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The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Protests against Zelenskyy as drones torment Ukraine
For the first time since the war began three years ago, Ukraine was the scene of major anti-government protests earlier this month. The Guardian's correspondent in the country, Luke Harding, heads to the streets of Kyiv to hear from protesters angry at Volodymyr Zelenskyy's attempt to strip two key anti-corruption bodies of their independence – a move that he now seems to be retreating from. Harding tells Helen Pidd that the developments come at a difficult time for Ukraine. The UN estimates that Russian attacks killed more civilians in June than in any other month since the war began. Moscow is suffering huge casualties too, but seems unlikely to stop its offensive any time soon as it slowly gains territory in eastern Ukraine. So what happens next in the war? And is there any chance that Zelenskyy's position is under threat?
Straits Times
17-07-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Singapore Zoo celebrates reptile baby boom, including endangered species
Find out what's new on ST website and app. SINGAPORE – The Singapore Zoo welcomed nearly 20 young reptiles between April and June 2025, including the first successful hatchings of the Philippine crocodile and Chinese leopard gecko, both critically endangered species. The new additions include two painted terrapins, t hree Chinese leopard geckos and 13 wester n gaboon vipers. In a media release on J uly 17 , Mandai Wildlife Group said these breeding milestones support efforts within the international zoo community to maintain healthy, genetically diverse populations under human care. Curator of animal care (operations) Luke Harding said: 'Behind each successful hatching is a journey of perseverance, trial, and careful planning. Many of these species are notoriously difficult to breed in human care. That's why seeing them thrive is incredibly rewarding and meaningful for us.' As of June 2025, th e Singapore Zoo is home to about 80 reptile species, more than half of which are threatened. Across the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, which includes five wildlife parks, there are over 100 reptile species. Opened in 2017, RepTopia houses reptiles and amphibians from four geographical zones and features a viewing gallery that lets visitors peek into its working hatchery. The Philippine crocodile hatchling is the result of a careful breeding programme involving a pair named Reginald and Delilah, which arrived from National Aquarium Denmark in 2022 . The species is notoriously difficult to breed due to its aggressive nature, especially during mating season. To encourage pairing, the zoo relocated the 1 1-year -olds to a newly designed habitat with visual barriers, varied terrain, and a pond with adjustable dividers. Improved heating and lighting helped regulate the crocodiles' body temperatures and hormone levels. Delilah was soon observed nesting, and keepers decided to artificially incubate the eggs to increase their chances of survival. Tw o eggs w ere fertile. After weeks of monitoring and candling - a process using light to check development - one female successfully hatched on J une 10. She has since started feeding on small fish and crickets, and is growing well in an off-exhibit area. Another breakthrough cam e on April 2 9 with the hatching of two painted terrapins, also critically endangered. The zoo's herpetology team had worked nearly a decade to create the right conditions, relocating the adults to a new habitat with better basking spots, secluded nesting areas, and a diet rich in leafy greens. The hatchlings, both female, are now feeding on bok choy and sweet potato leaves. Both the Philippine crocodile and painted terrapin are listed as ASAP species, animals identified by the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Asian Species Action Partnership as requiring urgent conservation attention. The programme is hosted by Mandai Nature, the conservation arm of Mandai Wildlife Group. RepTopia also recorded its first successful hatching of Chinese leopard geckos, with three eggs producing healthy hatchlings on M ay 27, Jun e 24 and June 25. The eggs were incubated at temperatures between 23 and 26 deg C. A size comparison of a little Chinese leopard gecko and $2 note. PHOTO: MANDAI WILDLIFE GROUP The geckos, now active and feeding, sport dark bodies with white bands and bright orange eyes. On May 12, the zoo welcomed 13 western gaboon vipers, the first such births in about 10 years. To encourage breeding, the team simulated seasonal changes using a misting schedule and reduced the female's feeding frequency. Gaboon vipers have a broad head that resembles a fallen leaf. In the wild, this helps them blend in with the leaf litter on the forest floor. PHOTO: MANDAI WILDLIFE RESERVE The species gives birth to live young, known as ovoviviparity, and this clutch included five males and eight females. The snakes, venomous from birth, have the longest fangs of any venomous species. 'These hatchings provide valuable opportunities for research and knowledge sharing,' said Mr Harding. 'They deepen our understanding of species care and support collaborative breeding efforts among zoos globally.' The successes follow a record year for Mandai parks in 2024, which saw close to 1,000 animal births across 143 species , including 34 that are threatened. Among them were golden mantella frogs and poison dart frogs, both bred in carefully controlled environments. More hatchlings may be on the way. Eggs from New Caledonia giant geckos and the critically endangered Annam leaf turtle, with fewer than 50 left in the wild, are currently being incubated.
