Zelenskyy proud of the ‘absolute heroism of Ukrainians’ President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his country’s people on Monday that he was proud of their ‘absolute heroism’ in fighting and living in the war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion exactly three years ago. “Three years of resistance. Three years of gratitude. Three years of absolute…
The EU is spending more money on Russian fossil fuels than on financial aid to Ukraine, a report marking the third anniversary of the invasion has found. The EU bought €21.9bn (£18.1bn) of Russian oil and gas in the third year of the war, according to estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and…
The Taliban have arrested a British couple in their 70s for “teaching mothers parenting with children”. Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife, Barbie, 75, were detained when returning to their home in Bamiyan province on 1 February. The couple have been running projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years and decided to stay in…
It was interesting to read that new licences for oil and gas production in the North Sea are being delayed by legal action (Thirteen more oil and gas licences could be cancelled after Rosebank court ruling, 13 February). However, it is a sad fact that, while this issue is receiving much publicity, various communities in the…
A person with the Hezbollah flag draped over his shoulders looks on during the day of a public funeral ceremony for late Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, who were killed in Israeli airstrikes last year, in Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Mohammed Yassin/Reuters A person with the Hezbollah flag draped over his shoulders looks on…
US Senate confirms Kash Patel as next FBI director Hugo Lowell The US Senate has confirmed Kash Patel as the next FBI director, handing oversight of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency to an official who has declined to explicitly say whether he would use his position to pursue Donald Trump’s political opponents. Patel was…
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington and around the country beginning on Thursday, a person familiar with the plans told the Associated Press. The layoffs affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance departments, according…
The number of norovirus patients in hospital in England has reached an all-time high, figures have revealed, with experts saying a return to pre-pandemic behaviours could be fuelling the situation. Norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, is highly contagious. While most people get better at home in a couple of days, it can…
European countries are extracting renewable energy from Morocco and Egypt to “greenwash” their own economies, while leaving north Africans reliant on dirty imported fuels and paying the environmental costs, a Greenpeace report says. Both Morocco and Egypt are aiming to leverage their strategic locations south of the Mediterranean, and their solar and wind power potential,…
Thousands of public service jobs in Victoria are to be slashed after a review ordered by the state’s new treasurer, who has warned “difficult decisions” need to be made to bring the budget under control. Jaclyn Symes and the premier, Jacinta Allan, on Thursday announced an independent review into the Victorian public service (VPS), to…
