US Ratchets Up Economic Pressure on Uganda Over Anti-LGBTQ Laws
The US terminated Uganda’s preferential trade status, the latest in a series of punitive measures against the East
2023-10-31 17:22
Zelensky says Putin ‘losing control’ as Ukraine’s troops prepare to repel Bakhmut assault
Volodymyr Zelensky said an antisemitic rally in Russia’s Dagestan this week and an earlier military coup by Vladimir Putin’s former ally Yevgeny Prigozhin were clear signs the Russian president was “losing control”. The Ukrainian president on Monday said the invasion of his country by Mr Putin has only led to inadvertent effects for Moscow. “They have mobilised all their forces to try not to lose what they seized in Ukraine, but in doing so, they have contaminated their own territory with such a level of hatred and degradation that, for the second time this year, Russia is losing control over events,” said the war-time president. “We see that mutineers are heading to Moscow, and no one is stopping them,” he said, referring to now-deceased Prigozhin’s coup earlier this year. “We see that the power vertical in Dagestan is evaporating, leading to a real upheaval. “These are all signals that Russia can, for now, sustain military operations and increase pressure on the frontlines in some places, but is unable to withstand this confrontation strategically,” said the Ukrainian leader. The comments came as Kyiv’s military officials said Russia bulked up its forces around the devastated city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and tweaked the manner of its operations. “In the Bakhmut area, the enemy has significantly strengthened its grouping and switched from defence to active actions,” general Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s commander of ground forces, wrote on Telegram. Kyiv’s officials also said Ukraine has been preparing to repel these attacks. Russian forces had been preparing since early this month to retake positions around Bakhmut that were lost in the months-long Ukrainian counteroffensive, according to Volodymyr Fityo, head of communications for Ukraine’s ground forces command. “We saw this, the intelligence reported everything. We had been preparing, strengthening our defensive positions, engineering fortifications and pulling up reserves,” Mr Fityo said. “This does not come as a surprise for us.” Both Mr Syrskyi and Mr Fityo said Russian forces were particularly active near the Ukrainian-held town of Kupiansk in the northeast. Mr Fityo said Russia had numerical superiority. Bakhmut was captured by Russia in May with help from private military company Wagner after witnessing some of the bloodiest fighting in the now 20-month-old war. But Ukraine has amped up military operations to retake Bakhmut in the counteroffensive that was launched in June and that aims to retake occupied land in the country’s south and east. Read More Russia accuses Ukraine of damaging a nuclear waste warehouse as the battle for Avdiivika grinds on UK ministers continue to resist calls for ceasefire in Middle East Russian drones likely targeted Khmelnytskyi nuclear power station, Zelensky says Zelensky vows to keep up pressure on Crimea: ‘This is historic achievement’ Timeline: Rishi Sunak’s first year in office Timeline: Rishi Sunak’s first year in office
2023-10-31 17:22
US dismisses Putin’s claim that anti-Israel riot at Dagestan was organised by Ukraine and West
The US has rejected Vladimir Putin’s claim that the Ukraine and the West were behind a riot in Russia’s Dagestan where thousands of people stormed an airport to target a flight landing from Israel. Mr Putin on Monday, without presenting any evidence, accused unnamed Ukrainian agents of Western spy agencies of “trying to inspire” the rampage at the airport late on Sunday which injured more than 20 people. The Russian president claimed the chaos was part of America’s efforts to weaken Russia. None of those injured in the attack were Israeli nationals, reported The Associated Press. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answered a question on Russia publicly blaming outsiders for the attack. “I have seen their comments about Ukraine, that is absurd obviously. I don’t have any assessment to offer,” he said. “I have seen reports that they may be arresting people. I don’t know the full extent of the action they will take. I will say we believe that they should hold anyone responsible accountable,” the official said. US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also responded to the allegations by Mr Putin. “Classic Russian rhetoric, when something goes bad in your country, you blame somebody else,” he said at a White House briefing, adding that the West had “nothing to do with this”. “This is just hate, bigotry and intimidation, pure and simple," Mr Kirby said and criticised the Russian president for not doing more to condemn the violence, which he described as “a chilling demonstration of hate”. Photos and videos of the rampage showed scores of angry men, some carrying banners with antisemitic slogans, rushing onto the tarmac of the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, looking for Israeli passengers on the flight from Tel Aviv. Mr Putin blamed the US for sowing chaos in the Middle East and for stoking the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia’s invasion is entering its second winter. Without presenting any evidence or intelligence, he accused “agents of Western special services” in Ukraine of using social media networks to provoke the rampage in Dagestan to weaken Russia. “I’m not certain if everyone in the US leadership is aware of that,” he said. “It wouldn’t hurt if they run a probe into what their special services have been doing in Ukraine, trying to inspire pogroms in Russia. They are real scum, it’s impossible to call them otherwise.” “The ruling elites of the US and its satellites are the main beneficiaries of the global instability,” Mr Putin said. “They are earning their bloody rent from it.” Police officers and civilians were among those injured in the violence. Two of them were in critical condition, regional health authorities said. More than 80 people were detained in the unrest, according to police. Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal probe on charges of organising mass unrest. Read More Kyiv troops advance on two fronts as Putin’s air defences ‘struck in Crimea’ – live If Putin dies, this is what would happen in Russia Putin ally Lukashenko calls for ceasefire in ‘stalemate’ Ukraine war Ukraine bombards Russia with drones as Putin suffers losses in fight for Avdiivka War-weary mothers, wives and children of Ukrainian soldiers demand a cap on military service time From Stalin to Putin, abortion has had a complicated history in Russia
2023-10-31 17:17
Gene Therapy for Kids’ Deadly Muscle Disease Fails to Reach Trial Goal
Roche Holding AG shares dropped after a trial of its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy did not
2023-10-31 16:59
European Stocks Muted as Worst October Since 2020 Comes to End
European stocks were subdued on Tuesday, heading for their biggest drop for the month of October since 2020,
2023-10-31 16:58
Daiwa Announces Share Buyback as Profit Climbs on Retail Business
Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s profit jumped last quarter as all the main businesses fired for Japan’s second-biggest brokerage.
