Rights groups call for united front against far-right candidate as polls predict a win for centrist Emmanuel Macron
Protests were expected around France on Saturday as opponents of the far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen seek to form a united front to prevent her from winning an election runoff against incumbent Emmanuel Macron on 24 April.
Police warned of possible incidents as demonstrators convened in 30 cities.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has made a direct request to Joe Biden that the US designates Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, the Washington Post reports.
This would be a rare and radical sanction, but Zelenskiy has been firm in putting pressure on the west to assist in Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion, and this is no exception as his country endures atrocities from its northern neighbor.
Continue reading...Diplomatic note believed to talk of ‘unpredictable consequences’ as US readies $800m of military hardware
Russia sent a formal warning to the US not to send more arms to Ukraine or it could face “unpredictable consequences”, it has been reported.
According to the Washington Post, Moscow sent a diplomatic note, a démarche, warning that US and Nato deliveries of the “most sensitive” weapons systems to Ukraine were “adding fuel” to the conflict there and could bring “unpredictable consequences”.
Continue reading...Kremlin yet to release details of possible casualties on Black Sea flagship, as Ukrainians hail its demise
Ukraine has said it is bracing itself for revenge attacks from Russia after the “significant and symbolic” sinking of Russia’s flagship cruiser, the Moskva.
The government in Kyiv said it had destroyed the giant missile cruiser during a combat operation against Russian vessels in the Black Sea on Wednesday. The boat’s ammunition deck exploded after it was hit by two Neptune anti-ship missiles, it added.
Continue reading...Analysis: ship’s sinking will shock Russian public and is latest sign war in Ukraine will not end soon
As Russian media and officials struggled on Friday to explain the sinking of the country’s Black Sea flagship, it was clear that the loss of the cruiser and an untold number of its estimated 510 crew was a blow to Vladimir Putin’s war plans and his military’s prestige.
From the beginning, the Russian government tried to play down what had happened. At first its defence ministry claimed an accident had caused a fire onboard. Then the ministry said the damage had been contained and the ship was being towed to port in Sevastopol. Finally, late on Thursday, the ministry announced that the ship had sunk in “stormy seas”.
Continue reading...In run-up to the presidential vote, French premier calls for EU-wide ceiling after head of carmaker Stellantis receives €19m
Emmanuel Macron will push for a cap on excessive executive pay should he be re-elected president after he described as “shocking and excessive” the €19m (£15.7m) pay packet handed to the head of carmaker Stellantis.
Macron, who is campaigning in the run-up to the final vote for the French presidency on 24 April against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, told France Info radio that he was in favour of an EU-wide ceiling for top executives’ pay.
Continue reading...Claim about long-term benefits disputed by MP Andrew Mitchell who describes reported cost of £30,000 a person as ‘eye-watering’
Britain will save money in the “longer term” by sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda, a minister has said after the reported cost of about £30,000 a person was described as “eye-watering”.
Defending the decision to fly out many of those who arrive on the Kent coast to a country more than 4,000 miles away, the Home Office minister Tom Pursglove said it would “crush” the business model of people smugglers.
Continue reading...Ukraine says Anton Kuprin killed in explosion that led to ship’s sinking; more than 900 civilians’ bodies discovered with claims they were executed
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has responded to reports of the apparent attack on and sinking of Russia’s Black Sea fleet’s flagship.
The report, released shortly after 6am GMT, reads:
Russia has admitted that the Slava-class cruiser Moskva has sunk. As flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva served a key role as both a command vessel and air defence node.
The Soviet-era vessel was one of only three Slava-class cruisers in the Russian navy. Originally commissioned in 1979, the Moskva had completed an extensive refit designed to improve its capability and only returned to operational status in 2021.
Continue reading...Russia initially denied reports that warship sank, then later claimed it went down in stormy seas while being towed to port after fire
Russia’s Black Sea flagship missile cruiser, the Moskva, has sunk while being towed to a port after an explosion, the Russian defence ministry has claimed. It comes after Ukraine on Wednesday said its military struck the Moskva with Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles, while distracting its crew with an aerial drone, causing it to start sinking and forcing the crew of 500 to abandon ship.
Russia’s defence ministry initially denied reports that it had sunk and claimed the fires had been extinguished. It said four Russian ships that had gone to the Moskva’s rescue were hampered by bad weather and by ammunition blowing up on board.
Continue reading...Therapist who saw Crouch and Babis Anagnostopoulos says marriage had become increasingly abusive
A Greek pilot accused of murdering his British wife, Caroline Crouch, as she slept in their Athens home, exerted “extreme control” over her, a court has heard.
On day three of a murder trial that has gripped the nation, Eleni Mylonopoulou, a counsellor who had seen the pair over several months for couples counselling, testified that the young Briton had fallen victim to an “extremely manipulative” man.
Continue reading...Archaeological dig also finds body-shaped lead sarcophagus buried at the heart of the fire-ravaged monument
An archaeological dig under Notre Dame Cathedral has uncovered an extraordinary treasure of statues, sculptures, tombs and pieces of an original rood screen dating back to the 13th century.
The find included several ancient tombs from the middle ages and a body-shaped lead sarcophagus buried at the heart of the fire-ravaged monument under the floor of the transept crossing.
Continue reading...This liveblog is now closed. For the latest Ukraine live news, head over to our new live blog
Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy called for an oil embargo in his latest national address.
First of all, we need an oil embargo. And Europe’s clear readiness to give up all Russian energy.
The European Union must stop sponsoring Russia’s military machine.”
Continue reading...Defence ministry ‘investigating’ what happened to Black Sea flagship and claims all 510 crew are safe
• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates
Russia’s defence ministry said it was investigating what happened to its flagship cruiser Moskva after Ukraine said it had hit the vessel with an anti-ship missile, forcing its crew to abandon ship.
The ministry denied reports the warship had sunk to the bottom of the Black Sea. It said the Moskva had “retained buoyancy”, with fires extinguished and the crew transferred to another vessel.
Continue reading...Lithuania plays down threat, claiming Russians already have such weapons in Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad
Moscow has said it will be forced to strengthen its defences in the Baltic if Finland and Sweden join Nato, including by deploying nuclear weapons, as the war in Ukraine entered its seventh week and the country braced for a major attack in the east.
However, the Lithuanian defence minister, Arvydas Anušauskas, claimed on Thursday that Russia already had nuclear weapons stored in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, which borders Lithuania and Poland. That claim has not been independently verified, but the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) reported in 2018 that nuclear weapon storage bunkers in Kaliningrad had been upgraded.
Continue reading...London-listed company facing financial pressures after UK placed sanctions on key Russian client
The London-listed mining company Petropavlovsk has warned investors they may be wiped out though a potential sale, as it struggles to regain its footing after UK sanctions against a key Russian client.
The miner said it was facing financial pressures due to UK government restrictions on Gazprombank, which is one of Petropavlovsk’s main customers and buys all of its gold. Gazprombank, which processes most payments for the Russian oil and gas sector, has been subject to UK sanctions since 24 March.
Continue reading...Ukraine says it struck the Moskva with two anti-ship missiles without giving evidence as Zelenskiy says Russia ramping up offensive in east and south
Russia says the flagship of its Black Sea fleet has been seriously damaged and its crew evacuated following an explosion that a Ukrainian official said was the result of a missile strike.
“As a result of a fire, ammunition detonated on the Moskva missile cruiser. The ship was seriously damaged,” the Russian defence ministry was quoted as saying by state-run news agency TASS, adding that the cause of the fire was being determined and that the crew had been evacuated.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s president says more weaponry is needed to stop Russia ‘spreading misery, suffering and destruction’ to other countries
The world’s chemical weapons watchdog has said it is “concerned” over reports of the use of chemical weapons in the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol.
Reports first emerged on Monday from Ukraine’s Azov battalion that a Russian drone had dropped a “poisonous substance” on troops and civilians in Mariupol.
The Technical Secretariat of the OPCW is monitoring closely the situation in Ukraine. The Secretariat is concerned by the recent unconfirmed report of chemical weapons use in Mariupol, which has been carried in the media over the past 24 hours.
This follows reports in the media over the past few weeks of shelling targeted at chemical plants located in Ukraine, together with accusations levelled by both sides around possible misuse of toxic chemicals.
Continue reading...Video mocked up with BBC News logo has been aired on Russian state TV and spread across social media
The BBC has warned that a video carrying its branding in which it is claimed that a missile attack on a railway station that killed dozens was carried out by Ukraine is fake.
The video, mocked up with a BBC News logo and using similar graphics to the broadcaster, gives the false impression that it has confirmed that Ukrainian armed forces were behind the attack on Kramatorsk railway station on Friday.
Continue reading...Bear walks 150km ‘home’ to Abruzzo town three weeks after being returned to natural habitat
An errant bear has reappeared in his favourite Italian town after a failed attempt to rewild him.
The two-year-old Marsican brown bear, affectionately known as Juan Carrito, walked 150km “home” to Roccaraso, a small mountain town in the Abruzzo region, bypassing several other towns along the way.
Continue reading...Dutch bank says sorry for ‘pain and suffering’ caused by past actions and activities of its predecessor firms
The Dutch bank ABN Amro has apologised for its predecessors’ role in the slave trade, after it commissioned an investigation into the “untold suffering” it caused.
The investigation, by academics at the International Institute of Social History (IISH), an Amsterdam archive, found that two of ABN Amro’s predecessor companies were involved in either financing the operation of slave plantations directly, or underwriting the trade in products produced by slaves.
Continue reading...