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UK to declare Wagner Group a terrorist organisation
UK to declare Wagner Group a terrorist organisation
Russian mercenary group Wagner will be declared a terrorist organisation and a draft order against the private militia will be laid in parliament on Wednesday, the Home Office said. Once cleared, the order will make it illegal to be a member of the group or to support it. The group, formerly led by now-dead Yevgeny Prigozhin, is known to carry out Russia’s dirty work in Syria and Africa, and has also handed Vladimir Putin Russia’s biggest victory of capturing Bakhmut against Ukraine in the continuing invasion. Assets belonging to Wagner, primarily consisting of contractors and prison convicts, will be declared as terrorist property and will be seized after the draft order is cleared. It will also render certain proscription offences punishable by up to 14 years in jail. Home secretary Suella Braverman called the group a “violent and destructive organisation which has acted as a military tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia overseas”. “While Putin’s regime decides what to do with the monster it created, Wagner’s continuing destabilising activities only continue to serve the Kremlin’s political goals,” she said in a statement. “They are terrorists, plain and simple – and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law. Wagner has been involved in looting, torture and barbarous murders. Its operations in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa are a threat to global security,” the home secretary said. “That is why we are proscribing this terrorist organisation and continuing to aid Ukraine wherever we can in its fight against Russia.” Once declared illegal, Wagner will join other organisations on the proscribed list like the Islamic State, al-Qaida and neo-Nazi group National Action. The Home Office said proscription of the group comes after consideration of the nature and scale of the organisation’s activities as well as the threat they pose to British nationals abroad. In May this year, a government source said the move to declare the group illegal was “imminent” and the administration was working on building a legal case. The push came after a government department reportedly helped its millionaire owner Prigozhin to circumvent UK sanctions to take a British journalist to court in 2021. The Treasury commissioned an internal review of its processes after it was reported that licences had been issued to allow lawyers to help Prigozhin launch legal action against a reporter of investigative website Bellingcat in the UK while the Russian oligarch was subjected to sanctions. As a result of the review, the department said the government was committed to “further targeted changes to the process for issuing legal fees licences that safeguard the sanctions regime against the risk of manipulation and ensure ministers are accountable for OFSI Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation) decision-making”. Wagner’s fate as Russia’s trusted brutal force in private capacity has been hanging by a thread after its leader Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash last month. The crash occurred exactly two months after Prigozhin mounted a short-lived armed rebellion against Russia’s military leadership, posing the biggest challenge to Mr Putin’s authority in his 23-year rule. Read More With its leader dead, can the Wagner group rise and ride again? Russians are convinced Wagner warlord Prigozhin is still alive as conspiracy spreads that Putin killed body double Kremlin says 'Deliberate wrongdoing' among possible causes of plane crash that killed Prigozhin The Kremlin says Putin is not planning to attend Wagner chief Prigozhin's burial White House says Kremlin has ‘long history’ of killing its opponents following Prigozhin death
2023-09-06 12:23
X threatens brands with lost verification if they don't cough up $1,000 a month
X threatens brands with lost verification if they don't cough up $1,000 a month
Another day, another messy news story to come out of X, or Twitter, or whatever
2023-07-27 18:33
US Republicans expect no votes on stopgap this week as shutdown looms
US Republicans expect no votes on stopgap this week as shutdown looms
By David Morgan WASHINGTON Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives said they do not expect to
2023-11-07 19:09
Musk regrets controversial post but won't bow to advertiser 'blackmail'
Musk regrets controversial post but won't bow to advertiser 'blackmail'
Elon Musk apologized Wednesday for endorsing a social media post widely seen as anti-Semitic, but accused advertisers who are turning away from his social media platform X of "blackmail" and said anyone who...
2023-11-30 08:16
Valkyrie Heirloom Secret Shotgun Animation in Apex Legends
Valkyrie Heirloom Secret Shotgun Animation in Apex Legends
Recently, an Apex Legends player has discovered a brand new animation for the new Valkyrie "Suzaku" Heirloom. The heirloom was released with the start of the A
1970-01-01 08:00
NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 3
NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 3
The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While
2023-10-03 16:17
Recreational marijuana is now legal in Minnesota but the state is still working out retail sales
Recreational marijuana is now legal in Minnesota but the state is still working out retail sales
Minnesota’s legalization of recreational marijuana went into effect Tuesday
2023-08-02 02:05
Russia warns against any ships traveling to Ukraine from Thursday
Russia warns against any ships traveling to Ukraine from Thursday
MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) -Russia warned that from Thursday any ships traveling to Ukraine's Black Sea ports will be seen as possibly
2023-07-20 05:49
Is Pink supporting Britney Spears? Singer changes 'Don't Let Me Get Me' lyrics amid pop star's divorce from Sam Asghari
Is Pink supporting Britney Spears? Singer changes 'Don't Let Me Get Me' lyrics amid pop star's divorce from Sam Asghari
Pink sang 'Sweet Britney Spears,' instead the actual lines, 'Tired of being compared to damn Britney Spears'
2023-08-18 21:03
Federer wows Wimbledon crowd from royal box
Federer wows Wimbledon crowd from royal box
Wimbledon paid tribute to Roger Federer on Tuesday as the eight-time champion returned to the scene of his some...
2023-07-04 21:01
'Arrogant' Shaquille O'Neal slammed for three word response to Martin Brundle on F1 grid
'Arrogant' Shaquille O'Neal slammed for three word response to Martin Brundle on F1 grid
Martin Brundle might have the most thankless task in all of broadcasting which has been further exemplified by an interaction with basketball legend Shaquille 'Shaq' O'Neal. As is customary at every grand prix, the Sky Sports reporter attempts to speak to the biggest names and celebrities that are in attendance at that particular race. This weekend saw the Las Vegas grand prix take place which was won by Max Verstappen but it's often the celebrities that steal the show and this time it was Shaq's turn. Brundle had attempted to have a few friendly words with the NBA icon who was a guest of Red Bull on the grid. However, the 7ft 1in colossus was in no mood for talking and was more eager to pose for photos. Brundle stood his ground though and waited for Shaq to finish and as the 51-year-old strode past he managed to get a microphone in the former LA Lakers stars' face. However, Shaq response was a lot shorter than his size, only saying "Lewis Hamilton baby" in response to the reporter. Brundle sarcastically responded with: "Lewis Hamilton, baby. That’ll cover it,.” The veteran reporter added: “Yeah, it’s okay. I’ve had a great television career so, honestly, it doesn’t really matter, does it, if it’s over this evening?” Although Brundle is used to these type of awkward interactions with major stars it still didn't stop people from thinking that Shaq's behaviour was rude and ignorant. Brundle has also had awkward run ins on F1 grids with the likes of Machinegun Kelly, Cara Delevingne, Megan Thee Stallion and Brad Pitt. He has had some fun on the grid recently, such as when he met Eurovision legend Sam Ryder.
2023-11-19 21:41
Family in gymnastics racism row say apology is 'useless'
Family in gymnastics racism row say apology is 'useless'
The mother of a black girl not given a medal at a gymnastics event said officials showed "no empathy".
2023-09-29 01:14