UKRAINE CONFIRMS RUSSIA CAPTURED EASTERN CITY LYSYCHANSK

Ukraine's military has confirmed that the eastern city of Lysychansk has fallen to Russian forces.

"After heavy fighting for Lysychansk, the defence forces of Ukraine were forced to withdraw from their occupied positions and lines," the army general staff said.

Earlier Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said his forces had captured Lysychansk and taken full control of Luhansk region.

Ukraine's troops were outgunned there.

Its general staff said that "in order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders, a decision was made to withdraw".

It said the Russians had multiple advantages in artillery, aircraft, manpower and other forces.

President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged that Ukrainian forces would return to Lysychansk thanks to their tactics and "thanks to the increase in the supply of modern weapons".

AUSTRALIA TO DUMP COVID VACCINE REQUIREMENTS AND TRAVEL EXEMPTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS

The Australian government has scrapped the need for incoming international travellers to declare their Covid-19 vaccination status. Health Minister Mark Butler said the change would come into effect from 12.01am on Wednesday morning.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil also announced travellers will no longer have to complete a Digital Passenger Declaration.

However, they must still comply with the requirements of airlines and states and territories, including the wearing of masks on flights.

“The Australian Government makes decisions on Covid related issues after considering the latest medical advice,” Butler said.

EASTERN CHINA CITIES TIGHTEN CURBS AS NEW COVID CLUSTERS EMERGE

Beijing : Cities in eastern China tightened Covid curbs on Sunday as Covid clusters emerge, posing a new threat to China’s economic recovery under the government’s zero-Covid policy. Wuxi, a manufacturing hub in east, halted operations at many public venues, including shops and supermarkets. Dine-in services in restaurants were suspended, and the government advised people to work from home. Authorities urged people not to leave Wuxi, after reporting 42 new asymptomatic cases on Saturday. Si county in Anhui province locked down its 7,60,000 residents and suspended public traffic as it reported 288 cases on Saturday. Anhui accounted for most of China’s new infections, reporting 61 symptomatic and 231 asymptomatic cases for Saturday. Yiwu, China’s export capital for small commodities, cancelled flights to Beijing for an unspecified period, citing Covid prevention measures. Yiwu reported three cases last week.

MASS TESTING IS THE NEW NORMAL IN CHINA’S CAPITAL

The current flavour as far as greetings go for many residents of China’s capital is “have you tested yet?”

A regularised mass testing regime, which couples the ruling Communist Party’s sprawling presence at the grassroots with a sweeping high-tech health monitoring system, has emerged as the country’s key weapon in maintaining its “zero-COVID” status amid recurring outbreaks of more transmissible variants.

The capital has, this past week, reported zero cases on most days, recovering after a gruelling campaign against an Omicron outbreak earlier this year. But that Beijing managed to do so while avoiding the protracted, months-long lockdown in Shanghai that brought China’s financial capital to a screeching halt, has reinforced the leadership’s belief that “zero-COVID” is still an achievable goal, regardless of China being the only country in the planet still pursuing it while most other nations have returned to some normalcy and opened their borders.

UKRAINE SECURITY GUARANTEES WILL NOT BE SAME AS FOR NATO MEMBER: GERMANY

Germany is discussing security guarantees for Ukraine with its allies in preparation for a time after the war, but these will not be the same as for a member of the transatlantic alliance, German Chancellor Scholz told the broadcaster ARD on Sunday. “We are discussing with close friends the question of the security guarantees we can give. This is an ongoing process. It is clear that it will not be the same as if someone were a member of Nato,” he said. Scholz, who took office in December, has faced accusations at home and abroad of failing to show leadership in the Ukraine crisis and failing to convey empathy for citizens struggling with the soaring inflation that it has helped to fuel. But the Social Democrat has said he did not want to be one of the “politicians who each week make a promise but then don’t keep 90% of them”.

AUSTRALIA PM PLEDGES MILITARY AID ON KYIV VISIT

Australian PM Anthony Albanese on Sunday pledged further military support to Ukraine, including armoured vehicles and drones, while meeting Ukrainian President Zelensky in Kyiv. Making the first ever visit to Ukraine by an Australian premier, Albanese said at a news conference in Kyiv that his country would give Ukraine “a hundred million dollars of military support”, without specifying if he meant Australian dollars. The PM specified that Australia would provide extra military equipment requested by Ukraine including 14 armoured personnel carriers, 20 Bushmaster armoured vehicles and a number of drones. Albanese toured the towns of Bucha and Irpin.

COPENHAGEN SHOOTING: GUNMAN KILLS THREE IN FIELD'S SHOPPING MALL

A gunman has killed three people and wounded others, three of them critically, at one of Denmark's biggest shopping malls, police say.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested and charged with the attack which sparked panic among shoppers at Field's mall in south Copenhagen.

