Drone footage shows devastation in Ukraine’s Chasiv Yar

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Drone footage exclusively obtained by The Associated Press shows months of Russian artillery pounding have devastated a strategic city in eastern Ukraine. Chasiv Yar is a strategic high ground, and capturing it would set the stage for a potentially broader Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine that Ukrainian officials say could come as early as this month. The footage shows a skeletal ghost town, with few residents left. Apartment blocks are reduced to charred facades, and streets are pockmarked with massive craters. The destruction is reminiscent of what remained of Bakhmut and Avdiivka that Ukraine gave up after months of bombardment.

Iran files charges over BBC report on teen girl allegedly killed by security forces

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iranian prosecutors have filed criminal charges against activists and journalists following a BBC report that alleged security forces “sexually assaulted and killed” a 16-year-old girl during the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. Nika Shakarami’s death also sparked widespread outrage. In Shakarami’s case, authorities said she died after falling from a tall building, something immediately disputed by her mother who said her daughter had been beaten. The BBC report — published this week and relying on what it described as a report written for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard — says Shakarami was detained by undercover agents who molested her, then killed her with batons and electronic stun guns after she struggled against the assault.

Workers’ May Day rallies confront turbulent times

ISTANBUL (AP) — Workers and activists around the world are marking May Day with largely peaceful rallies against rising prices and calling for greater rights. Pro-Palestinian sentiments are also on display. Police in Istanbul fired rubber bullets to disperse thousands of people who tried to reach the main Taksim square in defiance of a ban. In Paris, some workers set makeshift Olympic rings on fire. In South Korea’s capital, thousands of protesters expressed frustration with the government. In Lebanon, people sought the end to a miserable economic crisis. “Tax the rich,” one banner in Germany read. “I want to live, not survive,” read one in France.

Over 500 baby sea turtles washed ashore in a big storm off South Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A South African aquarium is stretched beyond capacity after more than 500 baby sea turtles were washed up on beaches by a rare and powerful storm and rescued by members of the public. The little turtles are mostly endangered loggerheads. They will spend the first few months of their lives in newly built plastic tanks at the Turtle Conservation Center at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. The center has a normal capacity of 150 turtles. Turtles are vulnerable to extreme weather and climate change. But the storm has given conservationists a valuable insight into another increasingly common danger: plastic pollution.