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Ukraine war: Zelensky accuses Russia of plot to blow up dam

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Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has charged that Russia is planning to blow up a dam at a hydroelectric plant in southern Ukraine, causing a “large-scale calamity.”

In his nocturnal speech, he claimed that, in accordance with Ukrainian information, Russian forces had mined the Kakhovka dam on the Dnieper river.

Russian forces are in control of the dam, but Ukrainian forces are closing closer.

Ukraine has already been charged by Russia with launching missiles at the Kakhovka dam.

In the partially occupied Kherson region, the dam gives Russia access to one of the few surviving Dnieper river crossings.

Authorities in Kherson that were imposed by Russia have denied Ukraine’s claims that a plot to demolish the building has been made. They attributed a strike on the Antonivskiy crossing, another crucial bridge, to Ukrainian forces.

This week, Russia began withdrawing its proxies in Kherson, but it also announced that 50–60,000 civilians would follow, a move that Kyiv authorities have denounced as being equivalent to forced deportations.

In Kherson city and the hydroelectric dam, according to Gen Sergei Surovikin, Russia’s new military commander, Ukrainian forces may be preparing to use “prohibited tactics of warfare,” which would necessitate the “evacuation” of civilians.

An independent US think tank called the Institute for the Study of War has claimed that Russia is “likely continuing to prepare for a false flag attack” on the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant by setting up “information conditions” for Russian forces to blow up the dam after they withdraw from western Kherson and then accuse Ukraine of flooding the river and nearby settlements.

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Liz Truss Resigns As UK Prime Minister After Tax-Cut Plan Backfires

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After a brief and turbulent term as prime minister of the UK, Liz Truss announced a big package of unfunded tax cuts before largely rolling most of them back in the face of a market crash.


Truss, 47, left her position after only 45 days in office, being history’s shortest-serving British prime minister. She assumed office in early September with promises of a full-court press for growth, but the financial markets found her programme intolerable as the value of the pound and gilts plummeted due to worries about how she would finance her economic goals.

After 12 and a half years in power, her departure severely damages the current Conservative Party, which is currently polling more than 30 points behind Labour. In fewer than seven years since the 2016 Brexit referendum, which ushered in an era of unprecedented upheaval in British politics, her successor will become the party’s fifth premier.

Truss stated that she will continue serving as prime minister until the party selects her replacement, which is expected to happen within a week.

Regardless of who it is, they will have a difficult job rebuilding the Tory party’s economy and reputation in time for the mandatory general election in January 2025. After Brexit, Truss’s position is practically assured. In the near future, Britain will face increasing borrowing rates, slow growth, and tax hikes and spending cuts.

“It’s a shambles and a disgrace,” veteran Tory MP Charles Walker told the BBC on Oct. 19. “The damage they have done to our party is extraordinary.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, who was recently promoted from the back benches after Truss fired Kwasi Kwarteng in an effort to calm the markets, and former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who finished second to Truss in this summer’s leadership election, are likely candidates for the top position. It’s also likely that Tom Tugendhat, Penny Mordaunt, and Kemi Badenoch will be in the running this summer. Suella Braverman, the former home secretary who was fired on October 19, might potentially be considered.

Truss’ lack of political sense and understanding of economic reality ultimately proved to be his downfall.

The ultimate humiliation occurred on Wednesday night as the beleaguered prime leader attempted to herd her furious MPs into the House of Commons voting lobbies for a vote that could have made or broken her government. Braverman’s dismissal earlier that day for a security violation for which she ordinarily would have received only a warning had already alienated a significant portion of the party’s right wing.

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Ukraine war: Russians start leaving Ukraine’s Kherson city

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According to the local leader established by Russia, tens of thousands of citizens and Russian-appointed officials are being evacuated from the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson ahead of an invasion by Ukraine. All Russian-appointed agencies and ministries, according to Vladimir Saldo, would cross the Dnieper River.

He had stated that between 50 and 60,000 civilians would also depart in a “organised, progressive relocation.” Residents are being urged by Ukraine to disregard the Russian action. The regional administrator of Kherson claimed that Russia wants to kidnap residents and use them as human shields. A war crime is regarded to be the transfer or deportation of civilians from an occupied territory by an occupying power.

