Trio appeared to get changed shortly before arrival at space station and one said every crew could choose their own suit
Three Russian cosmonauts have arrived at the International Space Station wearing yellow flight suits with blue accents, colours that match the Ukrainian flag.
The men were the first new arrivals on the space station since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine last month.
Continue reading...Experts say social support, honesty and generosity key to wellbeing, as Afghanistan and Lebanon struggle in global ranking
Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the fifth year in a row, in an annual UN-sponsored index that ranked Afghanistan as the unhappiest, closely followed by Lebanon.
The latest list was completed before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...People who have applied to join relatives in the UK face long waits for visa approvals
Ukrainian refugees waiting to travel to join relatives in Britain have voiced frustration at the length of time the Home Office is taking to process UK visas, despite government promises to streamline the system.
As the Homes for Ukraine scheme launched on Friday, allowing UK residents to sponsor visas for non-family members, Ukrainians who had already applied to join relatives in Britain under an earlier scheme expressed dismay at the long waits for visa approvals.
Continue reading...Russia claims to be ‘tightening noose’ around south-eastern port city as thousands still stranded
Fighting has reached the centre of the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, as attempts to rescue people trapped under the rubble of a bombed-out theatre were again hampered by Russian shelling.
The Russian defence ministry said its forces were “tightening the noose” around the city, and that “fighting against nationalists” was taking place in the city centre. Mariupol’s mayor, Vadym Boichenko, appeared to confirm the claims, telling the BBC that fighting was “really active”. “Tanks and machine-gun battles continue,” he said. “Everybody is hiding in bunkers.”
Continue reading...Details emerge of deaths of a Kharkiv Pride volunteer, an actor, and an American visiting his partner
A gay rights activist from Kharkiv, Shchemur was killed during the Russian bombardment of the city centre, her colleagues at Kharkiv Pride said on Thursday. She was killed at the local territorial defence office where she volunteered, they said.
Continue reading...Analysis: UK government claimed EU exit would let it change employment law, but it has not yet done so
To the layperson, the unceremonious sacking of 800 P&O Ferries workers may look like a consequence of Britain leaving the EU, with any legal action by the trade unions turning into the first big test of workers’ rights post-Brexit.
Despite Boris Johnson’s assurances that Britain’s departure from the EU would be better for UK workers, there have been fears it would be seen by the government as an opportunity to erode workers’ rights in a bid to increase competitiveness.
Continue reading...Fuel sellers in Narvik say they will not sell to crew of Ragnar, which is owned by Vladimir Strzhalkovsky
A 223-foot (68-metre) luxury yacht owned by a former KGB agent and longtime acquaintance of Vladimir Putin is currently stranded at a Norwegian port after locals’ persistent refusal to sell it fuel.
The vessel, called Ragnar, an old norse word meaning “warrior”, is owned by Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, and its crew has been told by Norwegian fuel suppliers in the northern port of Narvik to “row home” or “raise the sails”. They say they will not refuel it because of the owner’s links to the Russian president.
Continue reading...Alexei Mordashov sold most of 34% stake in world’s biggest tourism operator to entity controlled by his wife
Germany is investigating deals under which most of the stake in Tui held by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov was transferred to an entity controlled by his wife, Marina Mordashova, Tui said on Friday.
Tui, the world’s biggest holiday company, was informed this week that Mordashova controls Ondero Ltd, which bought stakes in Mordashov’s Unifirm Ltd, Tui’s top shareholder, from two of his subsidiaries on 28 February.
Continue reading...Analysis: Safe in his palace, Syrian leader appears to have given Moscow carte blanche to airlift his army
After 11 years of war, the destruction of towns, cities and much of the Syrian military, Bashar al-Assad’s army has launched a recruitment drive. But the recruits are not fresh from bootcamps and will not fight on the home front. They are the vanguard of what could be the biggest state-backed mercenary force in the world. Within days, Syrian troops could be deployed to reinforce the stalled Russian frontlines in Ukraine, where Vladimir Putin is about to extract a lethal price for Moscow’s rescue of the Syrian leader.
The first Syrian troops to join Putin’s ranks – an advance force of 150 – arrived in Russia on Thursday, European intelligence officials claim. Ukrainian military intelligence, echoing a claim by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, believes 40,000 Syrians have signed up to fight – a figure that would represent a sizeable chunk of the battle-ready capacity of the country’s entire military.
Continue reading...Food supply fears as Biden plans to warn Chinese president against providing military support for Russia
Russia’s bombardment in the east of Ukraine continued on Friday. In the streets of Mariupol, where 350,000 civilians have been stranded with little food or water, Russia’s armed forces were “tightening the noose” around the city, a spokesperson for the Russian defence ministry said. In the eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s state emergency service said a multistorey teaching building had been shelled on Friday morning, killing one person, wounding 11 and trapping one other in the rubble.
