News Trending War

Burger King’s Russian partner “refuses” to close locations

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Despite demands to close the 800 Burger King locations in Russia, the company’s owner said the operator “refused” to do so. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Restaurant Brands said it had contacted its local partner, Alexander Kolobov, to close the stores.

However, it stated that “complicated” contracts with overseas partners prevent it from “walking away” from these agreements. Many Western companies have shut down or suspended operations in Russia. However, a small number of companies, including Burger King and UK retailer Marks and Spencer (M&S), have been unable to do so due to “complex” legal arrangements involving franchise partners. “We contacted the main operator of the business and demanded the suspension of Burger King restaurant operations in Russia,” Restaurant Brands International president David Shear wrote in a letter to employees. “He has steadfastly refused to do so.” Mr. Shear went on to say that any changes to the local Burger King would “ultimately require the support of Russian authorities on the ground, which we know will not happen anytime soon.”

Burger King first arrived in Russia ten years ago. It trades there through a joint venture with Mr Kolobov, who is the business’s main day-to-day operator, as well as VTB Capital of Russia and a Ukrainian investment firm. VTB Capital is a subsidiary of VTB Bank, Russia’s second-largest bank, which has been sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom, and other European countries. Restaurant Brands owns a minority 15 percent stake in the Russian joint venture, which is currently being wound down, according to Mr. Shear. “While we would like to do this right away, the terms of our existing joint venture agreement make it clear that it will take some time,” he said. Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands has ceased to support Russia’s supply chain, operations, and marketing. It will also turn down new investment and expansion proposals in Russia.

Following Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Western companies are still under pressure to leave the country. A group of four Ukrainian MPs told UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday that M&S is still open in Russia. Meanwhile, German automaker Audi has warned that the conflict in Ukraine will disrupt supply chains “significantly.”

“We will see tremendous interference with all supply chains, not just the chip business, but any international supply chains,” said Hildegard Wortmann, an Audi executive.

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Russia Ukraine War: Fourth Russian general killed in Ukraine conflict

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Another Russian general has been killed in the fighting, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Although he did not name the officer, a Ukrainian interior ministry adviser said Maj Gen Oleg Mityaev was killed by the far-right Azov Battalion.

Ukrainian media reported that Gen Mityaev was killed near Mariupol. He is the fourth Russian general to be reported killed, prompting some to wonder why such senior military figures are stationed so close to the front lines. Analysts estimate that around 20 generals are leading Russian operations in Ukraine, implying that one-fifth of Russia’s generals have been killed in action if all reported deaths are confirmed.

Because of the high number of casualties, some experts believe that the generals were not simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that Ukraine is likely targeting top-ranking Russian officers. “This is not an accident, in my opinion. One is an accident, but the rest are planned “, Georgetown University’s Rita Konaev said.

A source close to President Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal that Ukraine had a military intelligence team dedicated to targeting Russia’s officer class. “They’re looking for high-profile generals, pilots, and artillery commanders,” the source said. With Ukraine’s military outmanned, Ms Konaev believes that targeting high-ranking officials could be an important part of the information war.

Maj Gen Oleg Mityaev is said to have died near Mariupol, a city in southeast Ukraine that has seen some of the most intense fighting so far. The far-right Azov Battalion claims responsibility for his death. He was the commander of the Russian army’s 150th motorised rifle division, which was formed in 2016 and is based near the Ukrainian border in the Rostov region. Although Russia denies that its military was involved in fighting in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, Ukraine claims that the unit was created to participate in the conflict there.

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Russia Ukraine War: European leaders risk train ride to meet Zelensky

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Ukraine has praised the bravery of three European leaders who travelled by rail from Poland to Kyiv in a show of support as the city was subjected to more Russian attacks.

On Tuesday evening, the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky as a curfew was imposed in Kyiv. Following that, the Czech president assured Ukrainians that they are “not alone.” The delegation is the first group of Western leaders to visit Ukraine since Russia invaded the country.

In a tweet, Petr Fiala said, “We admire your brave fight.” “We know you’re fighting for our lives as well. You are not alone; our countries are with you.” Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland has stated that if Ukraine is lost, Europe will never be the same. It would be a “defeated, humiliated, and pathetic version of its former self,” he wrote.

Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime minister, wrote on Twitter that “devastating” sanctions against Russia had been discussed, including “recognition of Russia as a terrorist sponsor.” During the talks, loud explosions could be heard across Kyiv from fighting on the capital’s western outskirts. The European Union stated that the politicians did not have any specific mandate, but that leaders in Brussels were aware of the trip because it was mentioned during an informal EU summit last week in Versailles, France.

Marcin Przydacz, Poland’s deputy foreign minister, admitted that the trip was risky, but that it was “worth taking for the sake of values.” He claimed that the Russians had been informed of the visit. The leaders chose to travel by train because flying by Polish military jet could have been seen as dangerously provocative by Russia. It was unclear when their train would arrive in Warsaw for the return journey.

Ukraine’s president has asked Nato to impose a no-fly zone over his country’s airspace on numerous occasions, but Nato has refused. Mr. Zelensky stated that Ukrainians now understand that they will not be able to join NATO. “We’d heard for years that the doors were open, but that we wouldn’t be able to enter. It’s a fact that must be acknowledged. I’m glad our people are starting to realise this and relying on themselves and our partners for assistance.” In recent weeks, all three leaders have been vocal supporters of Ukraine. Last week, Slovenia’s prime minister stated that the EU should send a strong message to Ukraine that it will be granted membership in the future.

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Ukraine Russia War: Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has sparked fears it will spill over into Poland

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Poland is holding its breath as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on its doorstep. It is vulnerable on two fronts: the number of refugees entering the country is increasing, and a military base near its Ukrainian border has been attacked.

According to the latest UN figures, over 1.7 million Ukrainians have chosen to flee to Poland as a first responder in one of Europe’s largest refugee crises since World War Two. Some leave, but the majority choose to remain due to cultural, linguistic, or familial ties. As a result, the population of Warsaw, Poland’s capital, has increased by 15% in the last two weeks.

Alarm bells are also ringing in terms of security. Russia bombed a Ukrainian military base in Yavoriv, just 16 kilometres (10 miles) from the Polish border, over the weekend.

For years, Poland has warned the West that Russia was planning to redress the power balance in Europe in its favour. At the time, Polish leaders were dismissed as alarmists. But that is no longer the case. Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish Prime Minister, said on Monday that Ukrainian soldiers needed and deserved Western assistance. He insisted that they were fighting not only for their own liberties, but also for the liberties of their Eastern European neighbours. He also described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine as part of a calculated geopolitical strategy.

The Western defence alliance’s charter says an attack against one of its nations will be viewed as an attack against all. That would mean a face-off between two global nuclear powers – Russia and the US – something the West is keen to avoid. Moscow too, it hopes.

Rafal Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw and a high-profile political figure, told me that his country was not panicking, but that people were beginning to ask questions, particularly in light of Russia’s missile strike so close to the Polish border and Nato’s suggestion that Russia was planning chemical attacks. The mayor insisted that something urgent be done about the refugee crisis as well.

Mayor Trzaskowski has also urged the UK to “get rid of its red tape” and make it easier for Ukrainian refugees to enter the country.

Poland’s painful past, it could be argued, makes it fearful of the future. The arrival of Ukrainian refugees in this country has brought back memories of war and Soviet occupation. I met Kristina, a Polish pensioner, and her friends in Warsaw this week, who were busy making Ukrainian flag solidarity ribbons. “Kristina explained, “I’m too poor to give money and too old to hold a gun, so I do what I can for the refugees.” Partly because I am concerned about my own future.”

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‘The Power Of The Dog’ and ‘Dune’ win top honours at the BAFTA Film Awards 2022; Will Smith wins Best Actor

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The Power Of The Dog, directed by Jane Campion and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, took home the top prizes (Best Director and Best Film Awards) at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday. While Campion became only the third woman in BAFTA history to win the coveted Best Director’s Award, Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi film ‘Dune’ also made the winners’ list with five awards wins in London on Sunday.

While ‘The Power Of The Dog’ and ‘Dune’ took home the top prizes, Will Smith won the Best Actor’s Award for his outstanding performance in ‘King Richard,’ and Joanna Scanlan won the Best Actress Award for her outstanding performance in ‘After Love.’ While the BAFTAs were held online last year, the organisers managed to pull off a grand event in London’s Royal Albert Hall on Sunday evening, hosted by actor-comic Rebel Wilson and featuring a slew of well-known celebrities.

