MOSCOW MOVES TO RUSSIFY SEIZED UKRAINE LAND, SIGNALING ANNEXATION

Fresh from its triumph over the last armed Ukrainian resistance in the devastated city of Mariupol, Russia appeared to be laying the groundwork Thursday for annexing swaths of southeast Ukraine, described by a high-ranking Kremlin official as having a “worthy place in our Russian family.’’

The official, Marat Khusnullin, Russia’s deputy prime minister for infrastructure, toured the region this week and outlined plans to take full control of vital infrastructure, including Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, as Russia fortified its defensive positions there and exerted its authority over the local population.

“I came here to provide maximum opportunities for integration,” Khusnullin was quoted by Russian news media as saying.

In a further sign that Moscow was preparing to push for the Russification of the region — the way it has in Crimea since seizing it from Ukraine in 2014 — Russian officials have already moved to introduce the ruble currency, install proxy politicians in local governments, impose new school curricula, reroute internet servers through Russia and cut the population off from Ukrainian broadcasts.

Khusnullin said Russia even intended to charge Ukraine for electricity generated by the Ukrainian nuclear plant that Russian forces commandeered in the early weeks of the invasion — a plan that Ukraine described as extortion.

The Kremlin has been using the mass surrender for propaganda purposes, describing its captives as terrorists and Nazi war criminals, and framing the conquest of Mariupol as a turning point in the conflict.

Although much of Mariupol is ruined, the capture of the port city is expected to bring Russia concrete benefits. It will complete a long-sought land bridge between the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula to the south and the adjoining region known as Donbas, where pro-Russian separatists have battled Ukrainian forces since the Crimea annexation.

With Mariupol captured, Russian troops are now freed to help entrench Russia’s authority over the rest of the eastern region — well short of Moscow’s initial push to control all of Ukraine, but strong leverage in any future peace negotiations.

TOP U.S., RUSSIAN GENERALS SPEAK FOR FIRST TIME SINCE UKRAINE INVASION

Top US General Mark Milley spoke by telephone on Thursday with his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimov, their first discussion since before Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24, the Pentagon said.

Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, "discussed several security-related issues of concern," according to a spokesman for the US Joint Staff, offering no other details.

The last time the two spoke by telephone was on February 11, when Washington was warning publicly of Russian plans to invade Ukraine and was hoping its warnings would discourage Moscow from moving ahead.

"They have not spoken since then until today," said Commander Sean Riordan, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs.

However, a Pentagon spokesman said later that the call "didn't specifically solve any acute issues or lead to a direct change in what the Russians are doing or what they are saying."

The call came as Washington is stepping up its arms support for Ukraine, with a new $40 billion aid package expected to be passed by the Congress on Thursday.

CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES 737 CRASH MAY HAVE BEEN INTENTIONAL NOSEDIVE

The China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 crash that killed all 132 people onboard in March may have been caused deliberately, The Wall Street Journal reported. Data recovered from the plane's black box suggests someone in the cockpit had input controls that sent the plane into a near-vertical descent, the paperreported.

The Boeing 737-800 plane, which was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou, was cruising at a steady altitude and speed before it started a rapid descent from 29,000 feet on March 12. It crashed minutes later into a mountainside in southern China's Guangxi province.

The pilots did not respond to repeated calls from air traffic controllers and nearby planes during the rapid descent.

‘CHINA FAILED TO CHANGE TIBETAN PEOPLE’S MINDS’

China’s Communist Party has failed in its efforts to change the minds of Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama said on Thursday.

Meeting with the visiting U.S. Special Coordinator on Tibet Uzra Zeya — on a rare high-level visit from Washington to Dharamsala — the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader praised the democratic freedoms in the U.S. and in India.

China, he said, had “completely failed” in trying to change Tibetans’ minds. “Meanwhile, China’s thinking [is] also changing rapidly, Socialism and Marxism have gone,” he said.

The meeting discussed preservation of Tibetan culture and its importance for the world, said Penpa Tsering, Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala.

China has slammed the visit as “interference” in its internal affairs.

“The 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile disguised as a religious person and engages in anti-China separatist activities and attempts to split Tibet from China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in Beijing.

NASHEED TO HELP ‘COORDINATE’ SRI LANKA’S FOREIGN AID EFFORTS

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appointed Maldivian Parliamentary Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed as the “coordinator” for securing foreign aid to Sri Lanka that is facing an unprecedented economic crisis.

