Latest sanctions target a wide network tied to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov
Associated Press today has a feature on people in Ukraine who are in need of mental health treatment after months of war.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in this situation, experts say, and the number of people needing psychological help is only expected to rise as the war continues.
Continue reading...Experience in eastern Mediterranean proves deterrence and harsh conditions do little to discourage refugees
Prominent Conservatives openly view Greece’s self-described “strict but fair” migration policies as a model to emulate. The former home secretary Priti Patel told MPs last week that “we would not be in this current situation” had she been allowed to replicate “Greek-style reception centres”.
British interest in the Greek model dates back to May 2021, when the former immigration minister Chris Philp made an “urgent” – as internal documents seen by the Guardian called it – trip to Greece. This was followed by an official visit by Patel in August 2021, who toured a newly constructed Greek camp, went out on patrol with the Greek coastguard and spoke of working “closely with Greek partners” on migration.
Continue reading...Former PM to say in speech that any attempts by western leaders to appease Xi Jinping would be a mistake
Liz Truss will say Emmanuel Macron’s recent trip to China was a “sign of weakness”, after the French president asked Beijing for support in ending the war in Ukraine.
In the latest of a series of foreign policy interventions designed to encourage Rishi Sunak to take a tougher approach towards China, Truss will say in a speech that any attempts by western leaders to appease Xi Jinping would be a mistake.
Continue reading...Rivals have accused each other of initiating fire which killed seven people
South Caucasus rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of initiating a fatal clash around the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region which killed seven soldiers.
The two neighbours – both formerly part of the Soviet Union – have fought repeatedly over the last 35 years for control of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but home to a mainly ethnic Armenian population.
Continue reading...‘Top secret’ document reportedly warned Kyiv faced shortfalls in troops and weaponry and suggested any gains would be modest
US intelligence reportedly warned in February that Ukraine might fail to amass sufficient troops and weaponry for its planned spring counter-offensive, and might fall “well short” of Kyiv’s goals for recapturing territory seized by Russia, according to one of a trove of leaked defence documents.
A document tagged as “top secret” quoted by the Washington Post said that Kyiv was facing significant “force generation and sustainment shortfalls” and was therefore only likely to achieve “modest territorial gains”. The document is a snapshot of the situation in early February, and it is unclear how far Ukraine, with the support of Nato member states, has been able to make up the shortfalls since then.
Continue reading...Documents appear to list number of western special forces personnel in Ukraine in February and March
Leaked US military documents indicate that the UK has deployed as many as 50 special forces to Ukraine.
The documents suggest that more than half of the western special forces personnel present in Ukraine between February and March this year may have been British.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
The RIA Novosti news agency in Russia reports on its Telegram channel that yesterday an unknown drone fell near Belgorod airport. Citing emergency services, it said “there were no casualties, the fence was slightly damaged”.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Continue reading...President expected to emphasise US’s commitment to ensuring peace in Northern Ireland as he begins visit to island of Ireland
Joe Biden will hold a meeting with Rishi Sunak in Belfast on Wednesday before a keynote speech in which he is expected to emphasise the US’s commitment to ensuring lasting peace and prosperity for Northern Ireland.
US officials said the president would be “underscoring the readiness of the United States to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities” with the prospect of major investments if power-sharing is restored in Stormont.
Continue reading...Leaked US documents appear to indicate Egypt was planning to covertly supply Russia weapons; US says reporter Evan Gershkovich ‘wrongfully detained’
Continue reading...Maria Giuseppe Scarpulla investigated after claim blood stains on statue of Virgin Mary come from a pig
A woman nicknamed “the Saint” has mysteriously vanished from a small lakeside town near Rome where pilgrims have flocked for years to pray before a statue of the Virgin Mary that she claimed shed tears of blood.
Maria Giuseppe Scarpulla, originally from Sicily, and her husband reportedly fled Trevignano Romano last week after a private investigator triggered a judicial investigation against her based on his alleged finding that the blood stains on the statue came from a pig.
Continue reading...Rescue workers continue to search smouldering debris for more people after suspected explosion, as manslaughter investigation opened
Rescue workers have recovered a sixth body from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in Marseille, as emergency services battled difficult conditions to look for missing people.
