WORLD BRIEFING: May 29, 2024

Ukraine will receive its first supplies of F-16 fighter jets "very soon", but around half of its desperately needed foreign military aid is arriving late, Kyiv's defence minister has said. Rustem Umerov, 42, told Reuters in an interview in Kyiv late on Monday that Russia was deploying more manpower and equipment to the front, more than 27 months after its full-scale invasion. Kyiv's forces have managed to stabilise the new front in the northeastern Kharkiv region where Russia attacked earlier this month. But Umerov said Moscow was preparing for a new push. "Their objective is to open a new front in the north to start using all their manpower, firing power, against us, they are continuing with their objective to destroy the nation," he said. "We are withstanding, but of course we need more weapons, we need more firing power, we need long-range missiles, not to allow them to enter our state." He said Ukraine was grateful for the military aid and weapons supplied by its partners, but that only half of the promised deliveries arrived on time. Every delay benefited Ukraine's much larger and better-equipped foe, with a front line stretching 1,200 km (750 miles). - Reuters

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden should attend a peace summit next month in Switzerland to send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders. Speaking at a joint news conference with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Brussels, Zelenskyy said the peace summit, scheduled for June 15 and 16 at the Buergenstock Resort near Lake Lucerne, will be “organized by the whole world,” and other leaders will be looking to the U.S.’s response. Zelenskyy said 90 countries have now committed to the summit, and that Putin fears it because he never believed so many nations would support it. - VOA

Latvia’s president has issued a stark warning to the world regarding the intentions of Russian President Vladimir Putin: “I think one day there could be appetite for Russia to attack other countries, to test the limits,” Edgars Rinkēvičs told Sky News. He added Russia may start to "consider that NATO is not serious about its defence."

Georgian protesters rallied outside parliament on May 28 as lawmakers voted to override the president's veto of a bill affecting the work of foreign-backed NGOs. The vote moves the controversial bill one step closer to becoming law. Protesters told RFE/RL that they hope pressure from the West will force lawmakers to change course, as European Union officials renewed warnings to Georgia's ruling party that the country's EU candidacy is at risk. Meanwhile, the government of Republika Srpska has withdrawn a controversial proposed "foreign agent" law from the agenda of the National Assembly. The move on May 28 came on the same day that lawmakers in Georgia overrode the president’s veto of similar legislation - RFE/RL

Hong Kong has announced its first arrests under a new security law - detaining six people for publishing social media posts which "incited hatred" against Beijing. Five women and one man - including activist Chow Hang Tung - were arrested on Tuesday, it was announced. Officials said the group were posting messages targeting a "sensitive date" - reported locally as the Tiananmen Square anniversary on 4 June. If found guilty, the group could face up to seven years in prison under the harsher penalties brought in by the new law, known as Article 23. The law, which was fast-tracked through Hong Kong's pro-Beijing parliament in March, covers treason, sedition and state secrets, and allows for trials to be held behind closed doors. It expands on the national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020. - BBC

The Vatican said on Tuesday that Pope Francis “extends his apologies” after reports that he used an offensive slang word referring to gay men at what was intended to be a private meeting with 250 Italian bishops last week. Francis had been taking questions from the bishops at their annual assembly when the question of whether to admit openly gay men into seminaries, or priesthood colleges, came up. According to several people present at the meeting, who spoke anonymously to Italian news outlets, Francis stated a firm no, saying that seminaries were already too full of “frociaggine,” an offensive Italian slang term referring to gay men. “Pope Francis is aware of articles that recently came out about a conversation, behind closed doors,” Matteo Bruni, the press office director for the Holy See, said on Tuesday. “The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he extends his apologies to those who were offended by the use of a term, reported by others.” - NYT

Temperatures rose above 52 degrees Celsius (125.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh, the highest reading of the summer and close to the country’s record high amid an ongoing heat wave, the met office said on Monday. Extreme temperatures throughout Asia over the past month were made worse most likely as a result of human-driven climate change, a team of international scientists have said. In Mohenjo Daro, a town in Sindh known for archaeological sites that date back to the Indus Valley Civilization built in 2500 BC, temperatures rose as high as 52.2 C (126 F) over the last 24 hours, a senior official of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Shahid Abbas told Reuters. The reading is the highest of the summer so far, and approached the town’s and country’s record highs of 53.5 C (128.3 F) and 54 C (129.2 F) respectively.

Chinese social media censors have blocked multiple influencers known for showing off their lavish lifestyles after an official campaign to curb displays of ostentatious wealth online was announced. The Douyin account of Wang Hongquan, a content creator who amassed more than four million followers with videos showing off designer outfits, first-class flights and his jade jewellery collection, was no longer accessible on Tuesday. China’s internet watchdog in April launched the “Clear and Bright” campaign to remove undesirable content from social media, vowing to crack down on influencers who created “ostentatious personas to cater to vulgar needs, and deliberately display extravagant lifestyles filled with money”. Chinese state media reported that Wang’s videos disappeared from Douyin earlier this month, along with the accounts of several other luxury influencers. - HKFP