News Polite

Squeezed between the Ukrainian and Russian front lines in an increasingly volatile battlefield in southeastern Ukraine, the small town of Orikhiv is constantly under fire, and Tamara Mikheenko, one of the few residents who remain, rarely leaves her basement. “All the time in the basements, at night, under fire,” Mikheenko, 70, said as yet another explosion thumped outside. “It’s very scary, like a lightning bolt, everything is falling apart, the house is falling apart.” Struggling to communicate through tremendous sobs on Tuesday, Mikheenko begged world leaders, including the presidents of the United States, Russia and Ukraine, to do whatever was necessary to stop the savagery, even as Russian forces appeared to be preparing a large offensive that officials said could steamroll Orikhiv in the coming days. “Let them agree to stop this madness,” she said. The night before, an explosion had ripped into the unoccupied house next door, violently jolting the dark cellar Mikheenko was hid...

French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted with tomatoes during his first appearance in public since his re-election on Sunday. Mr Macron was greeting the French people following his convincing victory in the presidential election when someone from the crowd hurled tomatoes at him. The tomatoes, however, missed the president. A video on Twitter showed Mr Macron, surrounded by his security, accepting greetings from his supporters when tomatoes were thrown at him. The tomatoes missed the French president and, instead, hit one of his security guards, who shouted “projectile”. The security officials immediately covered Mr Macron from all directions and then one of them unfolded a special umbrella to shield him from above. The incident triggered a brief commotion as security officials appeared to convince Mr Macron to move to a safer place. In the footage, we can see Mr Macron leaving the location after the incident. Mr Macron defeated his rival and far-right leader Marine Le Pen in t...