UKRAINE WAR: ZELENSKY ADMITS SLOW PROGRESS BUT SAYS OFFENSIVE IS NOT A MOVIE

President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that Ukraine's military offensive to recapture areas occupied by Russia has been slower than desired. He emphasized that the battle is not like a Hollywood movie and that people's lives are at stake. Ukraine has reclaimed eight villages in the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk, but the progress has been challenging due to extensive mining of Ukrainian territory by Russian forces.

Zelensky stressed the need for security guarantees from NATO and expressed the ultimate goal of Ukraine's membership in the alliance. However, NATO's secretary general stated that there were no plans to invite Ukraine to the upcoming summit.

Zelensky also requested US-made F-16 fighter jets for Ukraine and hoped for pilot training to begin in August. He participated in a Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, where he highlighted the role of the private sector in rebuilding the country.

Ukraine's economy shrank significantly in 2022, and the cost of reconstruction and recovery has been estimated at $411 billion. Zelensky emphasized the need for support in both recovery and transformation, including immediate steps such as providing housing, rebuilding infrastructure, and implementing reforms.

AUSTRALIA GIVES TWITTER 28 DAYS TO CLEAN UP

Australia's internet safety watchdog has issued a warning to Twitter, giving the platform 28 days to address the issue of "toxicity and hate" or face potential fines. Since Elon Musk took control of Twitter, the platform has become Australia's most complained-about platform. Twitter lifted bans on thousands of accounts, including those associated with Nazi rhetoric, leading to an increase in complaints about online hate. The e-safety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, who previously worked for Twitter, has demanded accountability and transparency from the platform. If Twitter fails to take sufficient action, it could face fines of 700,000 Australian dollars ($476,000) per day. While Musk has reduced the global workforce and content moderators since assuming control, the new CEO, Linda Yaccarino, has expressed a vision of making Twitter the world's most accurate real-time information source and a global communication hub.

SEARCH FOR TITANIC SUB ENTERS DECISIVE PHASE

The missing sub's crew are thought to have less than 10 hours of oxygen left, based on a previous estimate. Rescue officials say they have to remain "optimistic and hopeful" - 10 extra ships and several remote submarines will join the search today, more than doubling operations. But the captain leading the search has also said: "We don't know where they are, to be frank with you"

The search site has expanded because of sounds detected on Tuesday and Wednesday. It now covers an area twice the size of Connecticut and a sub-surface area 2.5 miles (4km) deep. It's not clear whether the noises came from the sub.

The Polar Prince - the research vessel the Titan was launched from - will remain the command centre for the search, sitting near the Titanic wreck site.

Camera-equipped remote-controlled vehicles (ROVs) will be scanning the depths of the seafloor throughout the day.

PAKISTAN ARRESTS 7 ‘TRAFFICKERS’ FOR KEY ROLE IN GREECE BOAT TRAGEDY

Islamabad : Pakistani authorities said on Wednesday they have arrested seven alleged key figures in a human trafficking ring following last week’s sinking of an overcrowded smuggling vessel off Greece that left over 500 migrants missing, including Pakistanis.

Police said the ring was engaged in smuggling Pakistanis into Europe and that the arrests took place over the last two days, as part of a government crackdown on traffickers. Thirty other suspects were arrested over the past few days in Pakistan and were being questioned for their role in facilitating smuggling activities.

Police continued raids across the country on Wednesday, in an attempt to arrest all involved in the migrant ship disaster. Pakistan's intelligence agencies are also helping local police in tracking smugglers who went underground.

Each of those who tried to make the perilous journey to Europe — hoping for a better life — paid the smugglers between $5,000 to $8,000, Pakistani authorities said. The boat which capsized off the Greek coast — while carrying as many as 750 people — on June 14 is one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea. Only 104 men survived and 82 bodies were recovered.

PM Shahbaz Sharif said efforts to dismantle trafficking rings would continue. He said Pakistan would seek the help of Interpol and other nations in tracking and arresting traffickers. As many as 150 relatives of Pakistani believed to have been on the ship have given DNA samples for cross-referencing with the recovered bodies.

BIDEN EQUATES XI WITH ‘DICTATORS’, CHINA PROTESTS

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday equated his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with “dictators” as he addressed a Democratic Party donors reception in the presence of journalists.

Speaking at a fundraiser in northern California, Biden said Xi had been angered over an incident in February when a Chinese balloon — which Washington says was used for spying — flew over the United States before being shot down by American military jets.

“The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn’t know it was there,” Biden said.