More than 24 hours after a suspected explosion at the building, where people had reported a strong smell of gas, dozens of rescue workers and dogs worked among the debris and rubble as a fire still smouldered underneath.
Continue reading...Classified documents revealing Ukraine military troubles and US intel gathering against allies were probably spread through gaming servers
The evidence emerging on the leak of classified US defence documents suggests that it was probably not some dastardly hacking or disinformation plot by Russia or the US, but rather another example of how carelessly Washington handles its secrets.
The least likely version of reality is the one being circulated among Kremlin supporters, that it was a clever piece of CIA distraction ultimately aimed at demoralising Russians by showing how many lives they had lost, and how badly their war was going in Ukraine.
Continue reading...Russian opposition figure facing up to 25 years in jail tells Moscow court he stands by all of his political statements
Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who faces up to a quarter of a century in jail on treason charges, has told a Moscow court that he stood by all of his political statements and said his prosecution resembled one of Joseph Stalin’s show trials.
Kara-Murza, 41, who holds Russian and British passports, has denied several charges including treason and spreading false information about the Russian army. Prosecutors have requested a 25-year prison sentence.
Continue reading...David Crouch to raise daughter of murdered Caroline Crouch in the Philippines, where her grandmother has relocated
Almost two years after the 19-year-old British student, Caroline Crouch, was murdered by her husband as she lay asleep in the couple’s Athens maisonette, her father says he will concentrate on raising his granddaughter, “who is now without” either parent.
Speaking publicly for what he said would be the last time, David Crouch, 79, told the Guardian he would leave Greece to look after Caroline’s daughter, Lydia, who is almost three, in the Philippines, “far away” from her mother’s self-confessed killer.
Continue reading...Operation comes as attempted crossings of Mediterranean from north Africa surge over weekend
The Italian coastguard said on Monday it was carrying out a rescue operation involving two fishing boats with a total of 1,200 passengers on board, as the number of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean from north Africa surged over the weekend.
One vessel carrying about 800 people was more than 120 miles (190 km) south-east of the Sicilian city of Syracuse, the coastguard said.
Continue reading...Alarm on both sides of Atlantic as French president warns against being drawn into any Taiwan conflict
Emmanuel Macron has flown into a storm of criticism after he said Europe should not become a “vassal” and must avoid being drawn into any conflict between the US and China over Taiwan.
The French president made the remarks in an interview on his plane after a three-day state visit to China, where he received a red carpet welcome by China’s president, Xi Jinping – a show of pageantry that alarmed some European China watchers.
Continue reading...Near miss occurred off coast of Crimea in September 2022, according to apparent leak of Pentagon documents
Continue reading...Flood moving abroad has come as a shock and is costing tens of millions in lost tax receipts
A record number of super-rich Norwegians are abandoning Norway for low-tax countries after the centre-left government increased wealth taxes to 1.1%.
More than 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv. This was more than the total number of super-rich people who left the country during the previous 13 years, it added. Even more super-rich individuals are expected to leave this year because of the increase in wealth tax in November, costing the government tens of millions lost tax receipts.
Continue reading...Directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos have joined campaign to save the Astor and Ideal from hotel and office developments
The spectre of two historic Athens cinemas being closed by commercial interests bent on turning them into a hotel and office block has spurred film-makers to get in front of the camera with pleas to stop the process.
Directors of international acclaim have appealed to save the buildings amid mounting public disquiet over the pace of development in one of Europe’s oldest capitals. Leading the charge, Costa-Gavras, the Paris-based film director who shot to fame with the political drama Z, released when Greece was under military rule, called the existence of the Ideal and Astor cinemas indispensable for the enjoyment of film in an era when the “barbarism” of movies being watched on TV and mobile phones was widespread.
Continue reading...Documents dating from February suggest looming risk to Ukraine’s ability to protect troops and vital sites from Russian airpower
Ukraine’s air defences risk running out of missiles and ammunition within weeks, an apparent leak of Pentagon documents dating from February suggests, as US defence officials raced to trace how the files became public.
One of the documents, dated 23 February and marked “Secret”, outlines in detail how Ukraine’s Soviet-era S-300 air defence systems would be depleted by 2 May at the current usage rate. It is unclear if the usage rate has since changed.
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