A giant blueberry that tips the scales at a whopping 20.4 grams (0.71 ounces) officially entered the record books this week.

The record-breaking berry measured 39.31 millimeters (1.55 inches) across, roughly the same size as a table tennis ball. It was grown in Corindi, New South Wales, Australia, by staff at blueberry grower Costa Group.

It is from the Eterna variety, which senior horticulturalist Brad Hocking said is known for its large fruit size, crisp texture and long shelf life, according to a statement from the company published Tuesday.

“Eterna as a variety has a really great flavour and consistently large fruit. When we picked this one, there were probably around 20 other berries of a similar size,” Hocking said in the statement.

The previous record for heaviest blueberry was held by a 16.20-gram (0.57-ounce) berry grown in Western Australia in 2020, according to Costa, which develops new varieties of blueberries that can be grown in different conditions.

“This really is a delightful piece of fruit,” said Hocking in the statement. “While the fruit is large, there’s absolutely no compromise on quality or flavour as would be expected when developing a premium variety blueberry.”

Other notable fruits that appear in the Guinness World Records include a strawberry weighing 289 grams (10 ounces), grown by Israeli farmer Chahi Ariel, which earned the record for world’s heaviest strawberry in February 2022.

And in August 2019 a monster grapefruit broke two records and became the world’s heaviest and largest grapefruit by circumference.

Weighing more than 7 pounds 14 ounces and measuring 28.75 inches, it was about the size of a regulation basketball and weighed as much as a baby or a chihuahua.

“I cannot now reassure you, anyone, because all these war prisoners are facing the same bombardment and starvation our people (are) facing on the ground,” said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, even as he “absolutely” denied the allegations of sexual abuse.

During the interview, Naim rejected defining Hamas’ attacks as terrorism, falsely claiming that his organization does not target civilians. Instead, he blamed Israel for carrying out what he claimed is “state terrorism” in Gaza and reiterated Hamas’ calls for Palestinians to join in “armed resistance” against Israel during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began Sunday night.

Israel has denied targeting civilians and accuses Hamas of hiding behind civilian infrastructure. More than 31,000 people, a majority of whom are women and children, have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military campaign began, according the health ministry in the enclave.

Fate of hostages, sexual violence allegations

A week after a United Nations team led by UN special representative Pramila Patten said it found “clear and convincing information” that some women held hostage by Hamas had been raped or sexually abused, and that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the sexual violence was ongoing, Naim said he “absolutely” denied the allegations.

“She was not able to show any proof and solid evidence from an eyewitness,” Naim said. “She hasn’t met any of the victims.”

Patten’s team interviewed 34 people, obtaining firsthand accounts from released hostages as well as testimony from survivors, and witnesses, health and service providers, and first responders to the October 7 attack.

“Based on the first-hand accounts of released hostages, the mission team received clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment occurred against some women and children during their time in captivity,” the UN report says.

Hamas has denied international organizations any access to those hostages still in captivity to assess their wellbeing.

While Naim denied the allegations of sexual violence, he said Hamas was unable to account for the wellbeing of the hostages because of the continued bombardment of Gaza. A ceasefire, he said, was necessary to “collect more data” about their fate.

The odds of a ceasefire agreement materializing remain uncertain.

For weeks, mediators have described the deal as one that would happen in multiple phases, and the first stage would see the fighting pause for about six weeks and the release of around 40 Israeli hostages and a large number of Palestinians.

The proposal envisions that a permanent ceasefire would be agreed upon after that initial exchange of hostages and prisoners, as well as a deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas has consistently demanded a permanent ceasefire and the pullback of Israeli troops as a condition of any deal, which the Israeli government has rejected.

Upon receiving the latest proposal, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office called it “ridiculous” and said Thursday that “Hamas is continuing to hold to unrealistic demands,” but an Israeli delegation is being sent to Doha, Qatar for further talks.

“Our impression is it is not going to be easy to convince the Israelis of this,” the diplomat said.

“Do you believe that we are so naive to accept going for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire for six weeks or two months to give the Israelis all what (they are) looking for?” Naim said. “I think any, any rational politician around the world, he will expect to reach a permanent quiet, a permanent ceasefire so that we can go from this point out to relieve the people on the ground to rebuild the Gaza Strip again.”

Asked for a response to Naim’s remarks, an Israeli government official said: “Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government has freed 112 hostages to date and is committed to free all the hostages. Once Hamas’ delusional demands come down to earth, there can be another humanitarian pause for a hostage release deal,” the official said.

Israel has limited the amount of humanitarian aid entering key parts of the Gaza Strip and is responsible under international humanitarian law for ensuring that Gaza’s civilian population does not starve.

As for Hamas’ responsibility?

“First of all, yes, we have all the responsibility towards our people. And therefore, from day one, we have looked for ending this aggression and stopping the slaughter of our people. And we have contacted all the mediators to reach a final, total ceasefire. But you are accusing Hamas, as if we are the ones who are committing all these crimes, and who are blocking all the humanitarian aid to come into Gaza,” Naim said.

