AFP

Russian forces edged closer Wednesday to taking the key eastern Ukraine city of Severodonetsk but Kyiv’s hopes of holding off their invaders were boosted by a US pledge of more advanced rocket systems to help their defence.

The Russians had taken control of 70 percent of the key industrial hub, with Ukrainian forces withdrawing to prepared positions, Lugansk region governor Sergiy Gaiday said.

“If in two or three days, the Russians take control of Severodonetsk, they will install artillery and mortars and will bombard more intensely Lysychansk,” the Ukrainian-held city across the river, he said on Telegram.

Ukraine successfully stopped Russia from seizing Kyiv after its February 24 invasion but the campaign in the east has had a high cost, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that 60 to 100 soldiers were dying each day.

“The situation in the east is very difficult,” Zelensky told US newsgroup Newsmax.

With only Lysychansk remaining a pocket of resistance in the eastern Lugansk region, Severodonetsk has become a target of massive Russian firepower.

Oleksander Motuzianyk, spokesman for Ukraine’s defence ministry, said there was fighting in the streets in Severodonetsk and the Russians had reached the city centre.

“The Ukrainian armed forces are actively resisting them,” he said.

In a boost for the outgunned Ukrainian military, President Joe Biden confirmed that longer-range weapons were on the way.

The new weapon is the Himars multiple launch rocket system, or MLRS, a mobile unit that can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles up to 80 kilometres (50 miles) away.

They are the centrepiece of a $700 million package unveiled Wednesday that also includes air-surveillance radar, more Javelin short-range anti-tank rockets, artillery ammunition, helicopters, vehicles and spare parts.

– ‘Fuel to the fire’ –

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of “adding fuel to the fire”, saying that the weapons would not encourage Kyiv to resume peace talks.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Ukraine had promised not to strike into Russia — and dismissed suggestions that Washington was to blame for escalating with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Simply put, the best way to avoid escalation is for Russia to stop the aggression and the war that it started,” Blinken told reporters.

He promised that the United States would keep assisting Ukraine, saying there were no signs of Russia pulling back.

“As best we can assess right now, we are still looking at many months of conflict,” he said.

While some analysts have suggested the Himars could be a “game-changer”, others caution they should not be expected to suddenly turn the tables, not least because Ukrainian troops need time to learn how to use them effectively.

But they may improve morale after 98 days of war.

“If you know you have a heavy weapon behind you, everyone’s spirits rise,” one Ukrainian fighter on the frontline told AFP before the announcement.

– ‘Negative consequences’ –

Elsewhere, a missile struck transportation infrastructure near the comparatively stable western city of Lviv, injuring two people, regional governor Maksym Kozytsky said.

West of Severodonetsk, in the city of Sloviansk, AFP journalists saw buildings destroyed by a rocket attack in which three people died and six others were hurt.

And on Wednesday, at least one person died and two others were injured in Soledar, between Sloviansk and Severodonetsk, AFP saw.

The European Union has also sent weapons and cash for Ukraine, while levelling unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow.

Germany said Wednesday it would deliver an air defence system capable of shielding a major city from Russian air raids, although it will take months to get to the frontline.

EU leaders agreed this week to ban most Russian oil imports but played down the prospects of shutting off Russian gas on which many member states are hugely dependent.

Moscow said a “reorientation” was under way to find alternative destinations for its oil, as it moved to “minimise the negative consequences”.

The sanctions are biting — a panel of investors said Wednesday Russia has failed to pay $1.9 million of accrued interest on a sovereign bond.

And Russian energy giant Gazprom said its gas exports to countries outside the former Soviet Union dropped by more than a quarter year-on-year between January and May after losing several European clients.

– Denmark joins EU defence –

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked a rethinking of security for many Europeans, with Finland and Sweden shedding earlier reluctance to join NATO.

Denmark, a founding member of NATO, took a step further Wednesday by voting overwhelmingly to join the European Union’s common defense policy.

“Tonight Denmark has sent a very important signal. To our allies in Europe and NATO, and to Putin,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told cheering supporters.

“We’re showing that when Putin invades a free country and threatens the stability in Europe, we others pull together,” she said.