The Guardian
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Russia-Ukraine war live: US and European negotiators head to London for peace talks as Russian attacks continue
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Dan Sabbagh and Luke Harding report from Kyiv David Lammy, the British foreign secretary, will host US and European negotiators for fresh talks about Ukraine on Wednesday amid speculation that Russia has told Washington it might be willing to drop its claim to parts of Ukraine it does not occupy. The price would include the US making concessions to Moscow such as recognising the 2014 annexation of Crimea, though Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said no such proposal had been shared with him by the White House and that his country could not endorse it. The emerging US-Russia plan would envisage a ceasefire along roughly the existing frontlines once Moscow's territorial demand has been dropped, leaks suggest – something that Ukraine has indicated it could accept, as long it did not have to recognise Russian occupation as permanent or legal. Ukraine would be prevented by a US veto from joining Nato, a point largely accepted by a reluctant Kyiv. The only future security guarantees for Ukraine would be provided by a UK/French-led 30-country 'coalition of the willing' to provide a 'reassurance force', but this would not include the US. It had been hoped that Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, would attend the talks, but the state department said on Tuesday that would no longer be possible and that Keith Kellogg, the White House's Ukraine envoy, would be present instead. Share Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature A Russian drone hit a bus carrying workers in the Ukrainian city of Marhanets early on Wednesday, killing nine people in a wave of attacks that targeted civilian infrastructure in east, south and central Ukraine, officials said. 'The Russians attacked a bus with employees of the enterprise who were on their way to work in Marhanets,' Mykola Lukashuk, head of the Dnipropetrovsk region council, said on Telegram. Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, which includes Marhanets, in central-southern Ukraine, said nine people were killed in the attack, with at least 30 injured. Reuters reports Ukraine's emergency service said that there was also an attack on the Synelnykivskyi district in the Dnipropetrovsk region that injured two people and sparked a fire at an agricultural enterprise. Russia also launched 'a massive' drone attack on the central Ukrainian region of Poltava, injuring at least six people, the emergency service said in a post on Telegram messaging app. 'Solely the city's civilian infrastructure was under enemy attacks,' the emergency service said. Share Dan Sabbagh and Luke Harding report from Kyiv David Lammy, the British foreign secretary, will host US and European negotiators for fresh talks about Ukraine on Wednesday amid speculation that Russia has told Washington it might be willing to drop its claim to parts of Ukraine it does not occupy. The price would include the US making concessions to Moscow such as recognising the 2014 annexation of Crimea, though Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said no such proposal had been shared with him by the White House and that his country could not endorse it. The emerging US-Russia plan would envisage a ceasefire along roughly the existing frontlines once Moscow's territorial demand has been dropped, leaks suggest – something that Ukraine has indicated it could accept, as long it did not have to recognise Russian occupation as permanent or legal. Ukraine would be prevented by a US veto from joining Nato, a point largely accepted by a reluctant Kyiv. The only future security guarantees for Ukraine would be provided by a UK/French-led 30-country 'coalition of the willing' to provide a 'reassurance force', but this would not include the US. It had been hoped that Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, would attend the talks, but the state department said on Tuesday that would no longer be possible and that Keith Kellogg, the White House's Ukraine envoy, would be present instead. Share Good morning, welcome to our rolling coverage of the war in Ukraine. Here are the headlines … US and European allies will join their UK and Ukraine counterparts in London for the latest round of peace talks Leaks have suggested an emerging US-Russia plan would envisage a ceasefire along roughly the existing frontlines, with Moscow dropping further territorial demands, and the US recognising Russia's occupation of Crimea Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said no such proposal about Crimea had been shared with him, by the White House and that his country could not endorse it Ukraine would be prevented by a US veto from ever joining Nato, a point now largely accepted by a reluctant Kyiv A Russian drone hit a bus carrying workers in the Ukrainian city of Marhanets early on Wednesday, killing nine people in a wave of attacks that targeted civilian infrastructure in east, south and central Ukraine, officials said Share