In recent weeks, many civilians in Gaza have increasingly blamed Hamas for the mounting starvation. When speaking about the distribution of aid, displaced individuals accused Hamas of taking humanitarian aid meant for civilians and taking it for its fighters.

Naim denied the claims, asserting that Hamas was “fighting for the people, and not fighting against the people.”

Ramadan and the ‘month of jihad’

The interview came during the first week of Ramadan, which has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in previous years. This year, it comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, Israeli crackdowns on Palestinian militant groups in the occupied West Bank and Hamas’ calls for more attacks.

Ahead of the interview, Hamas issued a statement calling on the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank “to continue clashing with the Zionist occupation in support of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and our steadfast people in Gaza, especially as we experience the blessings of the holy month of Ramadan, the month of jihad and resistance.”

Naim said Palestinians have a right to pursue “freedom and dignity” and an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital through both diplomatic means and what he called “armed resistance.”

But pressed on whether Hamas is seeking to inspire terrorist attacks against Israel during Ramadan, Naim rejected that label.

Naim also insisted that Hamas does not target civilians, but Israeli settlers armed with weapons and those responsible for violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Hamas killed hundreds of civilians – including women and children – during its attack on October 7 and has targeted civilians for years, in addition to carrying out attacks on Israeli forces.

The public absence of Catherine, Princess of Wales, has grown from a niche royal watcher concern to an international punchline in a matter of weeks. While Kensington Palace said her January abdominal surgery was planned and indicated she would be out of the public eye through March, several unusual details — grainy photos, an altered image, vague medical information, irregular updates from the British royal family — have kept the public guessing.

That’s never a good thing.

Catherine’s so-called disappearance has led TikTok and X users to swan dive into bizarre conspiracy theories and jokes so thickly intertextual it makes one wonder if social media really does give us brain worms.

Droves of amateur detectives have crafted timelines and deep dives into the princess’ movements over the last few months, combining real concern with outlandish conspiracy. Regular people moonlighting as photo forensics specialists have suggested recent images of Kate are fabricated, spinning theories on where she actually is and who they think is trying to cover up the “truth.”

And yes, there are a lot of jokes. At first, it was just the typical guffaws that arise whenever something socially noteworthy gets passed around the online peanut gallery: Maybe Kate got a Brazilian butt lift! Maybe she got terrible bangs and is hiding away until they grow out! Maybe she’s getting in shape after a long MLB offseason!

Then, after a Mother’s Day photo of the princess and her three children was believed to have been altered — and subsequently pulled by news agencies — things started to get more serious and more unhinged. Typically complimentary British media outlets began to ask more pointed questions. American TV shows openly made fun of what was quickly becoming a royal mess, even trotting out theories that had previously been the exclusive fodder of gossip enthusiasts — more on that in a bit.

Oh, and Kate still hasn’t been seen in public since December.

The uproar, the theories, the analyses, the jokes and, yes, the serious concern — they all show the multitude of ways people interact with and view the royal family.

‘Everyone loves a mystery’

It’s not hard to understand why people are so invested in this particular piece of drama. After all, it’s called “palace intrigue” for a reason. Across social media and on message boards — and indeed, even before the internet, royal-watchers have gathered to discuss who’s doing what, who’s on the outs, and whose secrets are the juiciest.

“They lead these unattainable, unrelatable lives, and yet I’ve been aware of them my entire life,” said Susan Graves. The 40-year-old moved to the US nearly 20 years ago from Birmingham, UK, and keeps up with royal news on sites like Reddit, where the r/RoyalsGossip subreddit has more than 44,000 subscribers.

“It feels like fiction, but it’s not,” she said. “It’s just real enough to be real, if that makes sense. Then you throw in stuff like a Photoshopped picture, and you can’t help but be intrigued at what’s going on.”

She says even friends who usually don’t care about the royal family at all are invested in the drama with the princess.

“Everyone loves a mystery. A lot of these people think it’s fun to look for clues, to guess at what’s happening behind the scenes. It’s the same casual stuff people do when they gossip about people they actually know.”

Both Graves and Wainsworth said shows like “The Crown” and controversies surrounding various members of the royal family — from the media treatment of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and the fallout of Harry’s memoir “Spare,” to more serious subjects like allegations surrounding King Charles’ brother Prince Andrew and even enduring interest in the life and death of Princess Diana — have influenced the way people see the monarchy.

“I don’t know if it’s because I’m American or what, but I just assume they’re always hiding something,” Wainsworth said. “Not [the royal family] specifically, just anyone in that kind of position.”

It all sounds very serious, but a majority of Kate truthers are, to borrow from our British friends, just taking the piss.

The social media platform X now supports groups known as “communities,” and one called “where TF is Kate Middleton” has attracted 4,400 members ready to cram on their sleuthing hats.

“kate is missing and twitter is on the case! join us, indulge your guilty pleasure,” its description reads. “friends don’t let friends spiral down the royal rabbit hole alone.”

Oh, and what a royal rabbit hole it is: Videos and posts in the group outline stories that could trump any fictional mystery-thriller. On the other hand, there are also Photoshop jobs of Kate holding hands with perpetual celebrity boyfriend Pete Davidson and jokes that Kate may be taking a spin on the reality show “The Masked Singer.”

