London, United Kingdom | AFP | by Anna MALPAS / Jitendra JOSHI Contenders to succeed British Prime Minister Liz Truss canvassed for support Friday, with her predecessor Boris Johnson reportedly considering a sensational comeback as he picks up dozens of early nominations from Conservative MPs. Truss’s announcement Thursday that she will resign after less than seven weeks in office has also prompted renewed calls from opposition parties for an early general election to end […]
Europe
Ukraine warns Russia planning to destroy hydro dam
Kyiv, Ukraine | AFP | by Emmanuel PEUCHOT Kyiv accused Russia of planning to destroy a hydroelectric dam in the eastern Kherson region, where Ukrainian soldiers have been steadily advancing and Moscow-installed authorities have begun evacuations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had mined the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant with the intent of blowing it up, in what would amount to a “catastrophe on a grand scale”. Hundreds of thousands of people around the […]
Pro-Moscow officials say Ukraine killed four in Kherson evacuations
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow-installed authorities in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region Friday said Kyiv forces killed four people when they shelled the Antonivskiy bridge over the Dnipro river used for evacuations. “Four people were killed,” pro-Moscow official Kirill Stremousov said on Telegram. “The city of Kherson, like a fortress, is preparing for its defence.” A Ukrainian military spokeswoman Nataliya Gumenyuk denied Kyiv’s forces had killed civilians. “We do not hit critical infrastructure. We do not […]
Boris Johnson comeback bid adds drama to UK political soap opera
London, United Kingdom | AFP | With supporters demanding “bring back Boris” and critics calling it “an insult” to the British people, an anticipated bid by Boris Johnson to once again become UK prime minister has stirred an already boiling political pot. By declaring “hasta la vista baby” during his last question time in parliament on July 20, Johnson had already dropped a heavy hint that he had unfinished business. According to The Times, he […]
Shortest-serving PM in history leaves scars on economy
London, United Kingdom | AFP | by Roland JACKSON / Véronique DUPONT Liz Truss, the shortest serving prime minister in UK history, leaves lasting scars on the economy after her botched budget rocked markets, spiked borrowing costs and tanked the pound. The crisis-hit PM, elected Conservative leader just six weeks ago on a tax-slashing platform, announced her resignation Thursday. Her budget, peppered with tax cuts and delivered last month, sought to boost growth in […]
PM Truss quits as UK’s Tories in chaos
London, United Kingdom | AFP | by James PHEBY British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Thursday dramatically announced her resignation just six weeks after taking office. Truss bowed to the inevitable after her right-wing platform of tax cuts disintegrated and as many MPs among the ruling Conservatives revolted. Speaking in Downing Street, Truss said she would stay on as prime minister until a successor is chosen to serve as Tory leader. “We’ve agreed that […]
UPDATE: President Putin declares martial law in Ukraine regions Russia says annexed
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday introduced martial law in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that Moscow claims to have annexed. “I signed a decree to introduce martial law in these four subjects of the Russian Federation,” Putin said during a televised National Security Council meeting. The Kremlin then published a decree saying martial law will be introduced from early Thursday. Putin’s announcement came as Ukrainian forces advanced […]
Europe’s police keep wary eye on threat from 3D-printed guns
Paris, France | AFP | by Anne-Sophie LABADIE A growing number of seizures of guns made at home from 3D-printed parts are raising alarm bells for European police over an emerging threat. For now, interest among far-right activists may be limited, say analysts — and fears of a society awash with print-it-yourself weapons remain far-fetched. But homemade guns have become more widespread since 2013, when a US weapons enthusiast first showed off a mostly 3D-printed […]
Report slams ‘institutional racism’ in UK courts
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A report has said it found evidence of “institutional racism” in the UK justice system in England and Wales, particularly in the treatment of black and Asian defendants. There are currently no black judges in the High Court, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court. In England and Wales, nine percent of judges are non-white and just one percent are black, according to government statistics. Released late Tuesday, the report […]
‘About 50’ Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant staff in Russian detention
Kiew, Ukraine | AFP | The head of Ukraine’s state nuclear agency Energoatom said Wednesday that about 50 employees of the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine were held in Russian captivity. “More than 150 people from the staff of the plant were captured” since the start of the Russian invasion in late February, Petro Kotin told AFP, adding that “some of them were later released, but there are those whose fate is […]
Pro-Kremlin administration evacuating from Ukraine’s Kherson city: official
Moscow, Russia | AFP | The head of the Russian-controlled region of Kherson in southern Ukraine said Wednesday that pro-Kremlin officials were evacuating from the region’s main city but vowed Moscow’s forces would keep fighting. “The entire administration is already moving today,” to the left bank of the Dnieper river, the region’s Moscow-installed head Vladimir Saldo, said on Russian state television. He said the measure, along with the organised movement of civilians from the […]
China lodges formal complaint with Britain over consulate clash
Beijing, China | AFP | China said Wednesday it has lodged a formal complaint with Britain over an altercation between its diplomats and a Hong Kong protester on the grounds of its Manchester consulate. British police have said a group of men came out of the consulate during a weekend demonstration, dragging one of the protesters inside the grounds and assaulting him. The incident has drawn widespread condemnation in Britain and triggered an international row […]