The Slavyansk-na-Kubani administration filed a lawsuit in the Slavyansk City Court demanding that the Holy Protection and Tikhon Church be demolished. This is stated on the parish website, Novaya Gazeta Evropa noted . The church was built with his own money in 1993 by Father Viktor (Pivovarov). In 2023, he gave an anti-war sermon there and was persecuted by security forces. The lawsuit to demolish the church was filed on April 18, 2024.

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen pressured International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to drop her investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes against Palestine, The Guardian reports, citing several unnamed sources. According to the publication, Fatah Bensouda, who served as the ICC prosecutor from 2012 to 2021, began an official investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian territories in 2021.

The Finance Ministry has proposed introducing a progressive tax scale (personal income tax) on personal income with a rate of 13% to 22%, TASS reports . The relevant amendments were submitted by the department to the government for consideration. If approved, they will come into force in 2025. "The adoption of the proposed changes will ensure stable and predictable conditions for citizens, businesses and regions for the next 6 years.

Hackers from the RansomHub group claimed to have gained access to the confidential information of the wealthiest art collectors. They did this by hacking the Christie's auction house website, The New York Times reports . According to the publication, as evidence of the hack, the attackers published several names of collectors with their dates of birth on the darknet.

Pope Francis has apologized for insulting gays during a closed meeting with bishops, the Vatican said in a statement cited by the Associated Press. On Monday, Italian media reported that the pontiff made a homophobic remark during a closed meeting with bishops on May 20. During the conversation, they asked the pope whether gays should be allowed to study in seminaries, provided they remain celibate. The pontiff responded in the negative.

The German organization with Kazakhstani roots protests against the help of Ukraine. What is known about her and is she connected with the GRU? The Russian government is the main disinfector of Europe. She owns hundreds of thematic channels and publics that disseminate inaccurate information in order to influence public opinion in the EU. Particular attention of Russian propagandists is aimed at Germany.

Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) voted at their latest meeting to create a new body — a board of trustees. Vladimir Putin will be asked to head it, Kommersant writes . The Board of Trustees is necessary for interaction between academics and government officials, explained Gennady Krasnikov, head of the Russian Academy of Sciences: "These are issues that we have to resolve with various government agencies, including the government.

Russian bookstores and the Ozon marketplace have started selling books from the Freedom Letters publishing house. This was reported by the Agency, citing the founder of the publishing house, Georgy Urushadze. According to the publication, Dmitry Bykov’s novel “ZhD”, Ivan Filippov’s book “Mouse”, Sergei Davydov’s queer novel “Springfield”, as well as “Brodsky” and “Dovlatov” by writer and translator Lyudmila Stern have gone on sale.

Suppliers to luxury perfume makers use child labor. Minors collect jasmine for them, a key ingredient in creating some scents. Children are injured while collecting jasmine and work at night, which is prohibited by law in Egypt, the main supplier of the plant. The brands for which it is collected have repeatedly declared "zero tolerance" for child labor, the BBC reports , citing its own investigation.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed that Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina is in captivity. This was reported by the publication "Grati" with reference to the journalist's father Vladimir Roshchina. The publication's journalists claim that Vladimir Roshchin provided them with a response to his request to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

At least 23 people have died and about 300,000 more have been left without power in seven US states due to thunderstorms and tornadoes, the BBC reports . Forecasters say the storm has affected much of the country from Alabama to New York, with more thunderstorms, heavy rains, hurricane-force winds, hail and flooding expected in the coming days.

The mood among Western company executives regarding continuing to operate in Russia has changed since the invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reports . The publication reports that some companies that had previously announced plans to stop operating in Russia have changed their minds about leaving the country.

The Qualification Commission of Judges of Bashkortostan dismissed three judges who heard the case of a teenager for attempted drug trafficking. This is stated on the commission's website. The judges handed down and confirmed sentences for the young man despite the fact that he had not yet turned 16.

Pro-Kremlin accounts have flooded the Telegram messenger to spread disinformation, and Russian intelligence agencies are actively recruiting messenger users for minor sabotage in Europe. Information attacks inside Telegram have turned it into one of the main problems for European authorities, Bloomberg writes . The European Union conducted its own investigation, after which it identified the five most popular topics that pro-Russian propaganda in Telegram is aimed at.

Vladimir Putin went to Tashkent and spoke at a press conference. During the conference, he made a threat against European NATO member countries. As Meduza reports , Putin discussed with journalists the issue of Western countries providing weapons to Ukraine.