People don’t know what to believe

It’s one thing for at-home gossip lovers to dive into royal conspiracy theories, but as Catherine’s absence from the public eye wears on, entertainment and media outlets are getting more bold in their speculation. On a recent episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert even openly entertained rumors about Kate and William’s personal lives.

In a single line, he also summed up how so many interested parties feel about the controversy: Concern for Kate as an individual, but a guilty hunger for more details.

“My heart goes out to Kate. Now let’s dish the hot goss!”

The Daily Show mocked the Mother’s Day photo controversy with a faux London correspondent reading out a list of things that “were also Kate’s fault,” including “colonization and the whole Prince Andrew thing.”

Even the Dublin Airport got a shot in, tweeting an ironic image of an obviously Photoshopped Cillian Murphy from their “social media intern Kate.”

More dire than the growing transatlantic comedy routine is the apparent dissolution of trust between some media outlets and the royal family. After Catherine apologized for the doctored Mother’s Day image, the global director of one of the world’s biggest news and photo agencies said Kensington Palace, which released the photo, was no longer considered a “trusted source.”

“Like with anything, when you’re let down by a source, the bar is raised and we’ve got major issues internally,” AFP head Phil Chetwynd told the BBC in a radio interview.

The British Press Photographers’ Association released a statement urging Kensington Palace “to make the original images available for inspection so that we can assess what has been done” and “make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Members of the British media are also beginning to openly question the official narrative of Kate’s absence. “Feeding frenzy over Kate proves the royals MUST be more transparent,” reads a recent headline from The Daily Mail, an outlet that is generally sympathetic in its royal news coverage.

The royal response hasn’t calmed things

Throughout the whole controversy, official information from Kensington Palace, which is the London residence and office of Prince William and Kate, has been uneven. Royal experts have noted that the palace typically doesn’t respond to rumors about the royal family, yet has made the rare move of responding to unconfirmed reports of Kate’s condition.

At the same time, the palace hasn’t responded to calls for an unedited version of the Mother’s Day photo, or provided more information on Kate’s whereabouts.

Mark Borkowski, a London-based public relations and crisis communications expert, told People that the royal family’s long-standing culture of silence is not doing them any favors when it comes to quelling conspiracies about Kate’s absence.

“The difficulty now is because there is so little information about what’s happening to Kate, if they were going to project things are all normal in this way — with a photo that is now deemed to be fake — it is pretty damning about the floundering and the poor decision making that’s going on,” Borkowski said.

While some voices have called for speculators to give Kate and the royal family some privacy, and others have suggested completely reasonable explanations for Kate’s disappearance, the fact remains: For one reason or another, people care about the royals. And, as national figureheads, it is part of their duty to be cared about.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected commonplace chemical ingredients found in vinegar, ant stings and even margaritas around two young stars, according to NASA.

The complex organic molecules they observed using the space observatory’s Mid-Infrared Instrument included acetic acid, a component of vinegar, and ethanol — otherwise known as alcohol.

The team also found simple molecules of formic acid, which causes the burning sensation associated with ant stings, as well as sulfur dioxide, methane and formaldehyde. Scientists think sulfurous compounds such as sulfur dioxide might have played a key role on early Earth that eventually paved the way for life to form.

The newly detected molecules were spotted as icy compounds surrounding IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385, which are two protostars, or stars so young they have not yet formed planets. Stars form from swirling clouds of gas and dust, and the leftover material from star formation gives rise to planets.

The protostar IRAS 23385 is estimated to be 15,981 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way, according to previous research.

The new observation intrigues astronomers because the molecules detected around the stars could be crucial ingredients for potentially habitable worlds, and those ingredients could be incorporated into the planets that will likely eventually form around the stars.

Space is full of heavy metals and chemical elements and compounds that have been created and released by star explosions over time. In turn, the chemical elements become incorporated in clouds that form the next generation of stars and planets.

On Earth, the right combination of elements allowed life to form, and as famed astronomer Carl Sagan once said, “We are made of star-stuff.” But astronomers have long questioned just how common the elements necessary for life are across the cosmos.

The search for complex molecules in space

Previously, scientists using Webb discovered types of ice made of different elements in a cold, dark molecular cloud, an interstellar clump of gas and dust where hydrogen and carbon monoxide molecules can form. Dense clumps within these clouds can collapse to form protostars.

Detecting complex organic molecules in space is helping astronomers to determine the molecules’ origins as well as those of other larger cosmic molecules.

Scientists believe that complex organic molecules are created by the sublimation of ices in space, or the process when a solid changes to a gas without first becoming a liquid, and the new Webb detection lends evidence to that theory.

“This finding contributes to one of the long-standing questions in astrochemistry,” said Will Rocha, team leader of the James Webb Observations of Young ProtoStars program and a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden University in the Netherlands, in a statement. “What is the origin of complex organic molecules, or COMs, in space? Are they made in the gas phase or in ices? The detection of COMs in ices suggests that solid-phase chemical reactions on the surfaces of cold dust grains can build complex kinds of molecules.”

