ROCKET ATTACK ON UKRAINE TRAIN STATION KILLS 50 PEOPLE

A rocket attack on a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed dozens on Friday as civilians raced to leave the Donbas region in the crosshairs of the Russian army.

Fifty people were killed, including five children, the regional governor of Donetsk said as the toll rose on one of the deadliest strikes of the six-week-old war.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reported 300 were injured, saying the strike showed “evil with no limits”.

Blood was pooling on the ground and packed bags were strewn outside the building in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

The remains of a large rocket with the words “for our children” in Russian was lying just adjacent to the main building.

The Russian Defence Ministry said suggestions it had carried out the attack were “absolutely untrue”.

The bombing came as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell were in Kyiv to show solidarity with war-torn Ukraine.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, said three evacuation trains had been temporarily blocked after a Russian airstrike on an overpass by a station. But officials continued to press civilians to leave where possible.

Meanwhile, more than four million people have been displaced from their homes, according to the UN, in one of the worst refugee crises the world has seen in recent times.

RUSSIA HAS REPLACED WAR COMMANDER, SAYS WESTERN OFFICIAL

A Western official has confirmed Russia has reorganised the command of its operations in Ukraine, with the new general having had extensive experience in battle operations in Syria.

Speaking to the BBC's Gordon Corera on condition of anonymity, the source said the commander of Russia’s southern military district, Gen Alexander Dvornikov, now leads the invasion.

“That particular commander has a lot of experience of operations of Russian operations in Syria. So we would expect the overall command and control to improve,” the source said.

The new instatement was done in an attempt to improve coordination between various units, as Russian groups had previously been organised and commanded separately, the official said.

Russia has so far struggled to achieve its war aims 44 days into the invasion, failing to capture major cities such as Kyiv before eventually turning its sights to the Donbas region in the east.

“Unless Russia is able to change its tactics, it's very difficult to see how they succeed in even these limited objectives that they've reset themselves," the official said.

UKRAINE WAR: INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the UK will be sending an additional £100m worth of "high-grade military equipment" to Ukraine

Slovakia sent its S-300 surface-to-air missile defence system to Ukraine

The Czech Republic has also supplied Ukraine with tanks, rocket launchers and fighting vehicles

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on countries farther away from Ukraine to take in more refugees

The European Union has adopted a new raft of sanctions against Russia and entities with ties to the Kremlin. Details were published on Friday. They include asset freezes and travel bans for 216 individuals, including Vladimir Putin's two daughters

TROOP DEATHS RISING, ADMITS MOSCOW

Russia gave its most sombre take yet on the six-week long war in Ukraine, describing the “tragedy” of rising troop losses and the economic pain of sanctions. Russia has previously acknowledged its attack has not progressed as quickly as it wanted but on Thursday Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov lamented the rising death toll. "We have significant losses of troops," he told Sky News. “It's ahuge tragedy for us”. About 19,000 Russian personnel have been killed so far amid the offensive, Kyiv has said.

$1M REWARD FOR RUSSIAN SOLDIERS WHO SURRENDER WITH EQUIPMENT

Ukraine’s parliament has passed a law this month, offering rewards to Russian soldiers who surrender with their equipment. “For a helicopter — 500 thousand dollars, a tank — 100 thousand, respectively. If, for example, someone is ready to come to us with a plane it’s a million dollars. There is a certain gradation there,” first vicespeaker Oleksandr Kornienko reportedly said. He further said there are “many willing soldiers” who want to “replenish their financial status”.

PAK PM IMRAN KHAN SAYS NO SUPERPOWER CAN DICTATE TERMS TO INDIA: ‘KHUDDAR QAUM’

A day after Pakistan Supreme Court set aside the National Assembly deputy speaker's ruling on a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician lauded India as “khuddar qaum” (self-respecting people), saying no superpower can dictate terms to the neighbouring country. Khan, in an emotional address to the nation, said that the two countries don't have a good relationship due to the Kashmir issue and the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

"Indians are khuddar quam (very self-respecting people). No superpower can dictate terms to India," he said on the eve of a no-confidence vote.

He added, "I'm disappointed that only due to RSS ideology and what is done with Kashmir we don't have a good relation."

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader reiterated his claim of a foreign conspiracy to oust him, calling it an “attack on our sovereignty”. He also compared the independent foreign policy of India to that of Pakistan.

"We and India got our independence together but Pakistan gets used as tissue paper and thrown away," he said.

Defiant Imran Khan calls for street protests

Addressing the nation ahead of the no-trust motion on Saturday where he has little chances of survival, Khan (69) expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court’s verdict on the National Assembly Deputy Speaker’s controversial decision on the rejection of no-trust motion against him.

“I will not accept this imported government, I will take to street…. Only people can bring me to power and I will come back with the help of the people,” he said, adding that his supporters should come out on Sunday evening after the new government was expected to be set up. He taunted the Opposition to announce new elections and face the nation with him. “I am ready for the struggle… join me in peaceful protest,” said Khan, who has effectively lost the majority in the 342-member House. Khan repeated his allegations that a US diplomat threatened regime change in Pakistan.

COURT SENTENCES HAFIZ SAEED IN TWO MORE TERROR FINANCING CASES

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Friday sentenced Mumbai terror attack mastermind and banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed to 32 years in jail in two more terror financing cases.

