Reuters World News Summary

Following days of advances north and east of the second largest city Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces were within just several kilometres of the Russian border on Wednesday morning, one Ukrainian military source said on condition on anonymity.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Greece bans LGBTQ conversion therapy

Greece on Wednesday banned conversion therapy for minors, a practice aimed at suppressing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity and which the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community worldwide, as well as health experts, have condemned as harmful. Under the bill, which Greece's parliament approved, psychologists or other health professionals need a person's explicit consent to perform such treatment and face fines and a prison term if they violate the law.

Australia's #MeToo puts miners and ministers in crosshairs of history

Australia's mighty #MeToo wave is piling pressure on mining and political leaders who are preparing to face a reckoning over sexual harassment scandals stretching from the arid Outback to Parliament House. Over the past 18 months, thousands of women have exposed a culture of bullying and abuse in mining, the country's economic engine, as well as other workplaces, provoking public outrage and pledges of decisive action from politicians and executives.

Pro-Moscow leaders of occupied region seek to join Russia, Zelenskiy slams 'collaborators'

The Russian-occupied region of Kherson in Ukraine plans to ask President Vladimir Putin to incorporate it into Russia by the end of 2022, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Wednesday, quoting the military-civilian administration there. Kherson is the first region set to be annexed since Moscow began its military campaign in February saying it needed to disarm Ukraine and protect its Russian-speakers from "fascists". That rationale has been dismissed by Ukraine and the West as a baseless pretext for an imperialist war of aggression.

Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge

Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, and three others who helped run a now-disbanded Hong Kong fund for protesters were arrested by on charges of "collusion with foreign forces," and later released on bail. Zen, a 90-year-old former bishop of Hong Kong, was questioned for several hours on Wednesday at the Chai Wan Police Station close his church residence, before being released on police bail. The silver-haired Zen, wearing a white clerical collar, left without making any comment to the media.

U.S. calls out Russia, China opposition to U.N. action on N.Korea

The United States called out China and Russia on Wednesday for opposing further United Nations action on North Korea, warning that the Security Council "cannot stay silent any longer" as Pyongyang prepares for a seventh nuclear test. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, referred to "two council members" whom she said argued that restraint by the council would encourage North Korea "to stop escalating and instead come to the negotiating table."

Sounds of Ukrainian counter-offensive echo in ruined village near Russia's border

The near-constant crump of shellfire washed over this battered hamlet on Wednesday, testifying to fierce fighting beyond its wind-swept fields between Ukrainian troops pressing a counter-offensive and Russian forces that once occupied the area. While Ukrainian troops drove their foes from Vilkhivka in early April, the narrow lanes remain blighted by shrapnel, shell craters, and downed wires, and lined by houses pulverized into wood splinters and brick chunks.

Biden seeks to keep China in focus by welcoming ASEAN leaders

President Joe Biden will host Southeast Asian leaders in Washington this week, seeking to show his administration remains focused on the Indo-Pacific and the long-term challenge of China despite the Ukraine crisis. A two-day summit with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) begins with a White House dinner on Thursday before talks at the State Department on Friday.

Migrant disappearances quadruple in Mexico in 2021, says report

Reported cases of missing migrants in Mexico jumped nearly fourfold in 2021 from 2020, as the country struggles to stem the flow of undocumented people from Central America to the United States, according to a report released Wednesday. The number of missing foreigners grew by 292% to 349 from 89 cases, said the report presented by the Jesuits' Missing Migrant Search Program (SJM), a human rights organization.

Ukraine pushes Russian forces back, restricts gas flow to Europe

Ukrainian forces reported battlefield gains on Wednesday in a counterattack that could signal a shift in the momentum of the war, while Kyiv shut gas flows on a route through Russian-held territory, raising the spectre of an energy crisis in Europe. Following days of advances north and east of the second largest city Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces were within just several kilometres of the Russian border on Wednesday morning, one Ukrainian military source said on condition on anonymity. Before the advance, Russian forces had been on the outskirts of Kharkiv, a city 40 km (25 miles) from the frontier.

The underground networks of Russians helping Ukrainian refugees

Ukrainian refugees who reluctantly find themselves under Moscow's rule are receiving help from an unlikely quarter: networks of Russian volunteers helping those displaced by the war to leave Russia. When Bogdan Goncharov, his wife and 7-year-old daughter fled the shelling in their hometown of Mariupol in mid-March, they ended up in Russian-controlled territory in south eastern Ukraine. Fearful of being transported thousands of kilometres away after hearing other refugees were sent to Siberia, Goncharov said he contacted a Russian volunteer who arranged transport for them across Russia to the Estonian border.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)