Remains of eight Hurricanes dating back to 1940s conflict found south of Kyiv
Authorities in Ukraine have discovered the remains of eight British Hurricane fighter planes dating back to the second world war.
The aircraft, found near an unexploded bomb dating from the same conflict in a forest south of Kyiv, were sent to the Soviet Union by Britain after Nazi Germany invaded the country in 1941.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Ukrainians who fought against separatists tell of kidnap and torture by invaders; the fate of hundreds of others is a mystery
Viktor Kushyn knew Russian soldiers were after him. He sensed it from the first day of Moscow’s full-scale war on Ukraine in February last year, when Russians occupied his village in the Kharkiv region.
So when two Russian service personnel stopped him in the street one morning in May 2022, he didn’t resist. He spent the next few days locked in a cellar with other men who, like him, had fought against Russian-backed separatists between 2014 and 2022 in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.
Continue reading...Decision by UK and other European powers comes amid uncertainty over future of 2015 agreement
The UK and other European powers are expected to announce plans to breach the 2015 Iran nuclear deal for the first time when they confirm they are not going to lift sanctions on Tehran’s use of missiles this October as required in the agreement.
Donald Trump took the US out of the nuclear deal in 2018, but Germany, France and the UK remained inside the deal, even though Iran responded to the US walkout by breaching the agreed limits on the quality and quantity of enriched uranium. Iran is closer to producing weapons-grade uranium than ever before.
Continue reading...Bernie Wagenblast’s voice is known to millions of passengers on the AirTrain service. Now, at 66, she’s happy with a new life
One of the first voices millions of commuting New Yorkers hear each morning is the measured tone of former traffic reporter Bernie Wagenblast reminding them to stand away from the platform edge. Wagenblast, AKA “the voice of New York”, reminds AirTrain passengers at JFK or Newark that the doors are closing, and hosts a podcast about infrastructure, including episodes on Ohio’s bridges and wildlife crossings in Oregon. But that neutrally pan-American male voice, honed by years of practice to impart clarity and authority but not alarm, is changing.
Earlier this year, Wagenblast, 66, went on the radio to present herself publicly as a transgender woman, and has this month been participating in US Pride celebrations with gusto, including the march at Asbury Park on the Jersey shore. Wagenblast is still Bernie, but that’s now derived from Bernadette, not Bernard.
Continue reading...Putin’s admission of funding Wagner could open doors for war crimes trial; Zelenskiy warns of ‘serious threat’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Vladimir Putin’s admission that the Wagner group had been “fully funded” by the Russian state could make it easier for an international court to prosecute him for war crimes, experts in international law have said. In the year to May 2023 alone, Wagner reportedly received more than 86bn roubles from the state budget, or over a billion dollars.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that a “serious threat” remains at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and that Russia is “technically ready” to provoke a localised explosion at the facility. Zelenskiy cited Ukrainian intelligence as the source of his information and called for greater international attention to the situation at the facility, the largest nuclear plant in Europe.
Air defence systems were engaged early on Sunday in repelling a Russian air attack on Kyiv, Ukraine’s air force said. Witnesses heard blasts resembling the sound of air defence systems hitting targets, but there was no immediate information about potential damage.
A 51-year-old man has been killed and two others injured by shelling in Mala Tokmachka, a village near the frontline in the south-eastern region of Zaporizhia, local officials said. The head of the local military administration, Yuriy Malashko, described the site as a “frontline community under merciless enemy fire”.
US president Joe Biden will host Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson next week to talk about transatlantic security cooperation and the war in Ukraine, the White House said. The two leaders “will review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join Nato as soon as possible”.
Austria, a neutral country, announced its intention to join the European Sky Shield initiative, launched in 2022 by Germany against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer said the decision did not call into question the neutrality of the country but cited “a threat that has considerably worsened”. “We must and will take precautions to protect our country against the risk of drone or missile attacks,” he said.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez pledged the EU’s “unequivocal” support for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv on the first day of Spain assuming presidency of the bloc. Sanchez said his visit “demonstrates a clear and unequivocal political commitment” to Ukraine’s bid to join the EU.
Ukrainian president Zelenskiy has expressed frustration over the slow deliveries of weapons and lack of clarity over pilot training by “some” western nations. “There is no schedule of training missions. I believe that some partners are dragging their feet. Why are they doing it? I don’t know,” Zelenskiy said.
Two children have been injured in the Russian shelling of a residential area in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, according to the regional governor. A nine-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were injured and are receiving medical treatment.
Continue reading...In 2021 Emmanuel Macron promised victims of the city’s drug crime he would help. Grieving residents tell how he failed them
Inside, Emmanuel Macron was sharing a typically polished vision of a rejuvenated, safer Marseille. Yet it was outside the spruced-up gym in the impoverished Busserine district - tensions building on the hottest day of the year – where the real story was playing out.
Little more than 12 hours before the police killing of a 17-year-old boy 500 miles north in Nanterre would convulse the country, scores of officers clutching assault rifles and bulletproof riot shields clashed with teenagers of north African descent, trading insults as officers profiled potential troublemakers.
Continue reading...Truck lost control at notorious junction in Londiani, hitting people and vehicles in latest road catastrophe
The death toll of a road crash in western Kenya rose to 52 on Saturday, officials said, as rescuers worked to clear the wreckage from one of the deadliest traffic accidents in the country in recent years.
A truck carrying a shipping container veered out of control and ploughed into multiple other vehicles and people thronging a busy roadside junction on Friday evening, plunging the nation into shock and mourning.
Continue reading...Biden committed to rejoining body to ‘counter Chinese influence’ after Trump administration pulled out over ‘anti-Israeli bias’
The US is set to rejoin Unesco this month after a four-year absence from the global cultural and educational body that the country abandoned during the Donald Trump presidency over what his administration called “anti-Israeli bias”.