Police chief Soeren Thomassen said the motive was unclear and he could not rule out an "act of terrorism".

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Denmark had suffered a cruel attack.

Sending condolences to those who had lost loved ones, she said she wanted to encourage Danes to stand together and support each other in this difficult time.

Denmark's royal family said their "deepest sympathy" was with "the victims, their relatives and all those who are affected by the tragedy".

LANKA HAS LESS THAN A DAY’S WORTH OF FUEL LEFT: MINISTER

Sri Lanka has less than a day’s worth of fuel left, the energy minister said on Sunday, even as the cash-strapped nation extended school closures for one week because there isn’t enough fuel for teachers and parents to get kids to classrooms. Petrol and diesel queues snaked through the capital for kilometres, though most pumping stations have been without fuel fordays. Energy ministerKanchana Wijesekera said petrol reserves in the nation were 4,000 tonnes, just below one day’s worth of consumption. “The next petrol shipment is expected between the 22nd and 23rd (of July),” he said. “We’ve contacted other suppliers, but we can’t confirm new supplies before the 22nd. ” Last week, Sri Lanka announced a two-week halt to all fuel sales except for essential services to save petrol and diesel for emergencies.

Most shops were closed on Sunday, with the situation expected to worsen when banks and offices reopen on Monday. Desperate people were seen trying to flag down the few vehicles on the road hoping for a ride. Privately owned buses, which account for two-thirds of the country’s fleet, said they operated a skeleton service on Sunday as they were badly affected by the fuel shortage.

Schools will remain shut until Friday. Meanwhile, the energy minister appealed to the country’s expatriates to send money home through banks to finance new oil purchases. “Finding money is a challenge. It’s a huge challenge,” Wijesekera said.

BEZOS LASHES OUT AT BIDEN OVER ‘LOWER GAS PRICES’ CALL

Amazon. com founder Jeff Bezos criticised a tweet from US President Joe Biden calling for oil executives to reduce gasoline prices. Bezos was responding to Biden’scriticism of companies running gas stations and setting prices for consumers. “This is a time of warand global peril,” Biden tweeted on Saturday. “Bring down theprice you are chargingat the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for theproduct. And do it now. ”Bezos tweeted on Saturdaynight: “Ouch. Inflation is fartoo important a problem for the White House to keep makingstatements like this. It’s eitherstraight ahead misdirection oradeep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics. ” The national average for gas was atjust over $4. 8 on Sunday, asper AAA, near the recordhigh of $5 set last month. John Kirby, a NationalSecurity Council spokes man, hit back at Bezos. “We take exception at theidea that this is somehowmisdirection,” he toldFox News. He said Biden hasproposed measures that couldlower US gasoline prices andhas freed oil from the StrategicPetroleum Reserve.

TALIBAN REMAIN ILLEGITIMATE RULERS, SAY AF WOMEN ACTIVISTS

Kabul : The Taliban remain illegitimate rulers despite a declaration by thousands of male clerics endorsing their hardline government, Afghan women activists said on Sunday. The clerics pledged allegiance to the Taliban and its reclusive leader Saturday following a three-day meeting that failed to address thorny issues such as the right of teenage girls to go to school. The Taliban — who seized power last August — have since tried to present the meeting as avote of confidence in their vision of a pure Islamic state totally subservient to sharia law. They insisted last week that women would be represented at the meeting — attended by over 3,500 men — but only by their sons and husbands. “Statements released or pledging allegiance to the Taliban in any gathering or event without the presence of half of the nation's population, the women, are not acceptable,” Hoda Khamosh, a rights activist currently in exile in Norway, said. “This summit. . . does not have legitimacy, validity, or the approval of the people. ” In Kabul, a collective of women’s groups also slammed the clerics’ meeting as not representative. “The ulema (clerics) are just one part of society, they are not the whole,” organiser Ainoor Uzbik said. “The decisions they made serve only their own interests. There was nothing for women on the agenda, nor in the communique. ”

SYDNEY FLOODS: TENS OF THOUSANDS TOLD TO EVACUATE

A man has died and thousands of people have been told to evacuate their homes amid torrential rain and major flooding in Australia's largest city, Sydney.

Roads have been cut off, with 18 evacuation orders in western Sydney alone and warnings of more to come.

"This is a life-threatening emergency situation," Stephanie Cooke, emergency services minister for the state of New South Wales, said.

Australia was hit by major flooding in March, killing 20 people, many in NSW.

"We are now facing dangers on multiple fronts - flash flooding, riverine flooding and coastal erosion," Ms Cooke told a media briefing.

Her warning came as the Bureau of Meteorology said up to 350mm of rain had hit certain areas, risking flooding along the Nepean river.

Sydney's main dam had also started to spill overnight - a further concern for the authorities.

Ms Cooke said this was a "rapidly evolving situation" and warned that people should be "prepared to evacuate at short notice".