Russian missiles struck an aircraft repair plant in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv, 50 miles from the border with Poland and a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Ukrainians. Blasts were heard at about 6am on Friday, preceded by the sound of air raid sirens, and a mushroom-shaped plume of smoke could be seen rising in the sky.
Continue reading...Analysis: the world faces the possibility of a dramatic shift in the geopolitical balance of power as Beijing mulls support for Russia over the Ukraine war
Joe Biden is due to make a phone call to Xi Jinping on Friday at a potential tipping point in China’s role in the world as it decides how far to go in backing Russia’s war on Ukraine.
While China has abstained on United Nations security council resolutions on the invasion, it has sided with Moscow rhetorically, echoing Russian talking points blaming Nato, and recycling conspiracy theories, and the Biden administration believes it has already decided to bail Russia out economically.
Continue reading...Western officials say Russia is struggling to make progress around the capital and question ‘whether Moscow now intends to try to assault Kyiv’
Hungary says it expects a “bigger wave” of refugees to arrive from Ukraine next week, prime minister Viktor Orban said in a video message posted to his official Facebook page.
Visiting a border crossing point near Hungary’s border with Romania and Ukraine, Orban said more border guards would be posted there next week to handle an increased number of refugees.
Continue reading...Former California governor, 74, calls on Putin to stop attack on Ukraine and says ‘this is not the Russian people’s war’
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday told the Russian people that they are being fed misinformation about their country’s assault on Ukraine and appealed to President Vladimir Putin to stop the attack.
The Hollywood star said in the nine-minute video on Twitter that the Kremlin was intentionally lying to Russians by saying the invasion was intended to “denazify” Ukraine. Russia describes its actions as a “special operation”.
Continue reading...The ESA has commissioned a study of how to get ExoMars off the ground without Roscosmos involvement
The European Space Agency has suspended its €1bn (£844m) ExoMars mission, a joint project with Russia that was due to launch a robotic rover in September. Member states of the ESA voted on Thursday to cancel the launch because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“The decision was made that this launch cannot happen, given the current circumstances and especially the sanctions that are imposed by our member states,” said agency director general Josef Aschbacher. “This makes it practically impossible, but also politically impossible to have a launch of [the rover] in September.”
Continue reading...Retailer says it has stopped supplying its franchisee’s business in Russia, but the shops remain open
A Conservative MP has backed calls for dozens of Marks & Spencer stores across Russia to be shut immediately, suggesting Vladimir Putin is funnelling every rouble made in the country into the invasion of Ukraine.
Alicia Kearns, who hosted four Ukrainian parliamentarians in the House of Commons on Thursday, said any profits generated would be tainted by the killings and war crimes committed during the conflict.
Continue reading...French president aims to raise pension age and continue cutting taxes for businesses and households
Emmanuel Macron has vowed to intensify his overhaul of France’s welfare state, tax system and labour market if he wins a second term as president next month, arguing that transforming French society would protect people at a time of crisis when the war in Ukraine marks “a return of tragedy in history”.
The 44-year-old centrist leader has risen in the polls since Russia’s invasion and is a clear favourite to win April’s election – which would make him the first French president to win re-election in 20 years. But he has been under pressure from opponents to explain his economic and social policy.
Continue reading...EU leaders and Joe Biden will meet next week to discuss war in Ukraine, but PM has not yet been invited
Boris Johnson is understood to be open to accepting an invitation to attend the European Council next week when EU leaders meet to discuss the war in Ukraine, though one has yet to be extended.
A Downing Street source said Johnson would be in Brussels next week for a Nato summit, along with the US president, Joe Biden, who will attend the council meeting later that afternoon. They said it remained a possibility for Johnson to attend the council meeting – which would be a major symbolic step post-Brexit.
Continue reading...Efforts to stock up Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro are under way as the wider repercussions of the conflict are felt in Yemen and Lebanon
Aid workers are racing to deliver emergency food supplies to Ukrainian cities at risk of “medieval tactics of besiegement”, a spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) has said.
In a dramatic turnaround for a country long hailed as the “breadbasket of the world”, the UN’s emergency food agency is now trying to get stocks into warehouses in Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro before it is too late, said Jakob Kern.
Continue reading...Economist calls for compressed working hours with 10-hour days in response to higher fuel prices
The Philippines is considering a four-day working week to conserve energy, as the cost of fuel continues to rise globally, driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Officials are searching for ways to soften the impact of dramatic price increases, which have prompted calls for a rise in the minimum wage and greater assistance for drivers.
Continue reading...UK and French authorities intercepted 23 small boats on Tuesday carrying total 943 people including children and a baby
More than 900 people were intercepted in small boats crossing the Channel on Tuesday in what is thought to be the largest number of migrants attempting to reach the UK in a single day so far this year.
The UK authorities intercepted 405 people in 12 boats, while the French stopped another 538 people in 11 boats. Among those to arrive were several children, including a baby, who were brought to shore by an RNLI lifeboat at Dungeness in Kent.
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