Prices of basics such as oil and wheat are shooting up and shortages are showing on supermarket shelves in Lebanon, Somalia and Egypt
When Lebanon’s Muslims sat down to their first iftar of Ramadan tonight, the meal in front of them will have cost significantly more than it did six weeks ago.
Continue reading...UK government confirmed that the National Cyber Security Centre is investigating the allegations
China launched cyber-attacks on Ukrainian military and nuclear targets shortly before the Russian invasion, according to a report.
The UK government confirmed that the National Cyber Security Centre is investigating the allegations, which claim that more than 600 websites, including Ukraine’s defence ministry, were subjected to thousands of hacking attempts coordinated by the Chinese government.
Continue reading...Centers for Disease Control and Prevention terminates Title 42 from 23 May, ending policy widely criticized as pretext to keep migrants out
• Senate deal on drastically pared-down Covid aid package may be imminent
US adds 431,000 jobs as hiring spree cuts unemployment rate to 3.6%
• Disney staff stage walkouts over ‘don’t say gay’ bill
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The late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is to be honoured by having a US navy ship named after her.
The yet-to-be-built fuel tanker will join a fleet of John Lewis-class “replenishment oilers” named for historical figures in human and civil rights. The navy took delivery of the first of the fleet, a tribute to the former Democratic congressman, last summer.
Continue reading...True list of casualties of war, which include museums, churches and a Holocaust memorial, likely to be much longer
The UN’s cultural agency has confirmed that at least 53 historical sites, religious buildings and museums have sustained damage during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is the latest list, but it is not exhaustive, as our experts are continuing to verify a number of reports” filed by Ukrainian authorities, a Unesco spokesperson told AFP as the body published a list of the 53 damaged sites in the north and east of the country.
Continue reading...If Moscow’s accusation is true, the airstrike would be first raid on Russian territory so far in the war
Russia has claimed that Ukraine sent attack helicopters across the border to strike an oil storage facility in what, if confirmed, would be the first raid on Russian soil since it launched its invasion.
Ukraine denied that it launched the attack, raising questions about whether Russian negligence may be to blame.
Continue reading...Global Ports Holding facility in Turkey may be breaching UK sanctions by letting vessel dock, say lawyers
A London-headquartered port operator could be breaching sanctions laws by allowing Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to dock his $600m (£460m) superyacht Solaris at a port that it operates in Turkey.
Legal experts said Global Ports Holding, which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2007, was taking “a very big risk” by allowing a superyacht owned by a sanctioned individual to use one of its ports.
Continue reading...Chancellor’s wife, Akshata Murthy, has £690m stake in Indian IT firm, which is now moving staff out of Russia
Indian IT services company Infosys, in which the chancellor Rishi Sunak’s wife owns an estimated £690m stake and collects about £11.5m in annual dividends, is “urgently” closing its office in Russia.
Infosys’s decision to shut its Moscow office comes as pressure mounts on Sunak to answer accusations that his family is collecting “blood money” dividends from the firm’s continued operation in Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...The live stream of Natal’ya Vorozhbit’s acclaimed drama has ended but will be available to watch again from 2 April
The Royal Court theatre in London is presenting a day of solidarity with Ukraine that includes a reading on its main stage of Natal’ya Vorozhbit’s play Bad Roads, which explores the brutal effects of war on personal relationships. The reading, at 8pm on 1 April, will be livestreamed on the Guardian website – including in a captioned version – and available again on 2 April to watch for a week.
Bad Roads was first staged at the Royal Court in 2017 in a translation by Sasha Dugdale. Vorozhbit, an acclaimed Ukrainian playwright whose work has also been performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company, wove documentary stories of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea and Donbas into its impressionistic scenes. Bad Roads explores daily life under siege, hostage-taking, journalism on the frontline, PTSD and sex at a time of war.
Continue reading...Russian foreign minister meets Narendra Modi and praises India’s refusal to condemn Ukraine invasion
The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has afforded Russia’s foreign minister the honour of a meeting as Sergei Lavrov praised India’s refusal to condemn the Ukraine invasion.
Lavrov, who is visiting the country, predicted Moscow and Delhi would find ways to circumvent “illegal” western sanctions and continue to trade.
Continue reading...Ukraine has denied responsibility for an attack on Russian soil, while Kyiv officials say captured troops from both sides have been exchanged today
EU and Chinese leaders will meet for a first summit in two years on Friday with Brussels keen for assurances from Beijing that it will neither supply Russia with arms nor help Moscow circumvent western sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine.
EU officials close to the preparations of the summit said any help given to Russia would damage China’s international reputation and jeopardise relations with its biggest trade partners – Europe and the US.
Continue reading...Mayor’s aide says city remains closed for anyone trying to enter and ‘very dangerous’ for those trying to leave
An aide to the mayor of Mariupol has said the besieged southern Ukrainian city remains closed for anyone trying to enter and is “very dangerous” for anyone trying to leave.
Petro Andryushchenko said Russian forces had since Thursday been preventing even the smallest amount of humanitarian supplies reaching trapped residents, making clear a planned “humanitarian corridor” had not been opened.
