While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 18
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Ukrainian territorial defence fighters take part in a military drill on the southern coast of Ukraine, on Aug 17, 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
As Russia falters in Ukraine, Kyiv eyes threat from the north
As Russian forces fail to gain ground in eastern Ukraine and fortify defensive positions in the south, Ukrainian officials are warning of a buildup of Russian long-range missile systems to the north, in Belarus, which has served as a key staging ground for Moscow in the war.
Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the top commander of Ukraine's armed forces, said in a statement that the positioning of Russian missile systems along the Ukrainian border in Belarus "raises concerns."
He specifically cited missiles placed at the Zyabrovka airfield, about 25km from the border.
While it is not the first time that Ukrainian officials have warned about a threat from the north, the statement took on added urgency after explosions on Tuesday at a Russian ammunition depot in Crimea, the second Russian military target on the peninsula to be hit by blasts in a week.
Canada lawmakers plan Taiwan trip amid rising China tensions
Air Force soldiers clear the ground in front of an armed F-16V fighter jet, during a drill at Taiwan's Hualien Air Force base on Aug 17, 2022.
PHOTO: AFP
A delegation of Canadian lawmakers plans to visit Taiwan in October to seek economic opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region, Liberal Member of Parliament Judy Sgro said on Wednesday, a move that could further stoke tensions between China and the West.
The relationship between China and the West has worsened since US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this month against Beijing's wishes.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and is against foreign politicians visiting the island. Democratically governed Taiwan rejects China's claims.
Spacesuit battery glitch forces early end to Russian spacewalk
A Russian spacewalk outside the International Space Station ended hours earlier than planned on Wednesday, after a cosmonaut discovered an electrical issue with his spacesuit, US and Russian officials said.
Oleg Artemyev was roughly two hours into a six-hour spacewalk when voltage levels in his spacesuit’s battery began to unexpectedly drop, prompting flight controllers in Moscow to repeatedly order the cosmonaut’s immediate return to the space station’s airlock.
“Oleg, drop everything and go back,” a flight controller urged Artemyev from mission control in Moscow, as heard on a live feed of space-to-ground audio
WHO urges caution after dog catches monkeypox in Paris
Public health agencies have been advising those suffering from monkeypox to isolate from their pets.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The World Health Organisation called on Wednesday for people infected with monkeypox to avoid exposing animals to the virus following a first reported case of human-to-dog transmission.
A first case of human-to-dog transmission of monkeypox - between two men and their Italian greyhound living together in Paris - was reported last week in the medical journal The Lancet.
"This is the first case reported of human-to-animal transmission... and we believe it is the first instance of a canine being infected," Rosamund Lewis, the WHO's technical lead for monkeypox, told reporters.
Mendy rape accuser tells UK court she tried to fight off footballer
Mendy (above) is facing eight counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape, relating to seven young women.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
The UK jury in the rape trial of French footballer Benjamin Mendy was on Wednesday told by one of his accusers how she had shouted "stop" while trying to fight him off.
The 32-year-old woman's recorded interview was played at Chester Crown Court in north-west England.
She recalled how the 28-year-old Manchester City player, wearing just boxer shorts, had walked in on her having a shower at his house, where she had stayed the night with one of his friends.