Russia’s invasion has killed thousands of people and sent millions of Ukrainians fleeing, but also risks triggering a global food crisis. 

Ukraine — one of the world’s main producers — will likely export only half the amount of grain that it did in the previous season, the Ukrainian Grain Association said.  

At the Vatican, Pope Francis pleaded against the use of grain as a “weapon of war”.

And in Glasgow, meanwhile, Ukraine’s national side played its first official match since Russia’s invasion, defeating Scotland 3-1, setting up a World Cup play-off decider against Wales.

Reflecting the views of many, army serviceman Andriy Veres, 44, said he had been hoping for victory.

“These days it is very important for the country, for all people, for all those who are fans and even for those who are not,” he told AFP in Kyiv.  

burs-ar/har-sct/bfm

Unprecedented restrictions on water usage went into effect Wednesday in the Los Angeles area, which like most of California is in the grip of severe drought for the third consecutive year.

More than six million customers are affected by the new measures, which limit watering gardens to one day a week and only during the coolest hours, under penalty of a fine and reduced water flow.

The goal is to reduce consumption by 35 percent in the area served by the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of southern California, which encompasses 19 million residents, or nearly half of the US state’s population.

“We have not had the supply to meet the normal demand that we have, and now we need to prioritize between watering our lawns and having water for our children and our grandchildren and livelihood and health,” the MWD said in an April statement announcing the restrictions.

The district, which acts on behalf of 26 local agencies, depends for its water supply on resources located hundreds of miles away. 

Nearly a third comes from northern California via the State Water Project, a colossal network of 21 dams and more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of canals and pipes that carry water south from the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. 

Due to chronic drought exacerbated by climate change, the State Water Project announced it could meet only five percent of its usual deliveries this year to MWD, which had no choice but to take the drastic new measures.

– Climate change and the ‘American cliche’ –

Rather than limiting watering to once per week, district agencies also have the option of reducing water consumption to about 80 gallons (300 liters) per day per person.

That was the option chosen by the city of Los Angeles, where watering is now restricted to two days per week. 

According to experts, water used for irrigation accounts for 70-80 percent of urban consumption in southern California.

“If we shift toward plants and landscapes that are more appropriate toward California climate, we could dramatically reduce our water use,” said Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, a think tank on water issues. 

Many homeowners had already made this choice during a 2012-2016 drought, when the governor of California imposed a 25 percent reduction in urban water consumption.

With climate change, “the American cliche of the green lawn with a white fence should not exist in California anymore,” said Javier, a gardener AFP met on an LA street unloading succulents in front of a client’s house. 

“Now it needs to be succulent plants and heat resistant vegetation,” he said.

“More and more people are asking for that. They prefer to have a nice front lawn with healthy low water plants and native plants, like succulents and cacti, rather than dirty brown grass,” he added.

According to the US Drought Observatory’s weekly bulletin, more than 97 percent of California was in “severe, extreme or exceptional” drought conditions on Wednesday. 

And many dams and water reservoirs are at levels well below normal, even before the start of summer. 

The Colorado River, another major water source for southern California and used by tens of millions of people in the American West, is also badly affected. 

According to a 2020 study published by the US Geological Survey, the flow of the Colorado has dropped by an average of 20 percent over the past century, and at least half of that decline can be attributed to rising temperatures.

In California, average summer temperatures are 1.6 degrees Celsius above their level at the end of the 19th century.

The white teenager accused of gunning down 10 Black people during a racist rampage at a supermarket in New York state was charged with domestic terrorism on Wednesday.

Payton Gendron, 18, was also slapped with ten counts of first-degree murder, a filing on the New York state court system website showed.

The 25-count indictment says Gendron was motivated by hate when he allegedly killed ten people and wounded three others during the mass shooting at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo last month.

The other charges filed by the grand jury include attempted murder and weapons possession.

Gendron will be arraigned in Erie County Court on the charges on Thursday at 2:00 pm (1800 GMT), a spokesperson for the prosecutor told AFP.

He had earlier pleaded not guilty to a single count of first-degree murder.

Gendron now faces murder charges for each of the ten victims, who ranged in age from 32 to 86.