Earlier in five such cases, the 70-year-old radical cleric had already been convicted for 36 years imprisonment.

The total sentence of 68 years imprisonment will run concurrently. Saeed may have to spend not many years in jail because his sentence will run concurrently, a lawyer said. The court also imposed a PKR 3,40,000 fine on Saeed.

NOW THE ONLY OPTION IS TO RESTRUCTURE THE DEBT: SRI LANKA FINANCE MINISTER

Telling Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that the government will have to decide whether to feed its people amid a crippling economic crisis or pay off outstanding debt, the finance minister said the country had no choice but to restructure its debt.

Suggesting a debt standstill, he added that Sri Lanka would have to suspend payments for some time and obtain bilateral and multilateral support to manage the balance of payments.

“A strict default is a dangerous situation. Our trade deficit is about $8 billion, on top of that we have to pay the debt,” Ali Sabry told parliament.

“We have to decide if we are going to feed our people or pay our debt. But we can’t stop paying the debt because the consequences are terrifying. There is no alternative, we must restructure our debt,” said Sabry, who has offered to resign. a day after he was appointed on Monday, but later confirmed that he was still finance minister.

The heavily indebted country has little money left to pay for imports, leading to crippling shortages of fuel, power, food and, increasingly, medicine. Street protests have been going on almost non-stop for more than a month, despite a five-day state of emergency and a two-day curfew.

A $1 billion refund is due in July. JP Morgan analysts estimate that Sri Lanka’s gross debt servicing costs will total $7 billion this year in total.

Sri Lanka FM also suggested turning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which would help find bridge financing and encourage other countries to help them. “Going to the IMF is not a complete solution to the problems, but there is no better alternative as of now,” he said.

“The government needs to address the financial crisis and work to improve governance, or we will table a no-confidence motion,” Sajith Premadasa, leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya opposition group, told parliament.

“It is imperative that Sri Lanka avoids a disorderly debt default. The government must work to suspend the debt and appoint financial advisers to start the debt restructuring process.”

MACRON CALLS LE PEN ‘RACIST’ AS POLL RACE HOTS UP

Emmanuel Macron on Friday accused his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen of lying to voters about her “racist” platform, as the gap in voter support for the two rivals narrows down ever more. The race appears to be coming down to the two finalists of the 2017 election. While Macron, who entered the race as the clear favourite, appears to have lost ground in recent polls, Le Pen continues on her upward trend.

“There was a clear strategy (from Le Pen’s camp) to hide what is brutal in her programme,” Macron told Le Parisien in an interview published on Friday. “Her fundamentals haven’t changed: It’s a racist programme that aims to divide society and is very brutal. ” Le Pen later told Franceinfo that she was “shocked” at the accusation, which she rejected, branding the president “febrile” and “aggressive”. She said her programme, which includes adding a “national priority” principle to the French Constitution, would not discriminate against people on grounds of their origin — as long as they held a French passport.

Meanwhile, Macron is ahead in opinion polls, which still see him as the most likely winner, but his re-election is no longer a foregone conclusion. Le Pen’s solid comeback in opin- ion polls has put her victory within the margin of error in some surveys. A poll on Friday showed the tightest ever gap in support between the two, with Le Pen seen winning 49% of votes in a likely runoff against the president, her best polling score on record. The poll, published on BFM TV’s website, showed that ahead of the first round on Sunday, Macron had lost a further two points to 26% support and Le Pen gained two points to 25%.

PM GRANTS ISRAELI SECURITY FORCES FREE REIN TO ACT AFTER ATTACK ON CITIZENS

Israel’s premier on Friday gave security agencies “full freedom” of operation to curb surging violence, after the latest deadly attack saw a Palestinian gunman kill two men in a popular nightlife area.

“There are not and will not be limits for this war,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, speaking hours after the attack in Tel Aviv.

“We are granting full freedom of action to the army, the Shin Bet (the domestic security agency) and all security forces in order to defeat the terror,” Mr. Bennett added, during a public address in the Israeli coastal city.

Earlier on Friday, Israeli police said they had shot dead a Palestinian gunman who killed two Israeli men and wounded over a dozen others when he opened fire on a street of busy bars and restaurants crowded on a Thursday evening.

SAUDI ARABIA RAISES NUMBER OF HAJ PILGRIMS ALLOWED TO ONE MILLION THIS YEAR

Saudi Arabia will let up to 1 million people join the Haj pilgrimage this year, greatly expanding the key event to participants from outside the kingdom after two years of tight Covid-19 restrictions, state media said on Saturday.

Pilgrims to Mecca this year must be under age 65 and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the ministry of Hajj and Umrah said in a statement carried by the SPA news agency.

Participants from abroad will be allowed this year but must present a recent negative Coronavirus PCR test, and health precautions will be observed, it said.

Last year, the kingdom limited the annual Haj, one of Islam's five main pillars, to 60,000 domestic participants, compared to the pre-pandemic 2.5 million.

Visits to the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the week-long haj, and the lesser, year-round umrah pilgrimage, previously earned the kingdom about $12 billion a year, according to official data.

WILL SMITH SLAPPED WITH 10-YR OSCARS BAN

Hollywood’s film academy on Friday said its board of governors banned Will Smith from any of its events, including the Oscars, for 10 years after he slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony. “The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year,” Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president David Rubin and chief executive Dawn Hudson said. “However, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable behavior we saw Smith exhibit on stage. ”