A study detailing the new protostar findings has been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

A peek at the early solar system

Understanding the form that complex organic molecules take can help astronomers better understand the ways that the molecules become incorporated in planets. Complex organic molecules trapped in cold ices can eventually become part of comets or asteroids, which collide with planets and essentially deliver ingredients that could support life.

The chemicals found around the protostars may mirror the early history of our solar system, allowing astronomers a way to look back at what was present when the sun and the planets that orbit it, including Earth, were forming.

“All of these molecules can become part of comets and asteroids and eventually new planetary systems when the icy material is transported inward to the planet-forming disk as the protostellar system evolves,” said study coauthor Ewine van Dishoeck, professor of molecular astrophysics at Leiden University, in a statement. “We look forward to following this astrochemical trail step-by-step with more Webb data in the coming years.”

The team has dedicated the results of their research to study coauthor Harold Linnartz, who died unexpectedly in December shortly after the paper’s acceptance for publication.

Linnartz, who led the Leiden Laboratory for Astrophysics and coordinated measurements used in the study, was a “world leader in laboratory studies of gaseous and icy molecules in interstellar space,” according to a release from Leiden University.

He was reportedly thrilled by the data Webb was able to capture, and what the findings might mean for astrochemistry research.

“Harold was particularly happy that in the COM assignments lab work could play an important role as it has been a long time getting here,” van Dishoeck said.

The British government has published a new definition of extremism in response to a surge in hate crimes following Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, a move critics warn could threaten free speech.

The new “more precise” definition deems extremism to be an “ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance” that has several aims, such as to “negate or destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”

Groups or people who meet that definition will be prohibited from working with or receiving funding from government departments. The new definition has no legal standing and does not affect current criminal law.

The government said the new definition was necessary due to a rise in hate crimes since the October 7 attacks. A statement said there had been a 147% increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the UK in 2023 compared to 2022, and a 335% increase in anti-Muslim hate cases in the last four months.

“The pervasiveness of extremist ideologies has become increasingly clear in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks and poses a real risk to the security of our citizens and our democracy,” Michael Gove, a senior British cabinet minister, told parliament as he unveiled the new definition.

“This is the work of extreme right-wing and Islamist extremists who are seeking to separate Muslims from the rest of society and create division within Muslim communities.”

The crisis in the Middle East and the UK’s response has led to civil and political tensions. Marches in support of Palestinians have become regular events in cities across the UK. While the vast majority of these demonstrations are peaceful, there have been examples of anti-Semitic chants, including the “from the river to the sea” chant widely used at rallies that is sometimes intended to call for the destruction of Israel.

A number of parliamentarians say they have received threats from protesters over their position on the Israel-Hamas conflict. This is of particular concern, as two British lawmakers have been murdered in recent years, one by a far-right extremist and one by an Islamist extremist.

There has also been a significant jump in far-right activity in recent months, though this is less directly related to the conflict in the Middle East. The UK’s most recent net migration figures hit a record high and reducing these numbers has become a key priority of the incumbent Conservative government.

The current climate has affected political discourse, with politicians accusing each other of being controlled by Islamists or supporting genocide.

However, it is not clear that the government’s new definition will help ease tensions and has been criticized across the political spectrum.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, warned the new definition could “vilify the wrong people and risk yet more division,” saying Muslim communities in particular were at risk.

Even the normally pro-Conservative newspaper The Daily Mail said “the best intentions can have unintended consequences,” asking if the new definition could apply to gender critical activists or anti-abortion campaigners.

No individuals or organizations have been formally defined as extremist yet, but the government is expected to release details in the coming weeks.

However, in his announcement, Gove named some Muslim and neo-Nazi groups as ones that would be assessed.

At one time, tigers lived across the Eurasian continent, from the Caspian Sea to the Russian Far East, south to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, and Bali.

Today, though, they live in just 10 nations, occupying a fraction of their former range.

Habitat loss remains a constant threat. That’s why conservationists have teamed up with NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Google Earth Engine to create a new real-time monitoring system for tiger habitats.

Called “TCL 3.0” (standing for “Tiger Conservation Landscapes”), the mapping system provides tiger-range countries with the information they need to identify priority areas, and monitor changes in the habitat and populations, says Eric Sanderson, an ecologist and first author on a study published in Frontiers in Conservation Science in December.

This new method of habitat modeling creates a “much more dynamic” map that will provide vital information at the same pace as decisions about conversation are made, says Sanderson, adding that protecting the tiger’s home habitat is a win for the whole ecosystem.

“(Tiger landscapes) are also producing clean water and helping sequester carbon,” he says. “They’re supporting many, many other species, not just the ones that tigers eat. In that sense, tigers are a really good harbinger of our relationship to the natural world.”

Real-time mapping

This is not the first effort using satellite imagery to map tiger landscapes. The original iteration, called the “tiger conservation unit analysis” was produced in the late 1990s, and the second, TCL 2.0, in 2006.

These previous maps were static, but with improvements in technology, conservationists saw a way to make a real-time system.

Modern mapping uses geographic information systems, known as GIS. It’s a technology that interprets and visualizes spatial data, such as how landscapes have changed over time, population densities, or the distance between different locations.

