NATO vs Russia, Xi Jinping in Hong Kong, Trump & January 6, Paris attacks verdict

A day can feel like a year in Ukraine. On Thursday came a huge morale boost with the Russians forced to leave Snake Island, the strategic Black Sea outpost where a dramatic standoff unfolded in the opening days of the war. But just hours later, Moscow's missiles hit an apartment bloc in the nearby port city of Odesa. At least 19 people died. The Russian president travelled abroad for the first time since invading Ukraine in February, meeting in Turkmenistan with leaders of nations that border the Caspian Sea.

China's president also left the mainland for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan visited Hong Kong for the 25th anniversary of the British handover.

Pro-democracy activists see the visit, coupled with the swearing in of Beijing's handpicked new chief executive, as another nail in the coffin of Hong Kong's autonomy.

It was also the week where the US Congressional panel investigating the January 6th storming of the Capitol by pro-Donald Trump rioters heard the surprise testimony from an advisor to the then-president's chief of staff Mark Meadows.

Meanwhile, seven years on and after nearly 10 months of testimony, verdicts are in for the longest trial in French history. Sentences were on the heavy side in the Paris terror attacks trial, with life without parole for the sole survivor of the commando, Salah Abdeslam.

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Elise Marné and Florence Viala.

The World This Week will be on hiatus over the European summer, returning on September 9.

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