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Ukraine begins excavation of Bucha mass grave

AFP

Ukrainian investigators began to exhume a mass grave in Bucha, opening the early stages of what police say will be a war crimes case targeting Russian troops who occupied the Kyiv commuter town.

The grave — a long deep trench in the mud behind a gold-domed church — was used by Ukrainians to bury neighbours they claim were killed at the hands of Russian armed forces which arrived on February 26.

On Friday, crews wearing white forensic overalls were using a flatbed lorry fixed with a mechanical crane to remove corpses from the ditch.

The bodies were laid out on the ground and inspected by teams, including police officers poring over paperwork. 

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Most of the remains outside the grave, cordoned off by tape, were zipped inside black plastic body bags.

One man at work was wearing a gilet marked with the words “war crimes prosecutor”.

Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Niebitov said there were 40 bodies in the grave, including two members of Ukraine’s military forces.

He said bodies bore gunshot wounds, buttressing claims they were explicitly targeted by soldiers rather than collateral damage from air strikes and artillery fire.

“I can define these events as a war crime,” he said. “International law defines killing of civilians during any kind of military conflict as a war crime.”

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“These bodies will be extracted for the court investigation, they will be delivered to undergo forensic medical examination and an autopsy.”

The town of Bucha has become the growing focus of allegations of war criminality against troops ordered to invade Ukraine by President Vladimir Putin on 24 February.

On Saturday an AFP team discovered 20 dead bodies on a single street in the town, home to around 37,000 before the war.

Ukraine says Russian troops executed civilians.

The Kremlin has denied any hand in the killings and denounced photographs depicting the scene as fakery.

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International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

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International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.

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