World News Roundup: NATO allies wake up to Russian supremacy in the Arctic; Actor Kevin Spacey faces more sexual assault charges in Britain and more

The new charges follow a review of evidence gathered by British police. What we know about the missile blast in Poland A missile blast in NATO-member Poland that Ukraine blamed on Russia raised fears of a deeper confrontation between the U.S.-led military alliance and Russia amid the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two. U.S. President Joe Biden said the missile, which killed two people, was probably not fired from Russia and Moscow said it had not targeted the area.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

NATO allies wake up to Russian supremacy in the Arctic

The world's largest satellite ground station, on the Svalbard archipelago off Norway, is used by Western space agencies to gather vital signals from polar-orbiting satellites. This January, one of two fibre-optic cables on the Arctic seabed connecting Svalbard to the mainland was severed. Norway was forced to rely on a back-up link. In April 2021, another cable – one used by a Norwegian research laboratory to monitor activity on the Arctic seafloor – was ripped away.

Actor Kevin Spacey faces more sexual assault charges in Britain

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has authorised seven additional charges against Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey for a number of sexual assaults against one man between 2001 and 2004, it said on Wednesday. The new CPS charges include one of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent and others of indecent and sexual assault. The new charges follow a review of evidence gathered by British police.

Russia bars entry to Irish PM and 51 others

Russia said on Wednesday it was banning entry to 52 Irish politicians including Prime Minister Micheal Martin, accusing Dublin of waging "an aggressive anti-Russian propaganda campaign". The ban - also including Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the foreign, justice and finance ministers and a number of parliamentarians - was the latest in a barrage of largely symbolic moves by Russia against prominent figures from Western countries that have condemned its war in Ukraine.

Despite criticism, Russia hails 'balanced' G20 leaders' declaration

Russia on Wednesday hailed the G20 leaders' declaration, which mentions the "immense human suffering" caused by the war in Ukraine, as a "balanced text" that Russian diplomats worked hard to influence. The Russian invasion of Ukraine dominated the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, with wrangling over the wording of a final document lasting until the final hours of the summit.

What we know about the missile blast in Poland

A missile blast in NATO-member Poland that Ukraine blamed on Russia raised fears of a deeper confrontation between the U.S.-led military alliance and Russia amid the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two. U.S. President Joe Biden said the missile, which killed two people, was probably not fired from Russia and Moscow said it had not targeted the area. Many NATO allies called for thorough investigations and the alliance convened an emergency meeting.

G20 summit deplores war in Ukraine 'in strongest terms'

Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations deplored Russia's aggression in Ukraine "in the strongest terms" on Wednesday and demanded its unconditional withdrawal in a declaration adopted at the end of a two-day summit. The leaders of the world's biggest economies also agreed to pace interest rate rises carefully to avoid spillovers and warned of "increased volatility" in currency moves but it was Ukraine that dominated the summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Poland says missile that hit it was Ukrainian stray, easing concern of escalation

A missile that hit Poland was probably a stray fired by Ukraine's air defences and not a Russian strike, Poland and NATO said on Wednesday, easing global concern that the war in Ukraine could spill across the border. Nevertheless, NATO's chief said that Moscow, not Kyiv was ultimately to blame, for starting the war in the first place and launching the attack that triggered Ukraine's defences.

Explainer-NATO's Articles 4 and 5: How the Ukraine conflict could trigger its defense obligations

A deadly explosion occurred in NATO member Poland's territory near its border with Ukraine on Tuesday, and the United States and its allies said they were investigating unconfirmed reports the blast had been caused by stray Russian missiles. The explosion, which firefighters said killed two people, raised concerns of Russia's war in Ukraine becoming a wider conflict. Polish authorities said it was caused by a Russian-made rocket, but Russia's defense ministry denied involvement.

Ukraine seeks access to site of Poland missile strike

Ukraine wants access to the site of an explosion in eastern Poland which Western officials say was probably caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile, a senior Ukrainian defence official said on Wednesday. Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said Ukraine wanted a joint study of Tuesday's incident with its partners and to see the information that provided the basis for its allies' conclusions.

They call it 'The Hole': Ukrainians describe horrors of Kherson occupation

Residents in Ukraine's southern city of Kherson call the two-storey police station "The Hole". Vitalii Serdiuk, a pensioner, said he was lucky to make it out alive. "I hung on," the retired medical equipment repairman said as he recounted his ordeal in Russian detention two blocks from where he and his wife live in a tiny Soviet-era apartment.