The foreign secretary has announced new legislation which could be used to toughen the UK’s sanctions in response to the massing of Russian troops at Ukraine’s border amid fears of an invasion. Liz Truss said it means a much broader range of oligarchs and businesses could be sanctioned because of their significance to the Kremlin.
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A British woman found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus has won her appeal to overturn the conviction at the country’s Supreme Court, her lawyers said. The then 19-year-old, from Derby, was given a suspended four-month jail term in 2020 after a judge found her guilty of public mischief following a trial. The
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone starts with a checkpoint and souvenir wagons. You can buy Chernobyl condoms that glow in the dark, keyrings and t-shirts. “Visit Chernobyl, die later” was the slogan on one. We had to set off early through driving snow from Kyiv, but despite the weather, the drive took little more than a
The UK is preparing to send a “clear message to the Kremlin” by deploying troops across Europe – as NATO hopes to prevent Russia from “choosing a path of bloodshed and destruction” by invading Ukraine. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has ordered the armed forces to prepare for the major military deployment, which will strengthen Europe’s
Boris Johnson will step up his presence in the Russia-Ukraine crisis by holding a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting the region “in the coming days”. The prime minister will “ramp up deterrence to avoid bloodshed” between the two former Soviet states and is determined to “accelerate diplomatic efforts” during the trip, a
The five children are all now orphans – and still very much in shock when we meet them. Their two-roomed home is silent apart from their weeping which is interspersed with stunned silences. Propped up in front of them is a photograph of their mother who was killed in a car bomb a few days
Anastasiia Bezpalko’s most popular TikTok video is a guide on what to pack to be prepared if war breaks out in Ukraine. Filmed in her living room, the 19-year-old runs through how to make the perfect emergency survival bag. The rucksack must be small. Don’t forget your important documents. A first aid kit is essential.
Britain’s cyber security centre has urged UK organisations to check their cyber defences because of concern about the potential for new Russian cyber attacks linked to tensions with Ukraine. The public-facing arm of the spy agency GCHQ encouraged everyone to read new guidance published on its website entitled: “Actions to take when the cyber threat
The mayor of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has told Sky News he is “very worried” about the situation with Russia and expressed concern that the West may not be united in its support of Ukraine. Vitali Klitschko, a previous world heavyweight boxing champion, criticised Germany for supplying Ukraine with 5,000 military helmets while stopping short of
They are taking the latest twists and turns in the diplomatic crisis over Ukraine in their stride here in the country’s capital. Kyiv feels like a city caught in a moment of time, suspended between humdrum normality and the threat of looming conflict. There are thousands of Russian troops just a few hours drive north
Warning: This article contains distressing content. In our first few days in Herat, we’ve met whole families who’ve sold their kidneys so they can eat. In one case, three brothers and their two sisters told us they flogged their organs for around £1,150 a piece to buy food for the rest of the family. We’ve
An American hospital has rejected a patient for a heart transplant because he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, his family has said. DJ Ferguson, 31, has spent almost 50 days in hospital, and is now in end-stage heart failure and needs a transplant to survive. Brigham and Women’s Hospital policy states he is no longer
With a soldier on board, we were given directions to drive off main roads and along snow-covered tracks to a desolate spot and await further instructions. The soldier’s telephone rang and he was given new orders, turning us around, then taking a sharp right down another track where a car was waiting for us. As
A black man spent almost a week in prison after US police mistook him for a suspect with the same name who is white and twice his age, a lawsuit says. Shane Lee Brown has accused two police departments in Nevada in the federal civil rights lawsuit of wrongful arrest and negligence. The 25-year-old alleges
The Ukrainian soldiers speak in whispers as they trudge through the snow and mud of their trenches, keeping low as they pass the most exposed sections, past signs warning of sniper activity. Nothing has changed here for years. The daily exchanges with Russian-backed separatists and, what the Ukrainians are certain of, professional Russian soldiers, goes
The United Arab Emirates has intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting Abu Dhabi, the country’s defence ministry has said. Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the offensive, saying they targeted al-Dhafra Air Base and other areas in the Emirati capital – along with sites in the Dubai region and the Saudi areas of Jizan and Asir.
A British man who died in Thailand following an alleged assault has been named as Marcus Evans. The 49-year-old, from Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, was killed in the early hours of Saturday morning in the Kanchanaburi Province in the west of the country. Thai Police were called to a house – thought to belong to
Britain has accused Russia of a shadowy plot to install a pro-Kremlin government in Kyiv as Moscow weighs up a further invasion of Ukraine. In a highly-unusual move that appeared to be based on specially declassified intelligence, the Foreign Office alleged that a former Ukrainian MP was “being considered as a potential candidate” as a
A British tourist has been killed and his friend badly injured in a knife attack in Thailand. The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday in Kanchanaburi. Thai police have said they were called to a house – thought to belong to the victim’s girlfriend – in the Muang district in the early hours
It doesn’t matter that I lived in Russia and experienced its winters for a number of years. It doesn’t matter that I reported on the wintry months of the Ukrainian separatist uprising in 2014 into 2015. Because each time one comes back, the weather is as horrendous and painful as ever. Looking out across miles