Pandemic, war and an assassination have defined Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s two years in office, yet his

Ukraine’s outgoing defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has turned in his resignation and said he was honoured to have served the war-hit country in its toughest modern-day history. From appearing next to president Volodymyr Zelensky in a viral video shot in Kyiv just hours into the Ukraine invasion last year to carrying out deals for military aid with dozens of Western allies, the lawyer-turned-politician had played a critical role in aiding the country against Russia’s continuing full-scale invasion. On Sunday, Mr Zelensky announced Mr Reznikov’s removal as he believed “the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole”. “I have submitted my letter of resignation to Ruslan Stefanchuk @r_stefanchuk, Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine @verkhovna_rada. It was an honour to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the #UAarmy for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine’s modern history,” Mr Reznikov said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. “Over 50 per cent of the temporarily occupied territories by Russia have already been liberated. Every day our defenders are moving forward,” the 57-year-old leader, tipped to possibly be Ukraine’s next ambassador to the UK, said in his resignation letter. “There is an understanding that Ukraine is a shield of Europe in the east,” he said, adding that one of his biggest priorities for Kyiv was long-term partnerships with allies and finalising “real security guarantees”. Mr Reznikov also shared on X a photo of himself smiling and holding his resignation letter. He cited the provision of modern tanks, air defence anti-missile systems, long-range missiles, armoured vehicles, artillery, the Multiple Launch Rocket System among other types of modern-style weapons procured during his ministership, and lauded the besieged country’s fierce wartime resistance against Russian forces. The minister’s tenure saw heavy lobbying efforts to secure vital military aid from the West. In recent months, however, Mr Zelensky pushed for greater reforms to tackle corruption in the country. The defence ministry, under Mr Reznikov’s handling, faced graft allegations of buying food at inflated prices. The allegations, that had emerged in January this year, sparked speculation of Mr Reznikov’s tenure being cut short. He has described the charges against him and his ministry as a smear attack. While Mr Reznikov is not alleged to have signed a December contract worth some 13bn hryvnias (£290m), he is viewed as ultimately responsible for the department and previously emphasised his own zero-tolerance approach to corruption. Mr Reznikov, who was appointed defence chief in November 2021, told reporters in February that his department had begun an internal audit of all procurement contracts and said his ministry’s anti-corruption department needed to be overhauled and had failed to perform its role properly. Mr Zelensky has proposed the name of Crimean Tatar Rustem Umerov, currently the head of Ukraine’s main privatisation agency, as a replacement candidate as defence minister, subject to the parliament’s approval. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Zelensky sacks defence minister as Putin strikes Kyiv grain exporting port President Zelensky nominates Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s new defence minister Ukraine replaces its defence minister Upward of 20,000 Ukrainian amputees face trauma on a scale unseen since WWI Russia attacks a Ukrainian port before key grain deal talks between Putin and Turkey's president

Fuel used to be the biggest bargain at Britain’s supermarkets. Today, some drivers are convinced it’s the biggest