Here’s the complete list of winners:

Film — The Power of the Dog

British Film — Belfast

Director — Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Actor — Will Smith, King Richard

Actress — Joanna Scanlan, After Love

Supporting Actor — Troy Kotsur, CODA

Supporting Actress — Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Rising Star — Lashana Lynch

British Debut — Director Jeymes Samuel for The Harder They Fall

Original Screenplay — Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza

Adapted Screenplay — Sian Heder, CODA

Film Not in the English Language — Drive My Car

Musical Score — Hans Zimmer, Dune

Cinematography — Greig Fraser, Dune

Editing — No Time to Die

Production Design — Dune

Costume Design — Cruella

Sound — Dune

Casting — West Side Story

Visual Effects — Dune

Makeup and Hair — The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Animated Film — Encanto

British Short Film — The Black Cop

British Short Animation — Do Not Feed the Pigeons

Documentary — Summer of Soul

BAFTA chairman Krishnendu Majumdar joined host Rebel Wilson, welcomed everyone along on Sunday evening with a message for Ukraine. “We stand in solidarity with those who are bravely fighting for their country and we share their hope for a return to peace,” he said.

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Brent Renaud, a journalist and filmmaker from the United States, killed in Ukraine

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According to police, a US journalist working in Ukraine was shot and killed in the town of Irpin, just outside of Kyiv.

Brent Renaud, 50, had previously worked for the New York Times as a journalist and filmmaker. Andriy Nebytov, the police chief of Kyiv, said he had been targeted by Russian soldiers. Two more journalists were hurt and had to go to the hospital. It’s the first time a foreign journalist covering the conflict in Ukraine has been killed.

Juan Arredondo, one of the injured journalists, told an Italian reporter that he was with Brent Renaud when they were shot at. Renaud’s press ID was issued by the New York Times, according to photos circulating online. The newspaper said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” to learn of Renaud’s death, but that he had not been working for it in Ukraine.

According to the Times, Renaud last worked for the publication in 2015, and the press ID he was wearing in Ukraine was issued years ago. NBC News expressed its condolences to Renaud’s family and praised his “significant contributions” to NBC News reports, despite the fact that he was not working for them in Ukraine.

Renaud had reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Haiti for a number of US news organisations. He won a Peabody Award for his work on the Last Chance High series about Chicago schools, which aired in 2014.

He was based in New York and Little Rock, Arkansas, and frequently collaborated with his brother, Craig, who was also a filmmaker. It’s unclear whether Craig had also visited Ukraine.

“Tell America, tell the world, what they did to a journalist,” a Ukrainian police officer told PBS news journalist Jane Ferguson.

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Putin is looking for foreign volunteers to fight in Ukraine’s war

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Foreign volunteers are needed to fight Ukrainian forces, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said those who wanted to volunteer to fight alongside Russia-backed forces should be allowed to do so at a Russian security council meeting.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, said 16,000 volunteers were ready to fight alongside Russia-backed forces in the Middle East.

Syrians skilled in urban combat, according to US officials, could be among them.

Syria has long been a Russian ally, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a vocal supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the country’s civil war.

“If you see that there are these people who want to come to help the people in Donbas on their own volition, not for money,” Mr Putin told his defence minister, “then we need to give them what they want and help them get to the conflict zone.”

Mr. Shoigu also proposed transferring captured Western anti-tank missile systems to Russian-backed rebel fighters in the Donbas region’s breakaway Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Foreign fighters, including former and current members of the British army, have been arriving in Ukraine to fight for Kyiv’s government.

Mr Zelensky recently stated that 16,000 foreigners had volunteered for the cause, forming a “international legion,” as he put it.

Charles Lister, a Middle East Institute analyst in the United States, questioned how useful Syrian forces would be to Mr Putin.

“If [President] Assad’s regime sends troops to Ukraine, they’ll be nothing more than cannon fodder in a battle and environment they’ve never experienced,” he wrote on Twitter.

He went on to say that there was no evidence of any actual recruitment of Syrians.

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TikTok Sensation Sam Ryder to Sing Space Man for the UK at Eurovision 2022

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This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Turin, Italy, and Sam Ryder will represent the United Kingdom.