Mr. Wickremesinghe on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with his long-time friend Mr. Nasheed who is visiting Colombo, and discussed Sri Lanka’s dire economic situation, while exploring possible sources of relief. “During the discussions, the former President of Maldives generously offered to assist Sri Lanka in securing relief for the country from foreign nations. The Prime Minister accepted the former President’s offer and appointed him to coordinate the relief efforts,” Mr. Wickremesinghe’s office said in a statement.

Mr. Nasheed — who has spent many of his years in exile in Sri Lanka — has maintained close links with Sri Lankan leaders across political parties.

LANKA LIMITS FOREIGN CURRENCY HOLDINGS

Sri Lanka will lower the maximum amount of foreign currency that individuals can possess to $10,000 from $15,000 and penalise anyone who holds it for over three months, the central bank announced on Thursday. Central Bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said people must place their excess foreign currency in a bank or convert into local currency within two weeks. After that time, anyone violating the new rules will be fined.

FROM CARS TO JAMS, PAK BANS IMPORT OF LUXURY ITEMS AMID SINKING ECONOMY

Islamabad : Pakistan’s new government on Thursday said it would ban the import of over 30 luxury items including cars and fruit jams under an “emergency economic plan” in a move to help boost the country’s economy. Cash-strapped Pakistan has been hit by a storm of crippling debt, dwindling foreign currency reserves and galloping inflation.

The national currency hit a historic low on Thursday, with 200 rupees fetching $1. “My decision to ban (the) import of luxury items will save the country precious foreign exchange,” PM Shehbaz Sharif tweeted. The move was an effort to target the country’s elite, with the banned goods including mobile phones and cars — which make up the largest share of import bills on the list — as well as cosmetics, jams and weapons. “We will be able to save $6 billion by imposing a ban on import of the luxury items,” information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb sa- id, adding that the ban would be effective immediately. “The decision will give a boost to the local economy and industry”. Citing an “emergency situation”, she said Pakistanis will have to make sacrifices under the economic plan.

But, business leaders said the country must seek consent from the World Trade Organization, which regulates international trade. “I think itis a prudent step by the government,” said Khalid Tawab, the former vice-president of the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce. “The government has not declared a financial emergency yet, but that is the situation we are facing. ” Pakistan’s current trade deficit stands at $39. 2 billion.

IN NEW DIKTAT, TALIBAN TELL WOMEN ANCHORS TO COVER FACES ON TV

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers ordered all female presenters on TV channels to cover their faces on air, the country’s biggest media outlet said on Thursday. The order came in a statement from the Taliba’s virtue and vice ministry, tasked with enforcing the group’s rulings, as well as from the information and culture ministry, the TOLOnews channel tweeted. The statement called the order “final and non-negotiable,” the channel said. The statement was sent to the Moby Group, which owns TOLOnews and several other TV and radio networks, and the tweet said it was being applied to other Afghan media as well. An Afghan local media official confirmed his station had received the order and was told it was not up for discussion.

JETS HIRED BY MILITARY TO DELIVER BABY FOOD IN U.S.

The U.S. government will fly in baby formula on commercial planes contracted by the military in an airlift aimed at easing the major shortage plaguing the country, the White House said on Wednesday.

The lack of formula — the result of a perfect storm of supply chain issues and a massive recall — is leaving parents increasingly desperate.

The Department of Defense “will use its contracts with commercial air cargo lines, as it did to move materials during the early months of the COVID pandemic, to transport products from manufacturing facilities abroad,” the White House said.

MONKEYPOX CASES INVESTIGATED IN EUROPE, US AND CANADA

Cases of suspected and confirmed Monkeypox are being investigated in a number of European countries, the US, Canada and the UK, according to health authorities and local media reports.

The latest new cases were reported in France, Italy and Sweden.

It follows the confirmation of cases in the US, Spain and Portugal on Wednesday, as well as the investigation of 13 suspected cases in Canada.

Monkeypox is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa.

Cases of the disease outside of the region are often linked to travel to the area.

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which is usually mild and from which most people recover in a few weeks, according to the UK's National Health Service.

The virus does not spread easily between people and the risk to the wider public is said to be very low.

There are now nine confirmed cases in the UK. In Europe, one confirmed case was reported in Sweden on Thursday, as well as one in Italy and a suspected case in France.

Five confirmed cases were also reported in Portugal on Wednesday, as well as seven in Spain.

Though no vaccine has been approved for Monkeypox in Europe, Spanish health authorities have reportedly purchased thousands of smallpox vaccines to deal with the outbreak, according to Spanish newspaper El País. Monkeypox is a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox.