Civilians forbidden from being on streets and public places from 11pm until 4am, with mass events banned
Volodymyr Zelenskiy met top US financiers – including Mike Bloomberg – during his visit to the US. According to Reuters, they discussed investment and the reconstruction of Ukraine during this meeting.
A Ukrainian drone has struck an administrative building in Russia’s Kursk oblast, the regional governor Roman Starovoit said on Telegram – on Kursk City Day.
Continue reading...Kurti claims EU special envoy to talks has lost neutrality and there is ‘no moving further with this method’
EU-brokered talks between Kosovo and Serbia have become so one-sided that they have reached a dead end, Kosovo’s prime minister has said.
More than a decade of European-led mediation efforts, most recently in Moldova and Brussels, have failed to normalise relations between the two countries, and Belgrade still refuses to recognise Kosovo’s independence, declared in 2008 under a UN-sponsored plan.
Continue reading...Putin seen playing table tennis and accompanying then mayor of St Petersburg on fishing trip
Video footage has emerged showing an awkward-looking Vladimir Putin wearing a shell suit and sporting a longer haircut on a visit to Finland during the early 1990s.
The Finnish broadcaster YLE obtained the previously unseen amateur film from an anonymous source. It was shot on a May Day holiday soon after Putin – then about 40 and a KGB officer – had become an adviser to Anatoly Sobchak, the mayor of St Petersburg at the time.
Continue reading...Human rights lawyers are working with Ukraine’s public prosecutor to prepare dossier to submit to the international criminal court
Human rights lawyers working with Ukraine’s public prosecutor are preparing a war crimes dossier to submit to the international criminal court (ICC) accusing Russia of deliberately causing starvation during the 18-month-long conflict.
The aim is to document instances where the Russian invaders used hunger as a weapon of war, providing evidence for the ICC to launch the first prosecution of its kind that could indict the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
Continue reading...Five of ‘afro-trap’ pioneer’s fellow defendants also imprisoned over killing in what prosecutors said was a fight between rival gangs
French rapper MHD has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the 2018 murder of a young man in Paris who was rammed with a car before being set upon by a mob and stabbed.
Five of his fellow defendants were also jailed over the killing, receiving terms of between 10 and 18 years over what prosecutors said was a fight between rival gangs. Three other men were acquitted.
Continue reading...US agrees to supply Ukraine with long-range army tactical missile systems; Ukraine reports advances in Zaporizhzhia area
The United States has decided to supply Ukraine with long-range army tactical missile systems (ATACMS), an important boost to Kyiv’s capacity to target Russian military logistics at long range distances as the country prepares for a second winter at war. President Joe Biden told the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a private meeting that a small number of the weapons would be transferred, NBC reported, citing US officials. Ukraine has been asking for ATACMS for months.
Ukraine has reported breaking through Russian defence lines in the Zaporizhzhia area in the country’s south, with a general leading the counteroffensive there saying the advance is still under way. “On the left flank [near the village of Verbove] we have a breakthrough and we continue to advance further,” Gen Oleksandr Tarnavskiy told CNN. He said progress was “not as fast as it was expected, not like in the movies about the second world war”, but it was important “not to lose this initiative”.
Nine people were killed and 16 injured, among them two generals, in a Ukrainian airstrike on Russia’s Black Sea naval headquarters in Crimea, according to the head of Ukrainian military intelligence. Kyrylo Budanov told the Voice of America that “among the wounded is the commander of the group, Col Gen [Alexander] Romanchuk, in a very serious condition. The chief of staff, Lt Gen [Oleg] Tsekov, is unconscious.” A Ukrainian missile hit the headquarters in Sevastopol on Friday. Russia’s defence ministry said one military serviceman was missing as a result.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Ukraine’s formula for peace is “completely not feasible” and that the war will be resolved on the battlefield if Kyiv and the west stick to the plan as a basis for negotiations. Lavrov accused western powers of directly fighting Russia, in comments at the United Nations.
Lavrov said Russia left the Black Sea grain deal because promises to Moscow had not been met. On the latest proposals by the UN secretary general to revive the deal, Lavrov said: “We don’t reject them, they are simply not realistic.”
Lavrov said he would go to Pyongyang next month for more negotiations following agreements reached by Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Three successive commanders of one of Russia’s most prestigious airborne regiments have either resigned or been killed since its invasion of Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. That highlighted the “extreme attrition and high turnover in Russia’s deployed military, even amongst relatively senior ranks”, it said in its intelligence update.
Russian spies are using hackers to target computer systems at law enforcement agencies in Ukraine in a bid to identify and obtain evidence related to alleged Russian war crimes, according to Ukraine’s cyber-defence chief.
Norwegian police have arrested a former commander of the Wagner mercenary group on suspicion that he attempted to illegally re-enter Russia after seeking asylum in Norway earlier this year, the lawyer for Andrei Medvedev said.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy held an impromptu meeting with the head of the Sudanese sovereign council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, where they discussed Russia-funded armed groups. The meeting took place at Shannon airport in Ireland.
Sergei Lavrov told the UN general assembly the “time has come for mutual trust building” between Armenia and Azerbaijan and that Russian troops “will certainly help with this”.
Azerbaijani soldiers and Russian peacekeepers are working jointly to disarm separatist fighters in the ethnically Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani army spokesman has said.
Continue reading...Russian foreign minister says Zelenskiy’s 10-point proposal to end the war and resumption of exports from Black Sea are ‘not realistic’
Russia’s foreign minister has told the UN that Ukraine’s proposed peace plan and the latest proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative were “not realistic”.
Sergei Lavrov spoke at a press conference on 23 September after a week of intense global diplomacy at the annual gathering of world leaders at UN headquarters in New York where Ukraine and its western allies sought to drum up support for Kyiv.
Continue reading...Armenians in region have been without adequate food or fuel supplies for months due to blockade by Azerbaijani forces
A Red Cross aid convoy headed to Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday, the first since Azerbaijan retook the breakaway region three days ago, as ethnic Armenians there complained of being abandoned by the world.
The Armenians of Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, were forced to declare a ceasefire on 20 September after a lightning 24-hour military operation by the much larger Azerbaijani military.
Continue reading...Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, new leader of the Netherlands’ VVD party, is a talk show darling. Will that be enough to take her to the very top?
She is a former child refugee who wants to reduce immigration, has opened the door to the far right and could be the Netherlands’ first female prime minister. At a packed party conference in Rotterdam on Saturday, Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), launched her campaign for November’s elections with a call for liberty and security.
“From my parents, I learned to cherish freedom and stand up for others when their freedom was threatened,” she said. “But we face losing ever more of this ‘oxygen’, with ever less understanding for one another and politics operating increasingly from distrust. It’s not for nothing that our manifesto is called: giving space, defining borders.”
Continue reading...Once dismissed as a swimming pool drink, rosé is becoming the go-to wine for the French as traditions change
For the French, a glass of chilled blush rosé was once considered a delicate but not entirely serious “swimming pool drink”; a summer apéritif for lightweight, often female, tipplers.
Real wine lovers would select a red heavy with tannins, or a traditional white – both considered the true expression of French terroir, the untranslatable concept encompassing not just the soil in which the vines grow but also the natural, geological climatic and cultural elements associated with it.
Continue reading...Sergei Lavrov rules out any moves at compromise in speech that also addresses Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
Andrey Kortunov, an adviser to the Russian foreign ministry and director of Russian international affairs council, has been on the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme discussing the strike on Russian navy’s Black Sea HQ.
Kortunov emphasised the “psychological” importance of long range missiles being used in the strike. “I think psychologically it’s important because it’s a long range missile - its destruction power is pretty significant. But militarily, I don’t think it really makes that big a damage – after all it didn’t hit any really critical military targets and the damage at least according to the reports we received is quite limited.”
Who opened investigations? Germany, Denmark and Sweden, a the leaks happened in their exclusive economic zones.
What have they found? German federal prosecutors seized objects from a sailing yacht in January and found traces of explosives.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s public prosecutor said the “primary assumption is that a state is behind it”.
What has Ukraine said? The New York Times reported in March that US officials had seen information suggesting it was done by a “pro-Ukrainian group”, without Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s knowledge. Zelenskiy has repeatedly denied Ukraine was behind the sabotage.
Could it be a false flag? Andreas Umland, an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, views Russia as “the most likely” culprit. The Kremlin has denied responsibility.
Continue reading...Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border tells story of brutal treatment of a Syrian family trying to get to Europe
A prize-winning film sharply critical of the Polish government’s attitude to refugees has opened at cinemas across the country, after being attacked in the run-up to its release by members of the Polish government.
Green Border, a feature film by the celebrated director Agnieszka Holland, won the special jury prize in Venice last month. It tells the story of a Syrian family trying to get to Europe via the Belarus-Poland border in 2021, and the brutal treatment they receive at the hands of Polish border guards.
Continue reading...Six Portuguese young people claim inadequate policies to tackle global heating breach their human rights
A key plank of the UK government’s defence against the biggest climate legal action in the world next week has fallen away as a result of the U-turn by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, on green policies.
The UK is one of 32 countries being taken to the European court of human rights on Wednesday by a group of Portuguese young people. They will argue in the grand chamber of the Strasbourg court that the nations’ policies to tackle global heating are inadequate and in breach of their human rights obligations.
Continue reading...Canada pledges an extra C$650m in military aid during Zelenskiy visit; Ukrainian airstrike on Crimea hits Russia’s Black Sea navy headquarters
Ukraine’s military said its forces had “successfully” struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea navy in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Friday. Russia’s defence ministry said that one military serviceman was missing. Footage posted on social media showed clouds of white smoke billowing from the rooftop of the HQ building. Russian sources reported that the strike was carried out using Storm Shadow missiles provided by the UK and launched from Ukrainian aircraft.