The Guardian
08-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine war live: 11 killed in Donetsk as Russia steps up attacks after Trump defends Putin
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Welcome to our live coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war. Here's a snapshot of the latest to bring you up to speed. At least 11 people were killed and 30 wounded in Russian strikes on eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region late on Friday, the country's emergency service said on Saturday, raising the earlier death toll of four. At least nine buildings were damaged in the attack on the centre of Dobropillia, it said on Telegram. The regional governor said earlier that Russian forces had launched three night-time strikes on the town north of Pokrovsk, a focal point of their advance through eastern Ukraine, and according to initial information high-rise apartment buildings were involved. Emergency crews were at the site, Vadym Filashki said on Telegram. Meanwhile in Russia, thousands of Ukrainian troops who stormed into the country's Kursk region last August are almost surrounded by Russian forces there in a major blow to Kyiv, which hoped to use its presence as leverage over Moscow in any peace talks, Reuters has reported, citing open source maps. The news agency said the maps showed Ukraine's situation in Kursk had deteriorated sharply in the past three days, after Russian forces retook territory as part of a gathering counteroffensive that has nearly cut the Ukrainian force in two and separated the main group from its principal supply lines. The situation for Ukraine comes after Washington suspended its intelligence sharing with Kyiv and raises the possibility that its forces may be forced into a retreat back into Ukraine or risk being captured or killed. Military personnel carry the caskets of two soldiers killed by a glide bomb in Kursk, Russia, during their joint military funerals in Fastiv, Ukraine, last month. Photograph:In other developments: Russia carried out huge ballistic missile and drone strikes across Ukraine a day after the US stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv which had previously given advance warnings of attacks . The strikes came early on Friday as a Ukrainian delegation prepared to meet with US counterparts in Saudi Arabia next week for talks about a possible end to the war, report Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh . In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump appeared to criticise Russia's latest bombardment. The US president posted: 'Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely 'pounding' Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.' Separately, Trump said after the strikes that Vladimir Putin was 'doing what anybody would do'. 'I think he wants to get it [the war] stopped and settled and I think he's hitting them harder than he's been hitting them and I think probably anybody in that position would be doing that right now,' he told reporters in the White House. Trump also said he found it 'easier' to deal with Russia than with Ukraine in efforts to end the war and that he trusted Putin, the Russian president. 'I believe him,' Trump said. 'I'm finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine and they don't have the cards. It may be easier dealing with Russia.' Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to Russia's strikes by calling for a truce covering air and sea . 'The first steps to establishing real peace should be forcing the sole source of this war, Russia, to stop such attacks,' the Ukrainian president said on Telegram. Moscow has rejected the idea of a temporary truce, which has also been proposed by Britain and France. US aerospace company Maxar Technologies disabled Ukraine's access to its satellite images after a request from the Trump administration . Maxar said it had contracts with the US government and dozens of allied and partner nations and 'each customer makes their own decisions on how they use and share that data'. Zelenskyy's approval rating in Ukraine has risen by 10 percentage points since his White House spat with Trump , a survey by a leading Ukrainian pollster showed on Friday. The poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology – conducted from 14 February to 4 March – found 67% of respondents trusted Zelenskyy in March, up from 57% a month earlier. Iran's foreign ministry denied accusations by Emmanuel Macron that Tehran had supplied equipment to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, calling the French president's remarks 'baseless and false'. Share