New York’s domestic act of terrorism charge, which came into force in 2020, carries a life sentence.

Federal authorities are also reportedly considering filing hate crime charges against Gendron.

The self-declared white supremacist apparently planned his assault for months, targeting the grocery store because of its large surrounding African American population.

Wearing heavy body armor and wielding an AR-15 assault rifle, he allegedly livestreamed his attack online.

The May 14 shooting, and the Uvalde elemntary school massacre ten days later that killed 19 children and two teachers, renewed calls for gun control in America.

After weeks of explosive testimony and three days of deliberations, the jury delivered a split verdict on Wednesday in the blockbuster defamation case between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard.

And while the jury found that each had defamed the other, Depp celebrated the verdict as a victory and Heard declared herself disappointed “beyond words.” 

Here are some of the key moments from the blockbuster trial, which featured blistering claims and counterclaims of domestic abuse:

– The severed fingertip –

Hours of testimony during the six-week trial were devoted to a grisly incident in March 2015 in Australia, where Depp was filming the fifth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

The tip of Depp’s right-hand middle finger was severed during a heated argument with Heard at their rented home.

Depp said it occurred when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him.

Heard said she did not know how it happened but it may have been when he smashed a wall-mounted phone.

Both agreed though that Depp used his bloody digit to scrawl cryptic messages on walls, lampshades and mirrors in the home.

– Poop on the bed –

Among many bizarre incidents cited during the trial was a story about feces deposited one day on Depp’s side of the couple’s bed.

Depp said he was shown a photograph of “human fecal matter” on the bed after he and Heard argued during her 30th birthday party.

Heard tried to blame it on their dogs, Depp said, but “they’re teacup Yorkies, they weigh about four pounds each.”

Heard said one dog had bowel problems after eating some of Depp’s marijuana as a puppy.

As for the dogs, Heard accused Depp of once holding one of them out of the window of a moving car while “howling like an animal.”

The dog was unhurt.

– The witnesses –

Both sides presented multiple witnesses although rumored testimony by billionaire Elon Musk, Heard’s ex-boyfriend, and her co-star James Franco ultimately did not materialize.

But there were celebrity appearances.

Kate Moss, Depp’s former girlfriend, shot down a longstanding rumor he had once thrown the British model down a flight of stairs.

Moss said by videolink that it never happened.

Actress Ellen Barkin, another ex-girlfriend, testified Depp was jealous, controlling, and drunk “a lot of the time,” and once threw a wine bottle in a hotel room.

Other witnesses included bodyguards, agents, business managers, doctors, friends, relatives, and even the former doorman of the luxury penthouse complex where the couple once lived in Los Angeles.

Doorman Alejandro Romero probably spoke for many involved in the case when he said: “I am so stressed out. I don’t want to deal with this anymore.”

– The evidence –

Audio and video recordings of heated, profanity-laced arguments between Depp and Heard were entered into evidence.

In one video recorded by Heard in their kitchen, Depp is seen shouting, smashing glass cabinets and pouring himself an enormous glass of red wine.

Both Depp and Heard submitted photos of injuries they claimed were inflicted by the other.

Heard’s lawyers also presented photos purporting to show Depp passed out after drinking excessively or using drugs.

Text messages between Depp and various people were displayed in which he described in crude and violent language what he would like to see happen to Heard.

Depp’s lawyers downplayed the texts, saying he just had a colorful way of writing, similar to that of his late friend, the journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

   

– The Depp fans –

Fans of Depp queued up for hours daily to secure coveted seats in the public gallery for the trial held in Fairfax, Virginia.

While the spectators mostly behaved themselves, Judge Penney Azcarate threatened to expel them at one point during Heard’s testimony.

“If I hear one more sound, I will clear the gallery,” Azcarate warned. “Understood?”

Depp fans also waged a massive campaign on social media in support of the actor with the hashtag #JusticeForJohnnyDepp.

Heard said she had received thousands of death threats. “People want to kill me and they tell me so every day,” she said.

The trial was followed online by millions of people tuning in to livestreams. Many of them generated memes or animated GIFs in real-time, most frequently lauding Depp and ridiculing Heard.

