Parents and schools across Greystones adopt voluntary ‘no-smartphone code’ in bid to curb peer pressure
On the principle of strength in numbers, parents in the Irish town of Greystones have banded together to collectively tell their children they cannot have a smartphone until secondary school.
Parents’ associations across the district’s eight primary schools have adopted a no-smartphone code to present a united front against children’s lobbying.
Continue reading...Mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin criticises factionalism within Russian hierarchy
Petraeus continued to discuss Putin and whether he could escalate attacks:
I think you can’t dismiss it. But I think that the actions to dissuade him from doing that have been very considerable. And I think I would certainly hope that they have convinced him that he and Russia would be much worse off if tactical nuclear weapons were used.
President Xi, his partner without limits has actually turned out to have very distinct limits, and prime minister Modi from India at their summit, some months back, both of them made it very clear that this is something he shouldn’t even think about.
I do tend to think that they [Ukraine] will cut this ability of the Russians to resupply Crimea, along the southeast coast, they will severe that line of communication and begin the process of isolating Crimea as well.
Not in this counteroffensive. No.
But if they can get to the point of beginning to isolate Crimea, I think that changes the dynamics very, very substantially. It couldn’t even prompt Putin to start to consider a negotiated resolution.
Continue reading...Kyiv mayor orders air-raid shelters to operate around the clock; Washington says training for Ukraine on advanced US Abrams tanks has begun
Continue reading...Strikes on the capital have caused few casualties but residents face a new ‘psychological terror’
When the air raid alarms go off at around 3am, the first things exhausted Kyvians do is reach for their mobile phones, check the news, message family and friends – and start listening to the explosions that almost certainly follow.
“You wake up, go to a safe space, maybe a shelter, holding your phone. You cannot work, you cannot read; you sit and look around and wait. In the worst case, you hear a distinctive noise, maybe like a motorcycle passing by,” said Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian MP and leader of the liberal Holos party.
Continue reading...Attacks said to be ongoing in Russian border region, but no new casualties; Moscow launches sixth airstrike in six days
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, has posted some more details of Russia’s overnight attack on Kyiv to his official Telegram channel. He writes:
The occupiers continue to terrorise Ukraine with attack drones and missiles.
Around 11pm the enemy attacked Kyiv with Shahed-136/131 kamikaze drones. They entered from the southern direction, using the topography of the area and the course of the Dnieper River.
The aggressor does not stop. Nikopol region came under attack again. At midnight, the Rashists shelled Nikopol. Shells from heavy artillery flew into the city. People are unharmed. Rescuers are examining the area. The enemy is insidious and does not abandon its tactics of terrorising the civilian population.
Continue reading...Freedom of Russia Legion social media reports contradict Russian claims to have repelled the rebel incursion
Ukrainian-backed Russian rebel groups have said they are still fighting inside Russia’s Belgorod region, despite Moscow’s claims on Thursday to have repelled the incursion.
The Freedom of Russia Legion posted videos on social media of combat purportedly in the Belgorod village Novaya Tavolzhanka, between the Ukrainian-Russian border and the town of Shebekino, the legion’s stated goal.
Continue reading...Deza Powell and Paul Larochelle criticise authorities for delays in transferring Adonis to an ICU
The parents of a 10-month-old baby who died on holiday in Portugal have said their lives have been destroyed.
Deza Powell and Paul Larochelle said they wanted answers from the Portuguese authorities after their son, Adonis, died of sepsis on 19 May, 48 hours after he was first treated in hospital.
Continue reading...A rift widened between the president and Kyiv’s mayor after witness reports that three people were locked out on the street during Russian attack
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ordered an audit of all Ukrainian air-raid shelters as a rift widened with Kyiv’s mayor after the deaths of three people who were locked out on the street during a Russian attack.
A nine-year-old girl, her mother and another woman were killed by falling debris after rushing to a Kyiv shelter on Thursday morning and finding it was shut. Later that day, the Ukrainian president accused Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, and other city leaders of negligence. Klitschko responded by saying the responsibility for the tragedy should be shared between them.
Continue reading...From Sweden to the US, the handling of the pandemic has been questioned. In some cases criminal proceedings are under way
Britain’s public Covid-19 inquiry, led by the retired judge Heather Hallett, is far from the first independent commission in the world to begin examining a country’s experience confronting the pandemic.
Their formats, mandates – and their progress – vary widely according to systems and traditions, but their task is essentially the same: to assess preparedness, make a record of decision-making, review government responses and learn lessons for the future.
Continue reading...Kyiv mayor orders air raid shelters to be open 24 hours after death of child; Ukraine claims to have shot down 15 cruise missiles and 21 drones
Continue reading...Governor of Russian border town says drone fell on road way; claims that three people killed in capital sought safety in locked shelter
Wires are also posting new photos from the Russian city of Shebekino in the Belgorod border region, which Russian officials say was shelled for the fourth time this week by Ukrainian forces.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president speaks of the importance of overturning Russia’s air supremacy with Patriot missiles and F-16s
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had received “powerful support” from allies attending a summit in Moldova as it emerged F-16 fighter jets could be made available to Ukraine within six months.
Closing the conference of 46 European leaders held at a castle 12 miles (19km) from the border with Ukraine, the country’s president spoke of the importance of overturning Russian’s supremacy in the air with a “sky shield” involving a combination of Patriot missiles and F-16s.
Continue reading...Girl and her mother reportedly among the dead from falling debris after short-range missiles intercepted
Three people including a child were killed and at least 11 people were injured in an early morning missile attack on Kyiv that hit apartment buildings, two schools and a children’s clinic, according to city authorities.
The attack, on what is International Children’s Day in many post-Soviet countries, reportedly involved 10 Iskander short-range missiles, and there was only a few minutes’ warning before they hit. Most of the damage appeared to be from falling debris after the incoming missiles were intercepted by the capital’s air defences.
Continue reading...Pro-choice groups condemn rare enforcement of country’s total ban on terminations
A woman in Malta has been charged in court for having an abortion, in a rare enforcement of the country’s total ban on terminations.
The Women’s Rights Foundation of Malta said: “What should have never happened [has] happened today: a Maltese woman was brought to court facing charges of having a medical abortion at home.”
Continue reading...Parliament hopes report examining historic treatment of Sámi and Kvens will raise awareness and encourage reconciliation
A Norwegian parliamentary commission has published a damning report on historic injustices against Sámi, Kvens and other Indigenous groups.
Norway’s parliament set up the truth and reconciliation commission in 2018 to examine authorities’ historic policies and activities relating to Indigenous people, including attempts to assimilate them.
Continue reading...The Russian businessman is the father of Evgeny Lebedev, who was given a peerage by Boris Johnson
Ukraine has imposed sanctions on Alexander Lebedev – the former KGB intelligence officer whose son Evgeny sits in the House of Lords – in connection with Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The national security and defence council in Kyiv imposed sanctions on Lebedev Sr last October. The decision – first reported by Tortoise media – emerged on Thursday and follows a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Continue reading...Macron says negotiated peace might take priority over Putin war crimes trial; US announces $300m arms package but ‘don’t use on Russian soil’
Continue reading...Novak Djokovic has insisted that he would not hesitate to opine on Kosovo and the clashes between Kosovo authorities and ethnic Serbs again, even as the backlash to his comments continues to grow.
“I don’t mind saying that. I mean, I would say it again,” Djokovic said. “But I don’t need to because you have my quotes if you want to reflect on that. Of course I’m aware that a lot of people would disagree, but it is what it is. It’s something that I stand for.”
Continue reading...The shipment comes with a warning that the weaponry should not be used to attack within Russia
The United States has announced a new $300m arms package for Ukraine, including air defense systems and tens of millions of rounds of ammunition – but warned Kyiv that US weaponry should not be used to attack within Russia.
“We have been very clear with the Ukrainians privately – we’ve certainly been clear publicly – that we do not support attacks inside Russia. We do not enable and we do not encourage attacks inside Russia,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
Continue reading...Meeting in Chișinău is opportunity to show country is ‘fit for EU membership’, foreign minister says
Moldova wants to start formal talks on becoming a EU member state and will use the a summit of all 50 EU and non-member European leaders in its capital, Chișinău, on Thursday to underline its desire to accelerate the accession process, the country’s foreign minister said.
Along with Ukraine, Moldova has official accession candidate status since last year but believes, like its larger neighbour, it can accelerate the years-long process to get a seat in Brussels in the face of continuing threats from Russia.
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