Satellites provide constant, high-resolution imagery, which is used to analyze suitable landscapes from space. But this doesn’t show what’s going on under the tree canopy, so the second layer of data comes from “human footprint analysis” — data collected from field surveys about the spread of urban areas and human activities. Sanderson and his co-authors gathered two decades’ worth of research, compiling 153,000 observations from more than 500 papers containing data from 2001 to 2020.

Unlike previous versions, the map can be updated when new information becomes available. For example, if a researcher in Assam, India, conducts a survey of tiger numbers in the area, they can share their results on the web-based mapping system, generating a new version of the map.

“The only issue is actually getting people to collect the tiger data and then share it, so that the system can show the effects on other results,” says Sanderson.

The map now shows in detail the expansion or regression of tiger territories, and exactly where has been surveyed when, instantly highlighting data gaps. Sanderson likens it to the kind of analysis commonly done with economic statistics.

“The GDP of your country tells you something at the time it’s measured, but what’s even more important is to see how GDP is changing over time — that’s how you see economic growth or recession,” he says, adding: “We’re trying to do this for tigers in a way that’s never been done before, (for) any species.”

Restoring hope

Between 2001 and 2020, the total area of Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCLs) declined 11%, according to the study, and further loss could risk the already vulnerable population of around 3,140 individuals.

But Sanderson says the biggest surprise from the research was the amount of available landscape for tigers. “I don’t think people were cognizant about the amount of habitat that’s in this restoration landscape category, or about how much habitat is actually available for tigers that’s unoccupied,” he says.

The study identified 226 “restoration landscapes” — areas that could host tigers, but currently don’t. With sufficient prey and connectivity to existing tiger habitats, the study estimates that it could allow for tiger populations to increase by 50%.

Conservationists can use the map to evaluate which areas have the greatest potential — for example, a restoration area close to an existing habitat could help the population grow if it’s connected through wildlife corridors or reforestation efforts, says Sanderson.

Launched earlier this year, the mapping system code is open source, so “with suitable modifications, this model could apply to other species,” he says, adding that groups at the Wildlife Conservation Society (one of the organizations that provided funding for the project) are already working on similar maps for vulnerable and threatened animals including lions, jaguars and bison.

When Sanderson first began working on tiger conservation decades ago, “there were a lot of predictions that there were going to be no more tigers in the wild anymore,” he says. Now though, “we’re a long way away from that, which is a remarkable thing.”

The mapping system shows the true potential for tiger conservation, which gives him optimism for the future, Sanderson says. “We can turn the corner on tiger conservation.”

Russian forces deported Bohdan Yermokhin from the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the spring of 2022, flew him to Moscow on a government plane and placed him into a foster family. He was sent to a patriotic camp near the capital where flag-waving staff praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and tried to teach him nationalistic songs.

The Ukrainian teenager was given a Russian passport and sent to a Russian school. And then, in the fall of 2023, not long before his 18th birthday, he received a summons from a Russian military recruitment office.

“(I was told that) Ukraine was losing, that children were used for organ donations there, and that I would be sent to war right away. I told them that if I was sent to the war, at least I would fight for my own country, not for them,” he said.

Yermokhin was part of a group of children known as the “Mariupol 31,” who were taken to Russia. Ukrainian authorities estimate that 20,000 children have been forcibly transported to Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. More than 2,100 children remain missing, according to official statistics, but the government says the real number could be much higher.

Last March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, for their alleged role in abducting and deporting Ukrainian children. Russia has publicly acknowledged the transfer of Ukrainian children without guardians, despite some having guardians or parents.

Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said his office was convinced that Russia’s efforts to turn Ukrainian teenagers deported to Russia – or living in occupied areas of the east – into soldiers were part of a wider drive by Putin to erase the Ukrainian identity. It is also an opportunity for Moscow to replenish its forces on the front lines.

(I was told that) Ukraine was losing, that children were used for organ donations there, and that I would be sent to war right away. I told them that if I was sent to the war, at least I would fight for my own country, not for them.”

Bohdan Yermokhin

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, it is illegal under the Geneva Conventions for an occupying power to compel or pressure the local population to serve in its armed forces. Human Rights Watch has said Russia is committing a war crime by doing so.

“The next step is forcing everyone to take Russian passports. If you don’t, you can’t access any services, you can’t get medical care in hospitals, for example… and the next step is mobilization. All men in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are put in a special recruitment database for the Russian military.”

Yermokhin said he went through the entire process described by Lubinets — although he said the Russians didn’t seem very consistent at times.

“I was always told that I was from Russia and that I was born in Russia, that there is no Ukraine, and that it simply did not exist, that Mariupol was Russia. But in my Russian passport, my place of birth was listed as ‘Ukraine, the city of Mariupol,’” he said, smirking.

Lvova-Belova herself confirmed that Yermokhin received a Russian passport and military summons. In a statement posted on her Telegram channel in November she said that the summons was not unusual, because “all citizens of Russia receive” it. She said that since Yermokhin was still a student, he would be able to defer his military service until after finishing his education.

