While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, March 5
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Ukrainian soldiers at an artillery position near Bakhmut on March 3, 2023.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
Ukraine under pressure in Bakhmut; it’s a battle over roads
Ukrainian forces repelled multiple Russian attacks on Saturday in fighting around Bakhmut, which has come down to a metre-by-metre battle for vital roads that supply the city’s defenders.
But the Ukrainian military acknowledged that soldiers inside the city were encircled on three sides by a combined force of the Russian army and the Wagner private military company, which includes fighters recruited from prisons.
In a video, Wagner’s owner, Mr Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Friday taunted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that only one road remained open to the west of Bakhmut, a city in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian commanders say that a counterattack this past week pushed Russian forces away from at least one of the embattled roads, for the moment easing resupply for troops in the city.
Protests break out in Iran over schoolgirl illnesses
Worried parents protested in Iran’s capital Teheran and other cities on Saturday over a wave of suspected poison attacks that have affected schoolgirls in dozens of schools, according to Iranian news agencies and social media videos.
The so-far unexplained illnesses have affected hundreds of schoolgirls in recent months. Iranian officials believe the girls may have been poisoned and have blamed Teheran’s enemies.
The country’s health minister has said the girls have suffered “mild poison” attacks and some politicians have suggested the girls could have been targeted by hardline Islamist groups opposed to girls’ education.
Syrian boy fulfils dream of meeting Ronaldo after quake
A boy from Syria who told rescue workers after a devastating earthquake in February that he wanted to meet Cristiano Ronaldo came face to face with his idol on Friday after being invited to watch his club Al Nassr play in Saudi Arabia.
Nabil Saeed made the request to rescue workers in Syria in a video shared on social media last month following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Feb 6.
More than 50,000 people have died as a result of the quake.
Arsenal seal thrilling comeback win, Man City maintain chase
Arsenal staged a thrilling comeback to beat Bournemouth 3-2 and preserve their five-point cushion in the title race, after champions Manchester City turned up the heat earlier on Saturday by beating Newcastle United.
City’s 2-0 win earlier in the day sliced Arsenal’s advantage to two points, and when the leaders trailed 2-0 against relegation-threatened Bournemouth with an hour gone in north London it appeared their hold on top spot was weakening.
But goals from Thomas Partey and substitutes Ben White and Reiss Nelson – Nelson’s arriving in the seventh minute of stoppage time – sparked wild scenes of celebration.
Verstappen ‘positively surprised’ to be on pole for Bahrain GP
A new Formula One season has started, and champions Red Bull showed on Saturday they are still the team to beat after Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez clinched a one-two in qualifying for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday.
Reigning world champion Verstappen took pole position with a fastest lap of 1min 29.708sec, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz qualified third and fourth, with Fernando Alonso lining up fifth for Aston Martin.
“It has been a bit of a tough start to the weekend yesterday and today not really finding my rhythm, but luckily in qualifying we managed to put the best pieces together,” said Verstappen of his 21st career pole.