Journalists packed a small courtroom in Kyiv for the trial of a captured Russian soldier accused of killing a Ukrainian civilian in the early days of the war — the first of dozens of war crimes cases that Ukraine's top prosecutor said her office is pursuing.

As the trial of 21-year-old Russian Sgt. Vadim Shyshimarin got underway in the capital, Russian forces suffered heavy losses in a Ukrainian attack that destroyed a pontoon bridge they were using to try to cross a river in the east, Ukrainian and British officials said in another sign of Moscow's struggle to salvage a war gone awry.

Ukraine’s airborne command released photos and video of what it said was a damaged Russian pontoon bridge over the Siversky Donets River in Bilohorivka and at least 73 destroyed or damaged Russian military vehicles nearby.

In the first war crimes case brought to trial, Shyshimarin could get life in prison if convicted of shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian man in the head through an open car window in a village in the northeastern Sumy region on Feb. 28, four days into the invasion.

EU hikes military aid for Ukraine as Sweden edges to NATO membership

Europe pledged another half billion dollars in military support for Kyiv and Sweden edged closer to joining NATO as the war in Ukraine entered its 12th week.

At a meeting of the world's most powerful democracies, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell promised Ukraine an extra 500 million euros ($520 million), bringing the bloc's total military aid to two billion euros.

Group of Seven foreign ministers are in the German sea resort of Wangels, where they are discussing the crisis with counterparts from Ukraine and Moldova.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian declared the G7 would provide support "over the long term... until Ukraine's victory."

Finland's leaders recommended their country ditch a decades-long posture of neutrality and join NATO as soon as possible.

In Sweden, a security policy review by parliamentary parties highlighted the advantage of becoming a member of the alliance.

UAE President and ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan passed away on  May 13

Sheikh Khalifa served as the President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi since November 3, 2004.

The Ministry of Presidential Affairs has announced 40 days of mourning for the passing of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

India abstained in the UN Human Rights Council on a resolution on the deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression, in which the Council reiterated its demand for an immediate cessation of military hostilities.

The UN SC condemned the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

The UN Security Council on May 13 night strongly condemned the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and called for "an immediate, thorough, transparent, and fair and impartial investigation."

The council statement reiterated "that journalists should be protected as civilians" and also condemned the injury to Abu Akleh's colleague.

Abu Akleh, 51, was a household name across the Arab world, revered for her coverage of Palestinian life under Israeli rule for the Al Jazeera satellite channel for the last 25 years.

She was shot dead  during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin. Journalists who were with her, including an Al Jazeera colleague who was shot and wounded, said Israeli forces fired upon them even though they were clearly identifiable as reporters.

Israel called for a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank and cooperates with it on security. But the Palestinians rejected a joint investigation and demanded an independent international investigation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel for her killing and said he would immediately ask the International Criminal Court to investigate.

The ICC launched an investigation into possible Israeli war crimes over a year ago, a probe Israel has rejected as biased. The Security Council did not use the word international, calling for an impartial investigation and stressing the need to ensure accountability.

Negotiations on the council statement were led by Norway, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

In a dramatic turn of events, Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed the 26th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on  May 12 , days after Mahinda Rajapaksa vacated the seat amid riots. Perhaps the only factor that works for Ranil is his experience because this is his sixth term as PM. He could well go down in Sri Lankan history as the weakest PM the country ever had.

For, his United National Party (UNP) scored a duck in the 2020 parliamentary polls with Ranil, too, losing his seat. He later wormed his way into Parliament on the basis of his party’s cumulative national votes. Ranil’s deputy Sajith Premadasa broke away from the UNP to form the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and become the main Opposition party in the country.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on May 14 said the government has set up a high-level committee to create an enabling eco-system for the development of cruise tourism in the country.

The committee comprises government officials and cruise industry players.

Sonowal on May 14 inaugurated the first two-day International Cruise Conference being held in Mumbai .

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the event, the minister said the government aims to make India the most attractive cruise tourism destination and the industry the world's largest one in the world.

The Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways also informed that the government has set up a Task Force under the Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and the Shipping secretary as its vice-chairman.

The high-level committee will assist the Task Force with its ideas and suggestions to the committee, he said.