With 12 million fans on TikTok, he’s one of the most popular singers in the UK, and he’ll perform his song Space Man at the grand final in May. “Eurovision is one of my favourite television shows. It’s such a privilege to be able to do it, in my opinion “According to Radio 1 Newsbeat, he says.

Mneskin, an Italian rock band, won last year’s competition in Rotterdam. Sam is competing after the United Kingdom has finished last in Eurovision for the past two years. “I don’t want the stigma or fear of sitting in a specific spot at a table to keep me from doing something and being a part of something I love,” he says. James Newman’s entry Embers received the dreaded “nil points” in 2021, and Michael Rice’s ballad Bigger Than Us finished last in 2019.

The competition for 2020 has been cancelled.

“Everything else is out of my control as long as I can go to Eurovision and know in my heart of hearts that I’m going to do the best job I can,” he says. The last time the UK placed in the top ten in a Eurovision final was in 2009, with Jade Ewen’s song It’s My Time.

Who is Sam Ryder?

After performing snippets of songs on TikTok during the first lockdown, Sam amassed a sizable social media following. Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys have praised his covers, and he became the most viewed UK artist on the platform in 2020.

In 2021, he signed with record label Parlophone and began his solo career. Sam claims that his admiration for Lordi, the 2006 Finnish monster rock winners, influenced his decision to represent the United Kingdom at Eurovision. “Lordi’s victory was a watershed moment in my life because I had admired them long before they competed in Eurovision.”

In the last five years, Eurovision has evolved into a completely different game, and contestants must arrive as a complete package. It’s not enough to have a good song. When you look down the camera lens, you need to make eye contact with the audience. On TikTok, Sam Ryder has already nailed it. A “good” performance is also no longer sufficient. It must astound the audience. Consider the Go A techno rave in Ukraine in 2021 or Norway’s fiery Spirit In The Sky in 2019. Despite the fact that neither won, they were crucial in getting the public to vote for them at home.

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News Trending War

Ukraine War: Kyiv and Moscow meet for high-level talks

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As Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbour enters its third week, the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine are meeting in Turkey.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, stated ahead of his face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that his expectations were “limited.” It comes after Ukraine accused Russia of committing a “war crime” by bombing a children’s hospital. The attack in Mariupol killed three people, including a child, according to officials.

According to the local mayor’s office, seventeen people were injured, including staff and patients. A building that once housed a maternity ward has been reduced to a shell, with a massive crater nearby. The Kremlin announced on Thursday that it would seek information from the Russian military about what had occurred.

Overnight, Russian strikes in north-eastern Ukraine claimed the lives of seven more people: four people, including two children, were killed near Kharkiv, and three people, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed on Okhtyrka in the Sumy region.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister announced that seven evacuation routes would open on Thursday, including routes out of Mariupol and Sumy.

Western officials, including the White House, have warned that Russia could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine or stage a “false flag” operation, in which the other side is falsely blamed and a counter-attack is staged.

Moscow previously claimed that Ukrainian forces had transported 80 tonnes of ammonia to the country’s north-east, but provided no proof.

The US House of Representatives approved nearly $14 billion (£10.6 billion) in aid for Ukraine, as well as a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports. The bills must still pass the Senate, which is expected to vote on them later this week. Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris is in Poland, a day after the US rejected Poland’s plan to transfer its jet fleet to the US rather than to Ukraine directly.

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Pasha Lee, a Ukrainian actor, killed in a Russian bombardment

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Pasha Lee, a Ukrainian actor, was reportedly killed in a Russian airstrike on the town of Irpin, just outside of Kyiv.

According to the report, the 33-year-old Ukrainian actor and Irpin resident enlisted in Ukraine’s territorial defense force during the war’s early days. In addition, the report stated that Russian artillery bombarded Irpin for days, causing casualties.

Residents of Irpin and the north-eastern city of Sumy were able to leave on Tuesday as part of a Russian evacuation corridor en route to the central city of Poltava, according to the report. Lee has acted in a number of films, and his voice can be heard in the Ukrainian adaptations of The Lion King and The Hobbit.

Lee also appeared in a number of films and TV talent shows, including Star Factory and X-Factor. Lee posted a link to a Ukrainian refugee charity a few days before he was killed, encouraging his followers to contact them for assistance or to volunteer. His most recent Instagram post is a photo of himself and a coworker with the message “we’ll be ok and everything will be Ukraine.”

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