A Russian missile strike on civilian infrastructure in Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region of Ukraine killed one person and injured 15 others, the regions’ governor, Dmytro Lunin, said on Friday via Telegram. He said one child was among the injured and that Ukrainian air defences downed one of the missiles launched.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has bolstered military aid to Ukraine following a visit to Canada, with Ottawa promising an extra C$650m ($482m) over the next three years. Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said the aid included money for 50 armoured vehicles. He will also send F-16 trainers for pilots and maintenance so Ukraine is able to maximise its use of donated fighter jets.
Zelenskiy thanked Canada for its military support, and hailed the historic and communal ties between the two countries, in an impassioned speech at the Canadian parliament on Friday. “You’re always on the bright side of history … I have no doubt that you will choose the side of freedom and justice,” the Ukrainian president said.
The US president, Joe Biden, has told Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the US will provide a small number of long-range missiles to help in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, three US officials and a congressional official told NBC News on Friday. The officials did not confirm when the missiles would be delivered.
The Russian deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, held a meeting with Russian oil company managers on Friday to discuss the domestic fuel market, the government said. Russia temporarily banned exports of petrolium and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect, the government said on Thursday, without a specified end date.
Continue reading...Party reformer was first former communist to become president and first person re-elected to post
Giorgio Napolitano, the first former communist to rise to Italy’s presidency and the first person to be elected twice to the post, has died aged 98.
A statement issued on Friday night by the presidential palace confirmed Italian news reports of the death of Napolitano, who had been in a Rome hospital for weeks.
Continue reading...Zelenskiy speaks to Canadian parliament after Justin Trudeau announces training for F-16 fighter pilots
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivered an impassioned speech at the Canadian parliament on Friday in which he thanked Canada’s military support to Ukraine, as well as hailed the historic and communal ties between the two countries. “You’re always on the bright side of history … I have no doubt that you will choose the side of freedom and justice,” he said.
Prime minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is going to make a longer-term, multi-year commitment that provides steady support for Ukraine, including money for 50 armoured vehicles. Canada will give an extra C$650m ($482m) in military aid to Ukraine over the next three years, Trudeau told the Canadian parliament. He will also send F-16 trainers for pilots and maintenance so Ukraine is able to maximise its use of donated fighter jets.
A Russian missile strike on civilian infrastructure in Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region of Ukraine killed one person and injured 15 others, governor Dmytro Lunin said on Friday via Telegram. He said one child was among the injured and that Ukrainian air defences downed one of the missiles launched. These claims are yet to be independently verified.
The Russian deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, held a meeting with Russian oil company managers on Friday to discuss the domestic fuel market, the government said. Russia temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect, the government said on Thursday, without a specified end date.
US president Joe Biden has told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the US will provide a small number of long-range missiles to help in Ukraine’s fight against Russia, three US officials and a congressional official told NBC News on Friday. The officials did not confirm when the missiles would be delivered and remain anonymous as they have not been authorised to speak on the subject publicly.
A Ukrainian air force spokesperson reportedly said that he had hoped the missile strike on the Russian Black Sea fleet HQ earlier on Friday had left a bigger hole in the building. Air force spokesperson, Yuriy Ignat, speaking on Ukrainian television, said that while he was pleased by the result of the strike, he had hoped the effects would be more dramatic. “I wanted a bigger hole to be honest,” he said.
Ukraine’s military said its forces had “successfully” struck the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea navy in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Friday. “On 22 September close to 12:00 (0900 GMT) Ukraine’s defence forces successfully struck the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet command in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol,” Ukraine’s military said on Telegram.
Ukraine president addresses Canadian parliament; Canada will send F-16 trainers for pilots
Ukraine’s infrastructure minister confirmed on Friday the departure of the second cargo vessel with grain from Ukraine’s Chornomorsk seaport.
The vessel Aroyat “left the port Chornomorsk after loading Ukrainian wheat for Egypt,” Reuters reports Oleksandr Kubrakov posted to social media.
This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president thanks Canada for financial support and says ‘stay with us to our victory’
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged Canada to stay with Ukraine to victory as he went to the Canadian Parliament seeking to bolster support from western allies for Ukraine’s war against the Russian invasion.
“Moscow must lose once and for all. And it will lose,” Zelenskiy said during his address in parliament on Friday.
Continue reading...After focus on work of one Dublin surgeon, expert report sparks wider review of paediatric orthopaedics
Paediatricians and health executives in Dublin were aware that a leading children’s hospital in the city was using “unauthorised, uncertified” medical implants in surgery, a top health official has said.
Ireland is facing a growing scandal over paediatric spinal surgery. An independent investigation found that 19 children with spina bifida suffered serious complications after they were operated on by one surgeon at Temple Street hospital. One child was readmitted to the operating theatre 33 times after her initial operation.
Continue reading...Pontiff says rescuing those making Mediterranean crossings is a ‘duty of humanity’ on first visit by a pope to Marseille in 500 years
Pope Francis has decried what he called the “fanaticism of indifference” as people risked their lives on dangerous journeys by boat from north Africa to Europe, amid growing political debate over migration.
Opening an overnight visit to Marseille, the pontiff presided over a silent moment of prayer at a memorial dedicated to sailors and people who died at sea, surrounded by faith leaders and migrant rescue organisations from the Mediterranean port city.
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