Continue reading...As occupiers abandon site and IAEA moves back in, power company says soldiers were exposed by digging trenches in radioactive zone
The UN atomic watchdog is investigating Ukrainian claims that Russian soldiers occupying Chernobyl nuclear power station left after receiving high doses of radiation.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it could not confirm the claims by Ukrainian state power company Energoatom and was seeking an independent assessment.
Continue reading...US says the invasion has been a ‘strategic disaster’ for Moscow and that Putin is isolated as peace talks are due to resume
Continue reading...This blog is now closed but you can follow all the latest developments on our new Ukraine liveblog here
In case you missed the earlier announcement of a possible ceasefire in Mariupol, here are the details we reported earlier.
The Russian defence ministry announced a local ceasefire on Thursday to allow civilians to be evacuated from Ukraine’s besieged port city of Mariupol, according to Agence France-Presse.
Continue reading...Latest updates: the Labour leader suggests it is in the public’s interest if the prime minister’s wife is fined over Partygate
Clive Efford (Lab) is asking the questions now.
Q: You have expressed strong views in the past. Is that a problem?
I described the licence fee as regressive. I didn’t think that was an opinion, I thought that was a statement of fact, actually.
Continue reading...In Italy, inflation rose to an annual rate of 6.7% in March, according to a preliminary estimate from Istat, Italy’s statistics office.
Here’s a ranking of European inflation rates, based on the EU’s harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) measure:
Inflation rose more than expected in France in March, reaching 4.5%. This is a figure that has not been seen since the 1980s, but it is still much lower than in neighbouring countries. Inflation will continue to rise in the coming months, before falling sharply.
For the next few months, we expect inflation to continue to rise, driven by energy and food prices, but also by inflationary pressures that are increasingly spreading to all sectors of the economy. The 5% mark for the national inflation indicator could be exceeded in the second quarter, even without further increases in energy prices. Indeed, all business indicators suggest that companies expect to set higher prices in the coming months.
Continue reading...Bloc pressed to threaten sanctions at bilateral summit amid concerns about global authoritarian alliance
EU leaders are being urged to tell China it will face sanctions if it offers military aid to Russia for the war in Ukraine, amid concerns about a deepening authoritarian alliance that threatens the rules-based international order.
Senior EU and Chinese leaders are expected to hold discussions on Friday at a video summit that is likely to be dominated by the war.
Continue reading...Shadow home secretary says tens of thousands of desperate people still stuck in system
The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said refugees in Ukraine are facing “Kafkaesque” bureaucracy as they try to navigate Home Office visa requirements.
Cooper had tabled an urgent question over the government’s two visa schemes, with MPs from both sides of the house rounding on the government.
Continue reading...Volodymyr Zelenskiy says fierce resistance has pressured Russian forces in Kyiv but Ukraine is preparing for strikes in other regions
Russia is building up its forces in eastern Ukraine in readiness for a new wave of attacks in the breakaway Donbas region, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said, as another attempt was being made to rescue trapped civilians and deliver aid to besieged Mariupol.
In an early morning video address, the Ukrainian president said Russia’s drawdown announcement had been forced upon the Kremlin by the fierce resistance of Ukraine’s armed forces.
The Biden administration is considering a plan to release approximately 1 million barrels of oil a day from US reserves for several months, in order to combat rising fuel prices exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
Germany has triggered the first stage of plans to ration power if the standoff with Russia over gas supplies and sanctions is not resolved. Moscow is demanding payment for energy be made in roubles, but this could undercut western sanctions on Russia and countries are under pressure not to go along with the Kremlin’s plan.
The Russian rouble has recovered to its pre-war value despite western sanctions on the country’s exports and financial systems. The currency was trading at 75.5 to $1 on Thursday morning, compared with almost 140 at the beginning of March when it crashed with the onset of sanctions.
Zelenskiy addressed the Australian parliament on Thursday.
Global restrictions on exports of industrial components to Russia have hit car and tank production. A carmaker has shut down and tank production has halted, according to the US. Baikal Electronics, a Russian semiconductor company and computer manufacturer, has been cut off from integrated circuits to support its surveillance, servers, and other domestic communications equipment.
Liz Truss, Britain’s foreign secretary, is due to land in India on Thursday to urge Narendra Modi’s government to reduce its strategic dependency on Russia. Her arrival coincides with that of her sparring partner Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, who will be making his first visit since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Major jewellers including American brand Tiffany & Co; Swiss watch and jewellery-maker Chopard; Signet, the largest retailer of diamond jewellery; and Pandora, the world’s largest jeweller, have released statements saying they will stop buying diamonds of Russian origin.
The UK has announced new laws targeting the access of Russian oligarchs to “UK aviation and maritime technical services”, according to the Foreign Office.
Continue reading...A study found that external articles shared on the bioweapons myth were not labeled as ‘false information’ or ‘missing context’
As social media companies promise to crack down on Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine, studies show they continue to fall short, allowing disproven narratives to reach millions.
Facebook failed to label 80% of articles on its platform promoting a fast-spreading conspiracy theory that the US is funding the use of bioweapons in Ukraine, according to a study released Friday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
Continue reading...