‘We are losing these children’

Many of the children deported to Russia came from socially vulnerable Ukrainian families. Some had been orphaned or were placed in foster homes when their birth parents became unable to care for them.

It’s these children that Mykola Kuleba is most worried about. He heads Save Ukraine, a Kyiv-based non-governmental organization that specializes in bringing deported children back to Ukraine.

“We are losing these children. Many of them will never come back because they are growing up with this poison, with this horrible propaganda, they are very vulnerable to it,” he said.

Yermokhin said he saw this firsthand. He spent years living with foster families and in group homes after losing his parents as a small child and was in a boarding school in Mariupol when Russian troops took over the city in May 2022.

“Many of us were abandoned by our guardians, abandoned by foster parents during the war… and then the Russians come in and they act in this hypocritical way, offering warmth and pretending that they care, and these children see this and think, well, this is better than it was there (in Ukraine),” Yermokhin said.

He said this happened to Filip, his best friend from Mariupol, who was reportedly adopted by Lvova-Belova. “His foster parents abandoned him in Mariupol during the war and he hadn’t seen any warmth since his (birth) mother died. Now he has it… but I want him to know that we are waiting for him here.”

“Out of the four of us mates from Mariupol, three are now here (in Ukraine) and we are waiting for him,” he added.

“If you look at history, Russians have done this (before), they also took children out of Chechnya and now these children (now adults) are fighting for them,” Yermohkin said, referring to Russia’s wars to reclaim the breakaway republic of Chechnya in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Kuleba said there is no doubt that the deportations are part of a wider strategy. “It’s a Russian strategy to turn Ukrainian children into Russian children and militarize them. They are kidnapping children, and they are erasing their identity, because they want to destroy the Ukrainian nation,” he said.

Singing the Russian anthem, wearing Russian uniform

Sixteen-year-old Artem’s experience is eerily similar to that of Yermokhin. He too feels like he was being groomed to become a Russian soldier.

He was one of 13 children taken by Russian soldiers from a school in the Kharkiv region in 2022. “We had no choice whether to go or not. We were told we were being evacuated, boys, girls, and small children,” he said.

“The Russian soldiers asked us whether we were (supporting) Ukraine or Russia. And we did not answer anything. The younger children were crying, and we tried to calm them down. We were scared ourselves, but we had to comfort the small children,” he added.

Artem said the group was taken to several locations within occupied areas of Ukraine before being brought to the city of Luhansk, where they started school.

“All the lessons were in Russian, and we were always told that Ukrainians were killing Russians,” he said.

“It was clear they wanted us to turn against Ukraine, but we made a pact (with the other children from his school) that we would not give into the attempts to turn us into Russians and we did not speak Russian,” he said, adding that the smaller children in the group were more at risk of being influenced by the propaganda and were often kept away from the older Ukrainian kids.

“We went to classes every day and were told to sing the Russian anthem. We tried to stand back and pretended to sing, but we did not sing,” he added.

The worst part, Artem said, was the uniform.

When I saw myself in the uniform in photos and videos on the Internet, I thought for myself that I was a traitor and that I betrayed Ukraine, I swapped Ukraine for Russia… even though I knew I was forced to do it.”

Artem

He said he and the other older children from the cohort were made to wear a uniform that was very similar to the Russian military uniform and had the letter Z — a symbol of support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — on its sleeve.

“It was made of rough material, similar in color to the uniforms of the Russian military. We were given it and told that when there were holidays, we had to wear it,” he said. “I really thought that this was it and that they gave me the uniform because I might be sent to the Russian army. It was scary.”

Artem said it was impossible to refuse — the teachers threatened the children with severe punishment if they failed to wear the uniform. Yet even then, he felt horrible about putting it on – especially when he found out he was used by Russia for propaganda machine in nationalistic videos.

In one video, Artem is seen with a group of children receiving boxes of tangerines from uniformed members of the National Guard. The children are prompted by their teacher to say, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” and give a thumbs up.

In another, he is in what appears to be a full replica of a Russian military uniform during what the school described as a celebration of the Russian national holiday known as “Defender of the Fatherland Day.” All the photographs were published by the school and are still publicly accessible.

“When I saw myself in the uniform in photos and videos on the Internet, I thought for myself that I was a traitor and that I betrayed Ukraine, I swapped Ukraine for Russia… even though I knew I was forced to do it,” he said.

Ultimately, both Artem and Yermokhin are among the lucky ones – they have managed to return to Ukraine.

Artem said he got hold of a cell phone and was able to reach his mother, who had spent six months not knowing what had happened to him. She was able to locate him and get him back home with the help of Save Ukraine.

Yermokhin tried to escape Russia twice, once through Belarus and once through occupied Crimea, but was caught and returned to Moscow on both occasions.

The Ukrainian authorities and his lawyer had been trying to get him out of Russia for some time before he received his Russian military summons, but those attempts were unsuccessful. He was only allowed by Russia to return to Ukraine upon his 18th birthday.

They tried to break me… Thinking of it all now, I am shocked that I got through it.”

