Russia has taken over operations of coal mines in the occupied Donetsk region, with work continuing even as fighting rages above. Following last week’s Russia-Africa summit in Moscow, local officials say coal mined in the region could soon be exported to the continent. 

Makiivka

The Russian economy has been impacted by a raft of global sanctions as world leaders try to pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Russian Sanctions

The Ukrainian coal fuelling Russia's steel industry

The end of a night shift for Nikolai and his fellow miners. They spent six hours every night down this vast coal mine in Makievka, near the city of Dunetsk. I've been doing this job for 18 years. There's no difference between night and day. Many were mobilized. We should do our duty. If we all go, the mining stops. The miners in the self-declared Dunetsk Republic, in the coal-rich Donbass region. It used to fill the Ukrainian steel industry before 2014, when Russian separatists took control of the area. Now, the majority of the coal deposits are within territories annexed by Russia. We've been working for ages. It's a 500 meters deep coal mine, 75 kilometers long. And we're heading towards where everything is being done. They're calling us, and we have to rush. These wagons carry coal from the mining area to the cage and to the mountain. It's our coal that we mine. It is a valuable quality that's used in steel production. Firstly, coke is made out of it, and then metal is made. It's in demand. It's an inhospitable place to walk, with minimum safety standards. But for the men walking here, it's their entire life, their bread and butter. Too noisy, too deep for them to catch the sound of shellfire above. I've been working in mining for 31 years. It's very difficult to work here, because there is not enough manpower. Most of the young men were mobilized. We go back to the city, where our families wait for us under artillery fire. We are patient. We are Russian people. We have our own Russian spirit. We have to endure to feed our families. The boys are fighting for freedom there, and we are mining coal here. That's why it is necessary to raise Donbass from its knees. That's how we live. Our education is shovel and coal. The outcome of their effort is loaded into wagons. Soon, the coal will be exported to customers on the Russia's banner. Not so long ago, it was Ukraine's. Aliashim Al-Jazeera, MaKievka

Arizona's Democratic governor signed a bill overturning an 1864 law banning abortion, a month after the state's supreme court said the Civil War-era rule was valid.

Arizona

Arizona governor signs bill repealing 1864 abortion ban

U.S. President Joe Biden said that both freedom of speech and the rule of law must be respected in protests at college campuses over Israel's war in Gaza. In response to a reporter's question, Biden said that the campus protests had not forced him to reconsider his policies in the Middle East.

Washington

Biden breaks silence on protests at University Campuses

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New York

More than 1,000 student protesters arrested across U.S.

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London

Voters head to polls in last test for U.K.'s Sunak

The US State Department accused Russia of having used a chemical weapon against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, while also announcing fresh sanctions against Moscow. In addition to the chemical agent chloropicrin, Russia also used "riot control agents (tear gas) as a method of warfare in Ukraine, also in violation of the CWC," the department said in a factsheet.

Zaporizhzhia

Ukraine Invasion

U.S. accuses Russia of using chemical weapons in Ukraine

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Council of the City of Sydney

Grave fears for brothers missing on Mexico surf trip

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Government hints at further tax incentives in Budget

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Bogotá

Israel-Gaza War

Colombia ends diplomatic relations with Israel

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, pushing to get more aid into Gaza, while urging Hamas to accept a deal that would halt fighting and bring some hostages home from the enclave.

Jerusalem

Blinken pushes for sustained aid into Gaza during Israel trip

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Tbilisi

Thousands protest against Georgia's 'foreign influence' bill

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Netanyahu vows to invade Rafah 'with or without' ceasefire deal

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Qantas app data breach exposes customer data

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The Hague

ICJ rejects measures over German arms exports to Israel

New York police have entered Columbia University and arrested protesters barricaded inside a building who have been calling on the New York school to divest itself from companies associated with Israel.

Police enter Columbia University, arrest protesters

A smiling and healthy-looking King Charles returned to public duties on Tuesday (April 30) for the first time since he was diagnosed in February with cancer, paying a visit to a treatment center for the disease in London.

King Charles returns to public duties, visits cancer center

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Hainault

Teenage boy killed in London sword attack

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Canberra

Brittany Higgins fails in bid to delay defamation trial

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Buenos Aires

Argentina's Milei slashes 24,000 government jobs

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Odesa

Russian missile attack kills five in Ukraine's Odesa

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Edinburgh

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf quits

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Lake Macquarie

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Columbia University suspends pro-Palestinian protesters

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Kharkiv

U.N. experts say North Korea missile landed in Kharkiv

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Madrid

Pedro Sanchez stays on as Spain's prime minister

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Riyadh

U.S., U.K. urge Hamas to accept Israeli truce proposal

G7 environment ministers have gathered in Turin for two days of talks, as hundreds of protesters demonstrated in the city, some burning photos of the G7 leaders who they accuse of failing future generations over the climate crisis.

Turin

Climate Crisis

Protesters call for climate action ahead of G7 meeting in Turin

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Russian Sanctions