– Damaged Hollywood careers –

Both Depp, a three-time Oscar nominee, and Heard claimed their careers have been damaged.

Heard, who starred in “Aquaman,” one of the top-grossing films ever, said she had to fight to retain a role in “Aquaman 2” and alleged that Depp tried to get Warner Brothers to cut her from the sequel.

Heard’s legal team presented an entertainment industry expert who estimated she has suffered $45-50 million in lost film and TV roles and endorsements.

An industry expert hired by Depp’s side said he has lost millions because of the abuse accusations, including a $22.5 million payday for a sixth “Pirates” installment.

But Tracey Jacobs, Depp’s former agent, said there never was a formal agreement for another “Pirates” film.

Jacobs also said the actor’s star had begun to dim since 2010 because of “unprofessional behavior” which included drinking and drug use.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday held a baby formula summit at the White House with advisors and executives from five manufacturers to discuss ways to end a nationwide shortage of the staple infant food.

Top executives from ByHeart, Bubs Australia, Gerber, Reckitt and Perrigo joined by video conference at the meeting featuring Biden, Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

The notable absence was anyone from Abbott, the US market leader whose recall of its formula in response to health and safety worries blasted a sudden hole in the nation’s supply.

The stark lack of baby formula on supermarket shelves is compounding a growing sense of unease for ordinary Americans as they navigate an uncertain economic post-Covid pandemic path.

Unlike other shortages and supply bottlenecks, this one has less to do with inflation or the uneven return to economic health among US trading partners worldwide.

With Abbott controling about 40 percent of the US market, the order by health regulators to shut down its factory in Michigan for safety reasons was enough to single handedly spark the crisis.

However, the Biden administration is scrambling to show that it has answers after what critics say was a stumbling initial reaction.

In addition to asking rival domestic manufacturers to step up production, the White House is running what it dubs Operation Fly Formula, using military transport for speedy shipping from manufacturers abroad.

Earlier Wednesday, the Biden administration announced that two more flights would leave in just over a week from Melbourne, Australia, to Pennsylvania and California, delivering the equivalent of 4.6 million eight ounce (237 milliliter) bottles of Bubs Australia infant formula.

With US regulators cutting red tape, Bubs Australia is planning to send 27.5 million bottles.

Addressing the CEOs, Biden said, “There’s nothing more stressful than the feeling you can’t get what your child needs.”

“That’s why I’ve directed my administration to use every tool available to increase the supply,” he added.

Ultimately, however, the United States needs to reform its market to broaden the supply chain, Biden said. “We need more entrants into the marketplace.”

The United States will send Ukraine four Himars artillery rocket systems, an additional 1,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles, and four Mi-17 helicopters in a new $700 million arms package, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl said Ukraine forces need about three weeks of training to be able to use the Himars, a highly mobile guided rocket launcher that could give the Ukrainians a distance and accuracy edge in the grinding artillery battle in the Donbas region.

Carrying six rockets at a time with ranges of more than 70 kilometers (42 miles), double that of US howitzers already in use on the battlefield, the Himars system “will provide Ukraine with additional precision in targeting at range,” Kahl told reporters.

Under the new aid package, the Ukrainian military will also receive five counter-artillery radars, two air-surveillance radars, 50 command launch units for the Javelins, 6,000 other anti-armor weapons, 15,000 artillery rounds, and 15 tactical vehicles.

This latest package takes the total amount of US security assistance for Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24 to $4.6 billion.

“Our support for Ukraine and that of the international community remains unwavering,” said Kahl.

Kahl said that the Himars systems, which Kyiv has been requesting for weeks, were already prepositioned in Europe for training and then delivery. In addition to the three weeks operations training, he said maintaining the equipment could require two more weeks.

They would be very useful for Ukraine forces to single out and strike high-value Russian targets, he said.

He confirmed that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had provided Washington assurances that the Himars would not be used to strike targets inside Russia, responding to US worries that doing so could incite Moscow to expand the war beyond Ukraine.

“President Biden has made clear we have no intention of coming into direct conflict with Russia,” said Kahl.