Bohdan Yermokhin

Ukrainian authorities do not reveal the details of negotiations that lead to the return of Ukrainian children. They said a number of international organizations and third countries, including Qatar, were involved in Yermokhin’s repatriation.

Thousands of Ukrainian children remain in Russia and, according to Save Ukraine, some of them have been enrolled in military and naval academies across the country. The charity says it has been able to return 251 children to Ukraine so far and is helping them to readjust.

Every Monday for more than a year, Yermokhin recalled, he was expected to sing the Russian anthem during a flag-raising ceremony at his school. He tried to avoid it but, when forced to attend, found a way to avoid listening to the anthem and the nationalistic lecture that followed.

“There is such a thing as headphones,” he said. “You put them on and sit there, and no one sees what you’re doing.”

Looking back at his experience, Yermokhin said he might not have realized at the time how much pressure he was under. “They tried to break me,” he said. “Thinking of it all now, I am shocked that I got through it.”

Gaza’s health ministry says at least 20 people were killed and 155 wounded by Israeli shelling as they waited for desperately needed food on Thursday, a claim that Israel vehemently denied, as Palestinians increasingly face deadly violence in their search for aid.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a preliminary review found Israeli forces “did not open fire at the aid convoy in Kuwait Square,” instead claiming that “armed Palestinians opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid convoy.”

The death toll is expected to rise as casualties are still being transferred to the hospital, according to Mohammad Ghrab, a doctor at the emergency unit at Al Shifa Hospital. Earlier, a witness on the scene said dozens of people had been killed in the latest deadly episode at a food aid location in Gaza.

Graphic footage from the immediate aftermath of the scene filed by an eyewitness showed multiple bodies with traumatic injuries as well as pools of blood on a street strewn with rubble and dust.

A man identifying himself as Ibrahim Al-Najar, who went to Al Shifa hospital after the incident, said: “We were sitting there, and there was nothing. Suddenly, they bombarded us with shells. There are a lot of martyrs and injuries. We were there to bring food for our children.”

Ghrab, the doctor, said that about an hour after the event they had received more than 60 injured people. “Most of them are critical injuries, in the abdomen and the upper body. Until now, more than 15 injuries require urgent surgeries,” he said.

The health ministry said the incident was “a result of the Israeli occupation forces targeting a gathering of citizens waiting for humanitarian aid to satisfy their thirst at the Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza.”

“Medical teams are unable to deal with the volume and type of injuries reaching hospitals in northern Gaza due to weak medical and human capabilities,” the ministry said.

The attack took place amid a backdrop of extreme hunger and poverty in the besieged enclave due to Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering Gaza, where more than a half a million people are on the brink of famine, according to UN agencies.

The Kuwaiti Roundabout in Gaza City has become known as an area where aid trucks distribute food, attracting crowds of people desperate for supplies.

Israel denied being behind the attack on Friday, instead pointing blame at “armed Palestinians.”

In a statement, the IDF said: “A review of our operational systems and IDF forces on the ground found that no tank fire, air-strike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan civilians at the aid convoy.

“Approximately one hour before the arrival of the convoy to the humanitarian corridor, armed Palestinians opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid convoy,” the statement said. “As aid trucks were entering, the Palestinian gunmen continued to shoot as the crowd of Gazans began looting the trucks. Additionally, a number of Gazan civilians were run over by the trucks.”

The IDF claimed that “Hamas terrorists continue to harm Gazan civilians who are seeking food – and Hamas is blaming Israel for it.”

Gaza Civil Defense Spokesman Mahmoud Basal accused Israel of being behind the attack in a statement late Thursday.

“The Israeli occupation forces are still practicing the policy of killing innocent citizens waiting for relief aid as a result of the famine occurring in the northern Gaza Strip,” Basal said in a statement.

Israel has for months limited the flow of aid into Gaza, however, some trucks have been allowed into the northern part of the strip where hunger is most acute. Amid a collapse of public authority in Gaza, the arrival of aid trucks has sparked chaos and disorder that often leaves thousands at risk of harm during the distribution.

Attacks on civilians at aid stops

The incident at the Kuwaiti Roundabout followed earlier violence at the same site on Wednesday, where large crowds were waiting for a food distribution.

At least seven people were killed and 86 others injured after Israeli troops opened fire, according to health official and eyewitness.

Fathi Obaid, a doctor at Al Shifa’s emergency department said that many of the people who were transferred to Al Shifa after that incident suffered bullet wounds and the hospital was struggling to treat all the patients because of a shortage in medicine and medical equipment.

Nimr Abu Atta, a patient at Al Shifa who was shot in the abdomen, said he had been hit with “gunfire from an Israeli tank.”

Abu Atta said he went to the Kuwait Roundabout to pick up some flour for his children when he was hit. “My wife was killed two months ago in the war, and I am caring for my seven children,” he said.

Several deadly attacks by Israeli soldiers on crowds of civilians lining up for aid have been reported in recent weeks.

The Gaza-based Government Media Office said Tuesday at least 400 people have been killed in several similar incident since the beginning of the war.

“The targeting of those who are searching for aid to help satisfy their children’s hunger has intensified, especially in northern Gaza,” head of the media office, Salameh Maarouf said in a statement.