The United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s reunion with the US came after a two-day special session held at the body’s headquarters in Paris.
Continue reading...Foreign Office updates travel advice for France, saying location and timing of clashes is unpredictable
British holidaymakers travelling to France have been warned they could face disruption after four nights of unrest in reaction to the police killing of a 17-year-old boy of Algerian and Moroccan descent.
The Foreign Office has changed its travel advice, warning of the potential for disruption to travel, curfews and that the “location and timing of riots are unpredictable”.
Continue reading...Police braced for unrest after funeral for Nahel, killed by police on Tuesday, held near Paris on Saturday
More than 1,000 people were arrested in the fourth night of unrest, as family and friends prepare to bury the 17-year-old fatally shot by police.
Associated Press reports that France’s interior ministry said that 1,311 people were arrested as protesters once again clashed with police.
Continue reading...Gen Mark Milley says no one should have any illusions about difficulty of Ukrainian offensive
Here are pictures from Friday of family and co-workers attending the funeral of a young female killed in a missile attack that hit a restaurant in downtown Kramatorsk on 27 June.
The Guardian’s Shaun Walker, Andrew Roth and Pjotr Sauer have written an analysis about the likely vengeful response opponents of Vladimir Putin should expect after the attempted Wagner mutiny last weekend.
Continue reading...Bus was travelling on expressway to city of Pune when it hit a pole, overturned and caught fire
At least 25 people were killed and eight others injured after a bus caught fire on an expressway in western India, police said.
The bus was travelling to the city of Pune when it hit a pole and overturned in the early hours of Saturday, causing its diesel tank to catch fire, a senior police officer told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
Continue reading...National broadcaster embroiled in a real-life drama over clandestine payments to its star presenter
It has become Ireland’s top-rated show – a tale of celebrity, secrets and lies that has entranced the public and dominated the airwaves. Some reckon it is the most gripping drama ever produced by RTÉ.
Unfortunately for the national broadcaster, it is an all too real scandal over clandestine payments that has engulfed its star presenter and senior managers and planted a question mark over RTÉ’s future.
Continue reading...Former far-right leader will only be able to seek elected office again in 2030, when he will be 75
The political future of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has been cast into doubt after electoral judges banned him from running for office for eight years for abusing his powers and peddling “immoral” and “appalling lies” during last year’s acrimonious election.
Five of the superior electoral court’s seven judges voted to banish the far-right radical, who relentlessly vilified the South American country’s democratic institutions during his unsuccessful battle to win a second term in power. Two voted against the decision.
Continue reading...‘He understands Julian is suffering and is concerned,’ says Stella Assange after audience with pontiff
Pope Francis has met Stella Assange, the wife of the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder, who said the pope’s gesture in receiving her was evidence of his “ongoing show of support for our family’s plight” and concern over the suffering of her husband, Julian.
After the audience, Stella Assange said Francis had sent a letter to her husband in March 2021, during a particularly difficult period. “He has provided great solace and comfort and we are extremely appreciative for his reaching out to our family in this way,” she told the Associated Press. “He understands that Julian is suffering and is concerned.”
Continue reading...Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate warns that staff are leaving Zaporizhzhia as Moscow has mined power units; Pope Francis calls for peace
Overnight, the BBC has been reporting that recruitment continues at Wagner mercenary offices across Russia, despite the fallout from the weekend’s armed mutiny. It writes:
Using a Russian phone number, we called more than a dozen recruitment centres saying, if asked, that we were inquiring on behalf of a brother.
All those who replied confirmed that it was business as usual.
Continue reading...Nationwide ban on bus and tram services follows violence triggered by the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old on Tuesday. This blog is now closed
An ambulance driver was filmed berating police after Nahel’s death. In the video, which has circulated widely online, he shouted at officers:
He’s 17, you see he has a baby face. For a driving licence offence. For a driving licence offence, brother. I know the lad, I watched him grow up. His mother brought him up all alone, his dad left. She’s going to bury her son. For a driving licence offence.
You’re going to see how it goes tonight. Everyone’s sleeping right now – you’re going to see how Nanterre awakens.
Continue reading...Home Office sent 24,083 letters of intent warning refugees they were being considered for forcible removal
More than 24,000 asylum seekers from about one-third of the world’s countries could face removal to Rwanda by the UK Home Office in the future, even though the scheme was found to be unlawful in the court of appeal on Thursday.
Home Office data obtained under a freedom of information request shows that, between January 2021 and March 2023, 24,083 asylum seekers were issued with letters warning them that they were being considered for forcible removal to Rwanda.
Continue reading...Israeli PM says he has thrown out controversial measure to allow parliament to override supreme court decisions
A surprise announcement from Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that one of the most controversial elements of his government’s proposed judicial overhaul will be dropped, has angered his coalition partners and failed to placate protesters opposed to the plans.
“The idea of an override clause, where the parliament, the Knesset, can override the decisions of the supreme court with a simple majority, I said, I threw that out … It’s out,” Netanyahu said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Thursday.
Continue reading...Last week’s Wagner revolt was less an attempted coup, more an impulsive demonstration that got out of hand
Could Yevgeny Prigozhin have somehow captured Moscow last weekend? The emerging consensus – from experts and in western capitals – is probably not: the extraordinary rebellion of last Friday and Saturday was far less than an attempted coup, and more an impulsive demonstration that quickly got out of hand.
Consider the numbers involved in Saturday’s march on Moscow. The best estimates of rebel numbers are nothing like the 25,000 claimed by Prigozhin himself, probably closer to the 4,000 cited by the Institute of the Study of War. Even that is only a small part of Wagner’s total Ukraine force, generally estimated to be 15,000, the size of an army division.
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