Russia, Ukraine Exchange Group of Younger Prisoners of War
Russia and Ukraine carried out a POW exchange involving captives under 25, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russia and Ukraine have carried out a prisoner of war exchange involving POWs under the age of 25, Russia's Defense Ministry said Monday, adding that the swap was the result of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine earlier this month.
The June 2 Istanbul talks resulted in an agreement to conduct an exchange of at least 1,200 POWs on each side - focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded - and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in the war.
Both sides said it would be the biggest exchange once completed, something that was expected to happen in phases.
The return of prisoners of war and the return of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have been able to agree on, even as their broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not say in its statement how many POWs had been exchanged on Monday, but said both sides had swapped the same amount of military personnel.
Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said at the weekend that a first list of 640 POWs had been handed to Ukraine.
The Russian military said its returned servicemen were now in Belarus, a close Russian ally, where they were getting psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care.
The Kremlin had aid earlier on Monday that Russia was ready to honor agreements with Ukraine on the prisoner of war exchange and on the repatriation of dead soldiers despite what it said was Kyiv's failure to fully honor its side of the bargain.
Warner Bros Discovery said Monday it would split into two companies, separating its studios and streaming business from its fading cable television networks as the parent of HBO and CNN looks to compete better in the streaming era.
Its CEO David Zaslav will lead the streaming and studios business after the breakup, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will head the Global Networks unit that includes the cable assets.
A new publicly traded company, Global Networks will be home to CNN, TNT, TBS and Warner's dozens of other cable channels, including Discovery Channel and Food Network.
Comcast is making a similar move with its media brands by planning to spin off most of its NBCUniversal cable channels into a separate, publicly traded company that it officially branded as Versant in May 2025.
Splitting the company into the two standalone publicly traded companies essentially undoes the Warner Media and Discover Communications 2022 merger, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Like Disney and Paramount Global, Warner’s ratings and revenue have declined as viewers continue to abandon traditional pay television for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Zaslav has also been under increasing pressure to boost Warner Brothers Discovery’s (WBD) drooping stock price, down 59% since the 2022 merger.
Earlier this month, S&P Global Ratings downgraded Warner to junk status because of its cable network challenges.
Last week, 59% of Warner shareholders symbolically voted against the $51.9 million compensation package that Zaslav received in 2024, along with the pay packages for other top Warner executives.
Global Networks will absorb a significant portion of the $34 billion debt that Warner holds on its balance sheet. Currently, Global Networks is generating more revenue than Streaming & Studios, and has a stronger cash flow.
"By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today's evolving media landscape," Zaslav said.
The media industry is going through what some executives have called a "general disruption" as millions of subscribers abandon the once-lucrative cable TV for streaming.
Israel Seizes Greta Thunberg Activists' Boat Before Reaching Gaza
Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board early Monday, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas.
Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board early Monday, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas.
The activists had set out to protest Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, both of which have put the territory of some 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organized the voyage, said the activists were "kidnapped by Israeli forces" while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the territory.
"The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated," it said in a statement. It said the ship was seized in international waters some 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Gaza.
Israel's Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a post on X that "the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel."
That has piled pressure on companies to consistently produce hit studio content and boost profitability in their streaming businesses.
WBD had laid the groundwork for a possible sale or spin-off of its declining cable TV assets in December by announcing a separation from its streaming and studio operations.
The split will align the company with Comcast, which is spinning off most of its cable TV networks such as MSNBC and CNBC.
It said the activists would return to their home countries and the aid would be sent to Gaza through established channels. It circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, said the ship was still en route to Israel around midday Monday. It was expected to dock at the port of Ashdod.
Thunberg, a climate campaigner, was among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard.
"I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible," Thunberg said in a pre-recorded message released after the ship was halted.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the volunteers on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.
She was among six French citizens aboard the boat. French President Emmanuel Macron asked Israel to allow them to return to France as soon as possible, his office said in a statement.
Adalah, a rights group in Israel that said it was representing the activists, said Israel had "no legal authority" to take over the ship because it was in international waters and because it was headed not to Israel but to the "territorial waters of the state of Palestine."
"The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law," Adalah said in a statement.
After a 2½-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers and experts have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta, organizers said. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
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Russia, Ukraine Exchange Group of Younger Prisoners of War
Russia and Ukraine carried out a POW exchange involving captives under 25, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russia and Ukraine have carried out a prisoner of war exchange involving POWs under the age of 25, Russia's Defense Ministry said Monday, adding that the swap was the result of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine earlier this month.
The June 2 Istanbul talks resulted in an agreement to conduct an exchange of at least 1,200 POWs on each side - focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded - and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in the war.
Both sides said it would be the biggest exchange once completed, something that was expected to happen in phases.
The return of prisoners of war and the return of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have been able to agree on, even as their broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not say in its statement how many POWs had been exchanged on Monday, but said both sides had swapped the same amount of military personnel.
Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said at the weekend that a first list of 640 POWs had been handed to Ukraine.
The Russian military said its returned servicemen were now in Belarus, a close Russian ally, where they were getting psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care.
!summarize #jensenhuang #ai #semiconductors #nvidia
The Kremlin had aid earlier on Monday that Russia was ready to honor agreements with Ukraine on the prisoner of war exchange and on the repatriation of dead soldiers despite what it said was Kyiv's failure to fully honor its side of the bargain.
Warner Bros Discovery said Monday it would split into two companies, separating its studios and streaming business from its fading cable television networks as the parent of HBO and CNN looks to compete better in the streaming era.
Its CEO David Zaslav will lead the streaming and studios business after the breakup, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will head the Global Networks unit that includes the cable assets.
A new publicly traded company, Global Networks will be home to CNN, TNT, TBS and Warner's dozens of other cable channels, including Discovery Channel and Food Network.
Comcast is making a similar move with its media brands by planning to spin off most of its NBCUniversal cable channels into a separate, publicly traded company that it officially branded as Versant in May 2025.
Splitting the company into the two standalone publicly traded companies essentially undoes the Warner Media and Discover Communications 2022 merger, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Like Disney and Paramount Global, Warner’s ratings and revenue have declined as viewers continue to abandon traditional pay television for streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Zaslav has also been under increasing pressure to boost Warner Brothers Discovery’s (WBD) drooping stock price, down 59% since the 2022 merger.
Earlier this month, S&P Global Ratings downgraded Warner to junk status because of its cable network challenges.
Last week, 59% of Warner shareholders symbolically voted against the $51.9 million compensation package that Zaslav received in 2024, along with the pay packages for other top Warner executives.
Global Networks will absorb a significant portion of the $34 billion debt that Warner holds on its balance sheet. Currently, Global Networks is generating more revenue than Streaming & Studios, and has a stronger cash flow.
"By operating as two distinct and optimized companies in the future, we are empowering these iconic brands with the sharper focus and strategic flexibility they need to compete most effectively in today's evolving media landscape," Zaslav said.
The media industry is going through what some executives have called a "general disruption" as millions of subscribers abandon the once-lucrative cable TV for streaming.
Israel Seizes Greta Thunberg Activists' Boat Before Reaching Gaza
Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board early Monday, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas.
Israeli forces seized a Gaza-bound aid boat and detained Greta Thunberg and other activists who were on board early Monday, enforcing a longstanding blockade of the Palestinian territory that has been tightened during the war with Hamas.
The activists had set out to protest Israel's ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which is among the deadliest and most destructive since World War II, and its restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid, both of which have put the territory of some 2 million Palestinians at risk of famine.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which had organized the voyage, said the activists were "kidnapped by Israeli forces" while trying to deliver desperately needed aid to the territory.
"The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo — including baby formula, food and medical supplies — confiscated," it said in a statement. It said the ship was seized in international waters some 200 kilometers (120 miles) from Gaza.
Israel's Foreign Ministry portrayed the voyage as a public relations stunt, saying in a post on X that "the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel."
!summarize #disney #ai #hollywood #Layoffs #employees #bobiger
That has piled pressure on companies to consistently produce hit studio content and boost profitability in their streaming businesses.
WBD had laid the groundwork for a possible sale or spin-off of its declining cable TV assets in December by announcing a separation from its streaming and studio operations.
The split will align the company with Comcast, which is spinning off most of its cable TV networks such as MSNBC and CNBC.
It said the activists would return to their home countries and the aid would be sent to Gaza through established channels. It circulated footage of what appeared to be Israeli military personnel handing out sandwiches and water to the activists, who were wearing orange life vests.
Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, said the ship was still en route to Israel around midday Monday. It was expected to dock at the port of Ashdod.
Thunberg, a climate campaigner, was among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily a week ago. Along the way, it had stopped on Thursday to rescue four migrants who had jumped overboard to avoid being detained by the Libyan coast guard.
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"I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible," Thunberg said in a pre-recorded message released after the ship was halted.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, was also among the volunteers on board. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.
She was among six French citizens aboard the boat. French President Emmanuel Macron asked Israel to allow them to return to France as soon as possible, his office said in a statement.
!summarize #drones #tesla #wallstreet #ai #stocks
Adalah, a rights group in Israel that said it was representing the activists, said Israel had "no legal authority" to take over the ship because it was in international waters and because it was headed not to Israel but to the "territorial waters of the state of Palestine."
"The arrest of the unarmed activists, who operated in a civilian manner to provide humanitarian aid, amounts to a serious breach of international law," Adalah said in a statement.
After a 2½-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers and experts have warned of famine unless the blockade is lifted and Israel ends its military offensive.
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta, organizers said. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
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