16″ May”2023″ AP
US expresses cautious support for African peace mission to Ukrainea and Russia, with African leaders eye peace mission to Ukrain and Russia”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy have agreed to welcome a group of African leaders to discuss a potential peace plan.
Ukraine says its troops have retaken about 20 square kilometres around Bakhmut but cautioned that Russian forces are continuing to advance inside the city.
Russian shelling in a Kharkiv village has killed at least two people, according to the top Ukrainian official in the region.
After the CIA published am video encouraging Russians to make contact via a secure internet channel, the Kremlin says its agencies are tracking Western spy activity.
US expresses cautious support for African peace mission to Ukraine, Russia
White House National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby has said the US would support any third-party proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine “as long as it can be seen as credible”.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had agreed to meet a group of African leaders to discuss a potential peace plan for the conflict.
“We would support any third-party peace proposal as long as it can be seen as credible, enforceable and sustainable. And for those three things to be the case, it’s got to be supported by President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people,” Kirby said, referring to the African proposal on Ukraine.
“That means that the Ukrainians have to be 100 percent behind it… It has to start with the UN Charter being a foundational element. And it has to start with President Zelenskyy’s support and his 10-point proposal [being] a part of that framework
Putin, Zelenskyy agree to receive African mission with peace plan
Putin and Zelenskyy have agreed to receive an African mission that will propose a peace plan, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says.
“My discussions with the two leaders demonstrated that they are both ready to receive the African leaders and to have discussion on how this conflict can be brought to an end,” Ramaphosa said at a news briefing with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“Whether that will succeed or not is going to depend on the discussions that will be held,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the peace plan is backed by the leaders of Senegal, Uganda and Egypt, adding that the UN secretary general, the US and Britain have also been briefed.
US charges former Apple Inc employee with attempt to steal technology, flee to Chinad
The US Department of Justice has said it charged a former Apple Inc engineer with attempting to steal the firm’s technology related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars, and then fleeing to China.
The case was among five announced on Tuesday aimed at countering alleged efforts to illicitly acquire American technology by nations including Russia, Iran and China.
Two of the cases involved what Department of Justice officials called procurement networks created to help Russia’s military and intelligence services obtain sensitive technology.
The United States and a coalition of 37 other countries have imposed export controls on Russia over the past year in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
IRC calls for grain deal to be renewed
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) calls for the Black Sea grain deal to be renewed as it risks further food market instability.
The grain from Ukraine and Russia represents as much as 90 percent of imports for countries in East Africa, which are currently experiencing a severe food security crisis.
Shashwat Saraf, East Africa emergency director at the IRC said, “Shortages of food in the system and lack of affordable fertiliser continues to push up prices, making it difficult for families in countries like Somalia to predict if they will be able to afford a meal the next day.
“Constructive extension of the grain deal means bringing in more food into the global system and as a result, helping to lower soaring costs and to maintain market stability.”
