UK’s Starmer Condemns Attack on Israel at Labour Conference
UK Labour leader Keir Starmer condemned an attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas, saying it must
2023-10-08 19:23
Switzerland’s Thriving Russian Spy Hub Draws Scrutiny, NZZ Says
Switzerland has become home to one-fifth of the Russian spies operating in Europe as other countries expel diplomats,
2023-10-08 17:29
Visco Sees Concerns About Italy’s Long-Term Growth Potential: FT
The recent surge in Rome’s borrowing costs show investors are positioning for a combination of weak growth and
2023-10-08 17:29
Hamas Attack Prompts Blame Around Israeli Intelligence
Saturday’s surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas may represent one of the biggest failures by
2023-10-08 08:57
Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin official killed in Kherson car bomb as Kyiv gains ground near Bakhmut
An official of Vladimir Putin’s party has been killed in a car explosion in the Ukaine’s Kherson on Saturday, the regional governor has said. Vladimir Malov, executive secretary of of Russia‘s governing United Russia party in Nova Kakhovka, died in hospital, Vladimir Saldo said in a post on his Telegram channel. He said it had been a “terrorist attack”, meaning one orchestrated by Ukraine. “The law enforcement officers will do everything necessary to punish the perpetrators of the crime,” Mr Saldo posted on Telegram. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have gained ground near Bakhmut as Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia’s strike on a funeral service “inhuman” and “a completely deliberate act of terrorism”. According to the latest report from The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian military sources reported a successful offensive south of Bakhmut near Andriivka and advanced in western Zaporizhia Oblast on 6 October. It comes after a village where a Russian missile killed at least 52 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war had no military targets, according to Ukraine’s defence minister. Read More Russian missile strike kills more than 50 Ukrainians gathered for wake – in deadliest such attack in months Ukraine village reels after deadly missile strike: ‘Everything was burning’ Russia plans to reverse global nuclear test ban, announces envoy
2023-10-07 22:55
House Speaker Race Pits Trump-Backed Jordan Against Scalise
The bitter battle between Representatives Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan for the US House speakership culminates a long-simmering
2023-10-07 21:29
Israel Latest: Netanyahu in Video Message Says Nation ‘At War’
Israel declared a rare state of alert for war on Saturday after militants fired an estimated 2,200 missiles
2023-10-07 17:52
China Central Bank Adds More Gold Amid Elevated Local Premium
China added to its gold reserves for an 11th straight month in September when a surge in local
2023-10-07 16:50
Russia plans to reverse global nuclear test ban, announces envoy
Russia plans to withdraw its ratification of the 1996 treaty that prohibited the testing of nuclear weapons, the country’s envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation [CTBTO] said on Friday. “Disturbed” by the move, the US denounced it as endangering "the global norm" against nuclear test blasts. The announcement by Mikhail Ulyanov on Friday added new fuel to tensions between Russia and the United States over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and arms control disputes between the world’s largest nuclear weapons powers. Mr Ulyanov, Moscow’s envoy to the CTBTO, said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that "#Russia plans to revoke ratification (which took place in the year 2000) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty." "The aim is to be on equal footing with the #US who signed the Treaty, but didn’t ratify it. Revocation doesn’t mean the intention to resume nuclear tests," he said. The CTBT has been signed by 187 countries and ratified by 178 but cannot go into force until eight specific holdouts have signed and ratified it. China, Egypt, Iran, and Israel have signed but not ratified it. North Korea, India and Pakistan have not signed. While the United States signed but did not ratify the treaty, it has observed a moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions since 1992 that it says it has no plans to abandon. "We are disturbed by the comments of Ambassador Ulyanov in Vienna today," a US State Department spokesperson said in a statement. "A move like this by any State Party needlessly endangers the global norm against nuclear explosive testing." It said that Russia should not be “wielding arms control and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric in a failing attempt to coerce other states”, in an apparent reference to Moscow’s efforts to pressurise countries into withdrawing their arms support and aid to Ukraine. Mr Ulyanov’s statement came a day after Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Moscow could look at revoking its ratification of the CTBT. He argued that Russia could mirror the stand taken by Washington. “Theoretically, we may revoke the ratification,” he said, after Moscow successfully tested an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile. Moscow last tested a nuclear weapon in 1990, before the collapse of the Soviet Union a year later. It ratified the global test ban in 2000. Many Russian hawks have spoken in favour of resuming the tests, since its invasion of Ukraine, in February last year. Mr Putin said that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on the issue. “I’m not ready to say yet whether it’s necessary for us to conduct tests or not,” he said. "It would be concerning and deeply unfortunate if any State Signatory were to reconsider its ratification of the CTBT," Robert Floyd, the executive director of the CTBTO, which monitors compliance with the pact, said in a statement. "The Russian Federation has consistently reaffirmed its strong support of the CTBT since its very inception, helping to negotiate the Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament, signing the day it opened for signature on 24 September 1996, and ratifying it in June 2000," he added. Russian withdrawal could be a blow to the treaty since, like the eight key holdout countries, it is one of the "Annex 2" countries that must all ratify the treaty it for it to enter into force. "I look forward to continued close cooperation with the Russian Federation and all States that have committed to creating a world free of nuclear testing," Mr Floyd said. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s ‘inhuman’ missile strike hit area with no military targets, says Kyiv Ukraine village reels after deadly missile strike: ‘Everything was burning’ ‘You can still smell the blood’: Inside the village where more than 50 were killed by a Russian missile The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
2023-10-07 14:47
Russian Attacks Are Edging Closer and Closer to NATO Territory
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has an increasingly tricky problem in its backyard: how to confront the spillover
2023-10-07 14:24
Ecuador Says Dead Prisoners Were Suspects in Candidate’s Killing
Ecuador said six men murdered in a Guayaquil prison on Friday were suspects in the assassination of presidential
2023-10-07 13:59
UK Risks Losing Out to Europe in Hydrogen Energy Race
In 2021, the UK set out a bold ambition to become a ‘global leader on hydrogen’ by 2030.
2023-10-07 13:45