2023-10-31 16:57
SNB Set to Skip Second Payout as Record Loss Can’t Be Offset
The Swiss National Bank looks increasingly likely to skip its annual payout to shareholders and the government for
2023-10-31 16:52
BOJ Is Handing Back the Japanese Bond Market to Investors
The Bank of Japan is bringing an end to its near monopoly of control over the nation’s bond
2023-10-31 16:29
Russian soldiers accused of killing family of nine as they slept in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town
Russian forces allegedly gunned down an entire family of nine, including two young children, as they slept in their beds in the Russia-occupied town of Volnovakha in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk, officials in Kyiv said. Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said Russian soldiers killed all members of the Kapkanets family on 27 October after the civilians refused to give them control of their house. According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office in Donetsk, the attackers were in army uniforms and had demanded the family house be vacated, leading to an argument. "According to preliminary information, the occupiers have killed the whole of the Kapkanets family, who were celebrating a birthday and who had refused to hand their own house over to occupiers from Chechnya," he said on his official Telegram channel. The suspects came back later as the family slept and gunned down the members, as per media reports. Mr Lubinets said that the “Russians’s bloodied hands were involved” in the killings, “just as traces of Russian torture were discovered in Bucha, Irpin, Izyum and other Ukrainian cities”. The Ukrainian Donetsk Region Prosecutor’s Office alleged multiple family members were shot while in their beds, still tucked in each others arms, according to CNN. Two children born in 2014 and 2018 were among the victims. Russian authorities have said two Russian soldiers were arrested over the killings. “According to preliminary information, the motive for the crime was a domestic conflict,” Russia’s official Investigations Committee said in a statement. The suspects were “Russian military servicemen from the Far East serving under contract”, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Donetsk People’s Republic said in a statement. An investigation was launched in connection with the murders, the committee said. Multiple Russian news channels on Telegram who have spoken to the neighbours of the victims blamed the Russian military for the deaths. “All of the neighbours are saying that the killers were in the military,” one neighbour told Astra, a Russian news channel, adding that locals in the area were scared. The Ukrainian town Volnovakha has remained under Russian control for more than 20 months after being captured just weeks after the full-scale invasion began. Read More Kyiv troops advance on two fronts as Putin’s air defences ‘struck in Crimea’ – live How much money does the US give to Israel, and is there more to come? GOP vows to bring Israel package to floor this week – without Ukraine funding Oil prices could reach 'uncharted waters' if the Israel-Hamas war escalates, the World Bank says If Putin dies, this is what would happen in Russia Putin ally Lukashenko calls for ceasefire in ‘stalemate’ Ukraine war
2023-10-31 16:24
Zegona Agrees to Buy Vodafone Spain for €5 Billion
Zegona Communications Plc has agreed to buy Vodafone Group Plc’s Spanish business for €5 billion ($5.3 billion) including
2023-10-31 16:22
BP Profit Misses as Weak Gas Trading Offsets Strong Oil
BP Plc’s third-quarter profit rebounded from the prior period, but fell short of estimates as weak results in
2023-10-31 16:22
Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kyiv troops advance on two fronts as Putin’s air defences ‘struck in Crimea’
Ukrainian troops have made confirmed advances near Bakhmut, Donetsk, and Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia, according to the Institute for the Study of War. “Geolocated footage posted on 30 October shows that Ukrainian forces have advanced northeast of Kurdyumivka (10km southwest of Bakhmut),” it said. Ukrainian forces have also “marginally advanced” west of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia, according to geolocated footage seen by the think tank. It comes as Kyiv said it had “successfully hit a strategic object of the air defence system” in western Crimea. Russian sources said the attack was carried out using “combined” long-range weapons like ATACMS, storm shadow missiles and sea drones. The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed its air defence systems destroyed eight Storm Shadow cruise missiles over the peninsula. If confirmed, this would be the first time Ukraine has used the top-tier missile system provided by the US to hit targets on the Crimean coast. Meanwhile, Russia has bulked up its forces around the devastated city of Bakhmut in the east and has switched its troops from a defensive posture to taking “active actions”, a Ukrainian military commander said. Read More Ukrainian officials say Russian shelling killed a 91-year-old woman in a 'terrifying night' The storming of Dagestan airport: How a thousand protestors caused shutdown and carnage in Russia Moscow succession: What would happen if Putin dies?
2023-10-31 16:18