island's rich maritime heritage.
10:3342 years later, this initiative forms part of broader efforts to preserve historical heritage
10:40while also supporting the activities of Cyprus's presidency of the Council of the European Union.
10:4842 years later, it has been taught by the University of Pesilvania.
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