“I’m serious. That was the great embarrassment for dictators, when they didn’t know what happened.” Biden’s remarks come days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a visit to Beijing aimed at re-establishing lines of communication in order to avoid conflict between the two global powers.

Responding to Biden’s comments on Wednesday, Beijing slammed them as an “open political provocation”.

“The relevant remarks by the U.S. side are extremely absurd and irresponsible, they seriously violate basic facts, diplomatic protocol and China’s political dignity,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson told a briefing.

Meanwhile, Biden also revealed that Chinese President Xi Jinping was upset by the actions of the Quad, an alignment of the US, Japan, Australia, and India, which is seen as a counterpoint to Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Biden mentioned that Xi was particularly bothered by the US's insistence on reuniting the Quad. Biden assured the audience that the Quad's purpose was not to surround China but to ensure open air and sea lanes according to international rules.

CHINESE CARRIER PASSES THROUGH TAIWAN STRAIT

China’s Shandong aircraft carrier led a group of warships through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, Taipei’s Defence Ministry said. “The [Taiwan] military was closely monitoring our territorial air and sea movements and will respond accordingly,” it said.

Beijing has ramped up sea and air incursions around self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory, but the deployment of the Shandong through the waterway is a rarity.

U.S. BOMBERS LAND IN SWEDEN FOR TRAINING EXERCISES FOR FIRST TIME

STOCKHOLM: U.S. bomber jets have landed in Sweden for the first time in modern history for training exercises with the NATO invitee, the military said on Wednesday. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the presence of NATO troops would serve as a deterrent against any possible Russian actions from across the Baltic Sea.

AMAZON DUPED MILLIONS INTO ENROLLING FOR PRIME: US FTC

Washington : The US Federal Trade Commission filed suit against Amazon. com on Wednesday, accusing the retailer of enrolling millions of consumers into its paid subscription Amazon Prime service without their consent and making it hard for them to cancel.

The FTC filed suit in federal court in Seattle and said it alleged that “Amazon has knowingly duped millions of consumers into unknowingly enrolling in Amazon Prime”. The FTC said Amazon used “manipulative, coercive or deceptive user-interface designs known as ‘dark patterns’ to trick consumers into enrolling in automatically renewing Prime subscriptions”. Amazon Prime offers fast, free shipping on millions of items, various discounts and access to movies, music and TV series, as well as other benefits. Prime members in the US generally pay $139 per year and drive much of Amazon’s sales volume. The firm did not respond to a request for comment.

The FTC has been probing sign-up and cancellation processes for the Prime programme since March 2021. “Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” FTC chair Lina Khan said. Consumers who attempted to cancel Prime were faced with multiple steps to actually accomplish the task of cancelling, according to the complaint.

AT LEAST 46 DEAD IN GANG VIOLENCE, FIRE AT HONDURAS WOMEN’S PRISON

TEGUCIGALPA: At least 46 people were killed on Tuesday at a women’s prison in Honduras, where violent clashes between rival gangs sparked a fire that tore through part of the facility, the police said. The violence occurred when members of a gang burst into and shot at an area housing a rival group. It was unclear if they were all inmates.

IMRAN KHAN GETS PRE-ARREST BAIL IN MAY 9 RIOTS CASE

Lahore : A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Wednesday cancelled the arrest warrants against former PM Imran Khan and granted him pre-arrest bail till July 7 in two cases related to arson attacks during the May 9 violence which erupted following his arrest in a corruption case.

The PTI party chief appeared before Lahore’s anti-terrorism court amid high security and challenged the arrest warrants issued against him on Tuesday. “After a brief argument from Khan’s counsel, the ATC granted him pre-arrest bail till July 7 in both cases and asked him to submit surety bonds worth Pakistani Rs 1,00,000,” a court official said. After securing bail, Khan moved to the Lahore HC, where he sought an extension to his protective bail in the case of the murder of a Supreme Court lawyer in Quetta.

LOST REMBRANDT PORTRAITS TO BE SOLD AFTER 200 YEARS

A pair of Rembrandt portraits that were forgotten for 200 years have been rediscovered by an expert from Christie's auction house. The portraits, owned by a British family, are now set to be auctioned and are expected to fetch between £5 million and £8 million. The oval-shaped portraits, believed to date back to 1635, depict Jan Willemsz van der Pluym, an elderly plumber, and his wife, who were friends of the artist. The paintings had never been thoroughly researched or addressed until now, according to Henry Pettifer, International Deputy Chairman of Old Master Paintings at Christie's. The current owners' ancestor purchased the portraits at a Christie's auction in 1824.