WORLD

Airbnb announced on Monday that it will offer “free, short-term housing” for refugees fleeing conflict in Ukraine. The platform’s efforts will focus on Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Romania, and could extend to providing longer-term accommodation. Airbnb announced the move in a blog post, stating that it would be funded by …

Russia seeks to save lives in the Donbass and punish those responsible for eight years of genocide and atrocities, Moscow’s envoy to the UN Vasily Nebenzia told the General Assembly during a session called to denounce the invasion of Ukraine. “Occupation of Ukraine is not part of our plans. The …

As their fears of catching Covid-19 fade, Americans are becoming less inclined to think that their fellow citizens should be forced to wear masks in public places, a new poll has revealed. About 50% of Americans favor requiring face coverings in public, down from 55% last August, according to a …

Toppling Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is the goal of the new wave of international sanctions introduced in response to Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, a spokesman for Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Monday. Downing Street later clarified that the spokesperson had “misspoken”. “The measures we are introducing, that …

Football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have banned all Russian teams from their competitions until further notice, as the two organizations issued a joint statement on Monday. “FIFA and UEFA have today decided together that all Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participation in both …

The Vatican has called on Russia to cease its military offensive in Ukraine and sit at the negotiating table in hope of putting an end to the offensive through diplomacy, which Pope Francis is said to be ready to mediate. In a statement on Monday, the Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal …

Taipei Cabinet spokesperson Lo Ping-Cheng released a statement on Monday, seeking to downplay individuals who have warned that “today’s Ukraine is tomorrow’s Taiwan.” “In all areas, the two cannot be compared,” Lo stated, accusing people of “trying to inappropriately link Ukraine’s situation with Taiwan’s.” The government official claimed individuals were …

Law enforcement officers in two Ukrainian towns have been authorized to shoot looters “on the spot,” the mayors have announced. A significant number of looting incidents have been reported across the country since the beginning of Russia’s military operation. Zhytomyr’s mayor Sergey Sukhomlyn in a Facebook video address mentioned an …

The Central Bank of Russia has suspended currency interventions in support of the ruble, the head of the regulator, Elvira Nabiullina, announced on Monday. According to Nabiullina, the regulator is unable to carry them out because of Russia’s assets freeze by US and EU member states. DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Russia has closed its skies for over two dozen European countries, as well Canada, on Monday. The move came after the EU banned Russian airlines from crossing into their airspace. European nations began banning Russian-owned airlines and Russian-registered aircraft shortly after Moscow launched a military operation against Ukraine early Thursday …