Nearly a million homes and businesses were without power as a result of the storm in southeast Texas. The city of Houston was hit hardest, where at least four people died, the Associated Press reports . Houston Mayor John Whitmire said two residents were killed by falling trees and another by a crane that overturned during the storm. Severe weather hit southeast Texas for the second time in a month. Strong winds blew out windows in high-rise buildings, knocked down trees and downed power lines.

Finnish customs auctioned off bicycles abandoned by refugees on the Russian border. This was reported by RBC with reference to the local publication Yle. The bicycles were confiscated from asylum seekers last fall. On May 16, customs put up a hundred bicycles for auction. All of them were sold. The cost of bicycles ranged from 25 to 160 euros. Some of them, as RBC notes, were in good condition, some were “obviously second-hand.” Most of the bicycles were produced in Russia by Stels.

They opposed conservative traditions for the unification of "patriots" and the opposition to combat them The 19-year-old Chechenka Leah Zaurbekova escaped from her relatives and left Russia with the help of human rights activists. The escape of Zaurbekova united human rights activists and Z-bloggers who opposed the “Chechen traditions” and for the consolidation of “patriots” and the opposition.

The capital's security forces helped 19-year-old Liya Zaurbekova escape from her relatives from Chechnya. They distracted members of her family, who demanded that the girl be given to them so that Zaurbekova could leave the police station and go to the airport. The head of the human rights project “Marem” Svetlana Anokhina told the publication “We Can Explain” about this.

Alexander Ionov, a member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC) , claims , citing unnamed sources, that Chechen Liya Zaurbekova has left Russia. At the same time, Ionov noted that there has been no confirmation of this information from Zaurbekova herself.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have enough artillery shells for the first time in two years of war. He is quoted by UNIAN. “For the first time during the war years, none of the brigades are complaining that there is no artillery shell. And this has been happening over the past two months,” Zelensky said, noting that a similar situation had developed even before the supply of shells under the Czech initiative.

Chinese social networks have begun removing posts in which users display personal wealth. The Guardian reports this. Chinese microblogging service Weibo said it was carrying out special efforts this month to control "objectionable content," including posts that "show off wealth and the worship of money." The company said in a statement that the work was aimed at posts and messages that showed expensive cars and real estate. They were removed from the service.

A hotline has been opened in the capital of Japan so that local residents can more often report raccoons that spoil crops and enter houses. Over the past decade, their number has increased fivefold, and authorities fear they could cause serious damage to the country's ecosystem, The Guardian reports .

In Astana, Russian military investigators detained former Russian contract soldier Kamil Kasimov, who had previously deserted from the army. This is reported by Important Stories. Kasimov’s brother, who lived with him, and Kazakh human rights activist Artur Alkhastov said that he was detained on April 23 at his workplace. The man was taken in a civilian car to a Russian military unit in Priozersk (Karaganda region of Kazakhstan).

The economic damage caused by climate change is six times worse than previously thought. The Guardian writes about this with reference to a study by scientists from Harvard and Northwestern universities. Researchers found that a one degree Celsius increase in global temperature leads to a 12% decline in GDP. This damage is greater than previously estimated.

The Russians are tired of propaganda, expect the end of the war from Putin and are afraid of the repetition of the fate of the Russian Empire The main hopes of Russians for the future are the speedy end of the war. They consider it beneficiaries not only to power, but also, for example, IT specialists, and even supporters of “Svo” do not expect anything good from Putin. The president turns into a symbol of hopeless future and is increasingly associated with problems, not achievements.

Research projects “Chronicles” , “Laboratory of Public Sociology” and ExtremeScan at the end of 2023 conducted eight focus groups in four Russian regions, in which 64 people participated. Russians were asked about their attitude to power and war, plans for the future and financial situation. To conduct this type of research, sociologists recruit small groups of people and ask them a series of questions. The researchers then analyze the responses and dialogues that emerged in the groups.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 59 priests who took an anti-war stance have been subjected to repression by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and security forces. Such calculations are provided by Novaya Gazeta Europe. The publication took into account cases of pressure on Christian priests serving in Russia and foreign dioceses and churches dependent on the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Israeli military has returned the bodies of three hostages killed by Hamas militants. The Guardian writes about this. Among those whose bodies were brought to Israel is 22-year-old German and Israeli citizen Shani Luk. The other two hostages killed were 28-year-old stylist Amit Buskila, and 56-year-old Yitzhak Gelerenter. The Israeli military did not provide details on where the bodies were found or other details.

The Abakan Garrison Military Court sentenced serviceman Sergei Voroshilov to six months in prison on charges of threatening to kill (Part 1 of Article 119 of the Criminal Code). The case was brought to the attention of Siberian Express. The press service of the court reported that in mid-August 2023, Voroshilov was drinking with his former partner. Out of jealousy, he hit her several times, choked her and threatened to kill her.