Toto Wolff insists his public rebuke of Lewis Hamilton at the Austrian Grand Prix will have no impact on the British driver’s Mercedes future. As Max Verstappen racked up his seventh victory from nine rounds with a crushing performance at Red Bull’s home race in Spielberg to extend his championship lead to 81 points, Hamilton crossed the line a disappointing seventh. Hamilton was the first of six drivers to be penalised by race director Niels Wittich for exceeding track limits. He then spent the remainder of the race asking why some of his rivals – namely Sergio Perez – had not been sanctioned, and also lambasted the speed of his under-performing Mercedes machine. Wolff rarely speaks to his drivers over the radio, but was on the intercom twice to Hamilton during Sunday’s race. “Lewis, the car is bad, we know,” said Wolff on his second appearance over the airwaves. “Just please drive it.” The dressing down might have stung Hamilton. Asked what provoked Wolff to deliver the remark, Hamilton’s answer was short, and not-so-sweet. Lewis, the car is bad, we know. Just please drive it Toto Wolff to Lewis Hamilton “I don’t know,” he said. “You will have to ask him.” Hamilton has six months remaining on his £40million-a-season deal. Might the exchange have a bearing on negotiations? “No, not at all,” said Wolff. “You should hear us talking on the phone and meeting each other. That was nothing. “We have had a bad weekend, all of us in the team, and that just makes us stronger. “It was only for the best interest of the driver and the team. Sometimes there is a certain moment when you need to calm things down but I meant well. “We had a lot of discussion about track limits and whether they were enforced or not. “I wanted to make sure we were getting the best out of the package that wasn’t performing, and trying to give it our best shot.” It has been a difficult weekend for Mercedes in Austria. Hamilton was 10th in the Sprint on Saturday, while team-mate George Russell finished eighth in both the shortened race and the main event. Hamilton’s losing streak now extends to 32 races and Wolff – despite suggesting on June 12 that his superstar driver’s next contract would be signed in “days rather than weeks” – confirmed that there will be no news of an extension at Silverstone this weekend. “I am still very confident it will get done,” added Wolff. “We want to do it super, and to every detail. “This is not a money discussion. It is about the future, what is it that we want to do right, and then optimise. “We are not talking anymore about money, or duration, it is about other topics.” I am still very confident it will get done. We want to do it super, and to every detail Wolff on contract talks with Hamilton Asked how long Hamilton’s next deal will be, Wolff replied: “For a while. The Brits say a couple means two, and the Americans say a couple means a few, so it is somewhere there. Several.” The day began strongly for Hamilton. He started fifth and leapfrogged Lando Norris at the opening corner. But he soon faced the wrath of race control for putting all four wheels of his Mercedes over the white line on three separate occasions. He was penalised with a black-and-white warning flag on lap 12, and then hit with a five-second penalty five laps later. Hamilton took his punishment at his second pit stop on lap 43, dropping him to eighth place. He moved up one spot when Pierre Gasly stopped for tyres but failed to make any impression on Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, crossing the line half a minute back. “The feeling with the car was the same as I had last year,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t expect to be as bad as we were today. It is surprising.” Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari, while Perez raced from 15th to third, passing Carlos Sainz with 10 laps to go. Norris ended the day in fifth to record his best result of a difficult season for his under-performing McLaren team. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Austrian Grand Prix to remain on F1 calendar until at least 2030 Lewis Hamilton to start sprint race from 18th at Austrian Grand Prix Made us look like amateurs – Max Verstappen hits out over raft of deleted laps

Since the kindergartener was fatally shot in May, his family has been committed to keeping his loving spirit alive.

The mystery behind the brightest explosion ever seen has finally been solved. In October last year, the Earth was hit by a blast that came to be known as the Brightest of All Time. It was recorded by telescopes across the world, and scientists have been scrambling to explain it ever since. Now researchers believe they may understand why that gamma ray burst was quite so intense. It was pointed directly at Earth and pulled along a large amount of stellar material. That’s according to a new paper published in the journal Science Advances. While scientists have suggested before that the brightness of the blast was the result of its angle, but some mystery remained: the edges of the jet could not be seen. “The slow fade of the afterglow is not characteristic of a narrow jet of gas, and knowing this made us suspect there was an additional reason for the intensity of the explosion, and our mathematical models have borne this out,” said Hendrik Van Earthen from the University of Bath. “Our work clearly shows that the GRB had a unique structure, with observations gradually revealing a narrow jet embedded within a wider gas outflow where an isolated jet would normally be expected.” The work is described in a new paper, ‘A structured jet explains the extreme GRB 221009’, published in the journal Science Advances. Read More Scientists demonstrate wireless power transmission from space for first time Whistleblower alleges UFO crashes – and a cover-up to keep them secret Watch: Strawberry moon lights up skies over UK

'Selling Sunset' star Chrishell Stause has earned whopping commission throughout the Netflix show

The Supreme Court has rejected former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin’s appeal of his conviction for second-degree murder in the killing of George Floyd

Deborah Roberts takes over Instagram to celebrate Al Roker's fatherhood!

TREVOR, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 18, 2023--

The daughter of an American woman whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase at an Indonesian resort island has changed her plea to guilty on charges of helping to kill her mother in Bali nine years ago

Green Bay has had extra time to think about its 34-20 loss to Detroit