Emphasising that the purpose of the international conference is to make India a cruise tourism hub, the minister said the government will provide whatever modern infrastructure is required to attain the objective.

He also expressed hope that the state governments will also play their role in the promotion of the industry, which is seeing demand coming back after being hit during the pandemic.

India aims to increase cruise passenger traffic from 0.4 million at present to 4 million.

The economic potential of cruise tourism is expected to go up from USD 110 million to USD 5.5 billion in the years to come, according to an official release.

To boost the cruise tourism industry in the country, the government has taken several initiatives, including infrastructure up-gradation, rationalisation of port fees, removing ousting charges, granting priority berthing to cruise ships, and providing e-visa facilities, among others, the release added.

Upgradation and modernisation are being carried out at seven major ports in the country, including the flagship New International Cruise terminal coming up in Mumbai with a total cost of about Rs 495 crore.

Sonowal asserted that the Indian cruise market has the potential to grow 10 folds over the next decade, driven by rising demand and disposable incomes.

The sea cruise terminal, coming up at BPX-Indira Dock, is expected to be commissioned by July 2024.

It will have a capacity of handling 200 ships and 1 million passengers per annum.

Similar infrastructure up-gradation is taking place in Goa, New Mangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata.

SBI, the country’s largest bank, posted its highest-ever quarterly profit at Rs 9,114 crore, a 41% YoY growth, in Q4 on the back of higher net interest income, which grew 15.3% year-on-year to Rs 31,198 crore. However, both numbers missed Street estimates, dragging down the stock by almost 5% to Rs 440.5 at closing.

Domestic net interest margin (NIM), a key profitability measure, grew 29 bps on-year but was flat sequentially. Operating profit grew just 0.08% year-on-year but rose 6.45% sequentially to Rs 19717 crore.

The figure that stood out was the 11% loan growth to Rs 28.19 lakh crore in Q4 from the year-ago quarter, driven by retail, personal loans (15.11% YoY) and foreign office advances (15.42% YoY). Home loans, nearly 23% of the bank’s domestic advances grew by 11.54%.

Deposits grew 10% to Rs 40.51 lakh crore with low cost or CASA deposits up 7.78% at Rs 17.75 lakh crore. Loan loss provisions at Rs 3,262 crore were down 67% YoY but up 5% sequentially. Asset quality improved with the gross non-performing asset ratio declining 101 basis points (1.01 percentage) YoY and 53 bps sequentially to 3.97%. The net non- performing asset ratio declined 24% yoy and 19% sequentially to 1.02%.

Emami net profit up 303% at R354 cr

FMCG major, Emami on May 13 , reported a 302% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 354 cr for Q4FY22, compared to Rs 88 cr in the same quarter a year-ago.

Tech Mahindra Q4 net profit up 39%

IT company Tech Mahindra on May 13  posted a 39% increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,506 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. It reported Rs 1,081 crore in the same quarter last year

BoB posts R1,779 cr profit in Q4

Bank of Baroda on May 13 reported a standalone profit after tax of Rs 1,779 crore inQ4FY22, helped by higher interest income and fall in bad loans. The lender had a loss of Rs 1,047 crore in the year-ago period. In the last financial year, the bank posted a standalone net profit of Rs 7,272 crore compared to Rs 829 crore in 2020-21

Exports rise by 30% in April, trade deficit widens by 31.5%

Food delivery giant Swiggy on may 13  said it has signed an agreement with Times Internet to acquire Dineout, popular dining out and restaurant tech platform. The deal is valued at about $200 million.

Swiggy said it will double down on the synergies with Dineout’s offerings, including dining out table reservations and events. Post the acquisition, Dineout will continue to operate as an independent app. 

Defending champions Spain and Germany have qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, to be held in India in October, after they reached the final of the UEFA European Championships.

Spain and Germany beat France and Netherlands respectively in the semifinals of the European Women's Under-17 Championship held in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

They face each other in the final on May 15 .

The winner of the third-place match between France and Netherlands, also slated on May 15 , will be the third team to qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup from Europe.

The FIFA has allotted three slots for Europe for the age group women's showpiece in India.

Germany and Spain join China, Japan, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and hosts India in securing their places for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, which will be held between October 11 and 30.

Only African representatives are yet to be known for the 16-team World Cup.

The final round of the African qualifying tournament is yet to be held.