The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) said Monday it had documented 14 such incidents at two entrances of Gaza City between mid-January and the end of February, and at least 11 additional incidents between 1 and 8 March, during which at least 28 Palestinians were reported killed.

Last month, more than 100 people were killed in one of the worst single tragedies to occur during Israel’s war with Hamas. Israeli troops opened fire near civilians gathering around food aid trucks in northern Gaza, and many of the victims were fatally run over by trucks in the ensuing panic, in what has become known locally as the “Flour Massacre.”

Extreme hunger

More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the remaining population has been forced from their homes as Israel’s war against Hamas stretches into a sixth month.

The latest conflict in Gaza was triggered by attacks on southern Israel by Hamas gunmen in which more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and more than 200 people taken hostage.

Gaza’s entire population of roughly 2.2 million people are facing “crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity,” according to the World Food Programme, which recently warned child malnutrition in the enclave is “higher than anywhere in the world.”

Food shortages are reportedly the worst in northern Gaza, where Israel concentrated its military offensive in the early days of the war. Child malnutrition in the region is about three times higher than in southern Gaza, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Israel insists there is “no limit” on the amount of aid that can enter Gaza, but its inspection regime on aid trucks has meant that only a tiny fraction of the amount of food and other supplies that used to enter Gaza daily before the war is getting in now.

Jamie McGoldrick, a UN humanitarian coordinator who returned from a two-day trip to Gaza, warned Wednesday that hunger there has reached “catastrophic levels.” Adele Khodr, regional director of the UNICEF office in the Middle East and North Africa, said “people are hungry, exhausted and traumatized. Many are clinging to life.”

This story has been updated with further developments.

Populist firebrand Geert Wilders has conceded that he will not become the next prime minister of the Netherlands because his potential coalition backers have refused to back him.

Wilders’ far-right Freedom party (PVV) sent shockwaves through Europe after coming first in Dutch parliamentary elections late last year, securing 23.5% of the vote and 37 seats out of 150 available in what observers dubbed the Netherlands’ “Trump moment.”

But, after weeks of negotiations, Wilders failed to reach an agreement with other parties and announced he would not lead the next government.

“I can only become Prime Minister if ALL parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case. I would like a right-wing cabinet. Less asylum and immigration. Dutch number one,” Wilders wrote Wednesday on X.

“The love for my country and voter is great and more important than my own position,” he added.

Wilders had hoped to form a coalition with the center-right Freedom and Democracy Party (VVD) of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, which came third with 24 seats, and the newly formed New Social Contract Party, which came fourth with 20 seats.

The conservative coalition would have commanded 81 seats – enough for a majority in the Dutch parliament.

But Wilders’ path to the premiership was derailed when NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt last month withdrew from coalition talks with the PVV. Wilders said Omtzigt’s decision to “throw in the towel” was “incredibly disappointing.”

Despite a late surge in support for far-right parties before November’s election, Wilders’ inflammatory anti-Islam, anti-immigration, anti-European Union and Ukraine-skeptic platform was ultimately perceived to be beyond the pale for his potential partners.

The NSC’s and PVV’s refusal to cooperate with Wilders may represent the reassertion of the “cordon sanitaire,” a longstanding principle under which more mainstream parties refuse to cooperate with certain populist parties.

The cordon sanitaire has previously helped to keep extremists out of government. For instance, when the then-National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen (father of Marine) unexpectedly defeated the Socialist candidate Lionel Jospin in the 2002 French Presidential election, the Socialists swung their weight behind the center-right candidate Jacques Chirac, delivering him a landslide in the second-round runoff.

But the principle has been weakened in recent years as more center-right parties have proven willing to build coalitions with more extremist groups.

In Finland, Petteri Orpo – largely seen as dependable and level-headed – only replaced Sanna Marin as prime minister last year after allying with the nationalist Finns Party. Similarly, Swedish Prime Minister Ulif Kristersson relies on the votes of the increasingly Euroskeptic, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats.

Far-right leaders in Europe have enjoyed a series of recent victories, from Georgia Meloni in Italy to Robert Fico in Slovakia. Last weekend, fledgling radical right Chega party enjoyed a late surge in Portugal’s elections which could make it into a potential kingmaker.

Despite admitting defeat this time, Wilders pledged to continue his push to become prime minister in the future.

“Don’t forget: I will still become Prime Minister of the Netherlands. With support from even more Dutch people. If not tomorrow then the day after tomorrow. Because the voices of millions of Dutch people will be heard!”

As deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas continues, so too does a dire humanitarian crisis in the area.

At least 1,200 people have been killed in Israel and, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 31,000 people have been killed in Gaza after Hamas launched unprecedented attacks on Israel October 7. Subsequent airstrikes have overwhelmed local hospitals and internally displaced an estimated one million people in Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas on Earth.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling for the protection of aid workers, civilians, and critical infrastructure. Calling the situation “horrific,” Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is urging restraint after medical facilities have been destroyed in the fighting.

Impact Your World has gathered a list of vetted organizations that are on the ground responding. You can support their work by clicking HERE or using the form below.