Vladimir Putin of Russia announced in a separate development that he had signed an order imposing martial law on four regions of Ukraine, including Kherson, which Moscow annexed last month in a move that was deemed unlawful by the international community.

He explained to Russia’s Security Council that it would allow local officials more authority to uphold social order and protect crucial infrastructure.

Text messages advising Kherson residents to leave right away in order to avoid Ukrainian military shelling residential areas began to arrive on Tuesday night.

Transport across the Dnipro River would be accessible beginning at 7:00 on Wednesday, according to the texts.

One resident told the BBC, requesting anonymity, “They are told to flee because the nasty Ukrainians are going to shell the city.”

“People are panicking because of propaganda.”

Russian TV footage on Wednesday showed a number of people gathering near the west bank of the Dnieper. As they queued for boats, it was not clear how many were leaving.

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Germany fires cybersecurity chief ‘over Russia ties’

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After claims that he had established an association with Russia in an uncomfortably close manner, Germany’s head of cybersecurity was fired 
Since 2016, Arne Schönbohm served as the head of the Federal Cyber Security Authority (BSI), which is responsible for securing government communications.

He has been charged with having connections to individuals connected to Russian intelligence services by German media. He is the subject of an investigation by the interior ministry. It did, however, confirm that he had been let go with immediate effect.

Mr. Schönbohm was under investigation after Jan Böhmermann, the host of one of Germany’s most well-liked late-night TV shows, brought up his possible connections to a Russian corporation through a prior position.

Prior to taking over the BSI, Mr. Schönbohm assisted in founding and managing the Cyber Security Council Germany, a private organisation that provides business and policymakers with cybersecurity advice.

The association’s 10th anniversary celebrations were held in September, and he is claimed to have continued to keep close ties with them. Protelion, a cybersecurity firm that was a branch of a Russian company allegedly founded by a former KGB agent honoured by President Vladimir Putin, was one of the association’s members.

The allegations of connections to Russian intelligence are unfounded, according to Cyber Security Council Germany, which expelled Protelion from the group last weekend.

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Ukraine war: Russia dive-bombs Kyiv with ‘kamikaze’ drones

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Russia has launched a series of attacks against Ukraine, using what appear to be “kamikaze” drones produced in Iran to dive-bomb the city of Kyiv.  The administration claims that hundreds of towns and villages in the Kyiv, Dnipro, and Sumy regions had their energy shut off.

At least eight individuals were slain, including four each in Sumy and Kyiv. As Iran continues to deny providing drones to the Russian military, calls for sanctions against the country have grown.

Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian capital a week ago during rush hour as part of widespread attacks that claimed 19 lives. 28 drones targeted the capital in the most recent attack, which began at around 6:00 (03:30 GMT), but only five of them struck their intended targets, according to Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor.

Gunfire rattled around the city as anti-aircraft batteries urgently attempted to shoot them down. One interception looked to be captured on video posted on social media.

Rescuers in the Shevchenkivskyi neighbourhood looked for survivors among the rubble of an apartment building that partially collapsed during one attack. As numerous firefighters and emergency personnel worked at the site, the street was blocked off. A pregnant woman was one of the four individuals slain in the area.

The offices of Ukraine’s energy business were also damaged; they were located across the street from the demolished structure. It’s likely that the facility was the strike’s intended target. The attacks were referred to as a “genocide of the Ukrainian people” by Mayor Klitschko, who added that “The Russians demand a Ukraine without Ukrainians.”

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Harry Potter Actor Robbie Coltrane Dead at the age of 72

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Robbie Coltrane, a Scottish actor best remembered for his portrayal of the endearing half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, has passed away. He was 72. The actor became well-known for his role as a psychologist who solves crimes in the hit TV show Cracker.

Belinda Wright, the actor’s agent, reported that he passed away on Friday at a Scottish hospital. She omitted a reason. He was a superb performer, but he was also “forensically clever, brilliantly humorous, and after 40 years of being pleased to be called his agent, I shall miss him,” Belinda Wright said in a statement mourning his passing. Coltrane’s sister Annie Rae, his ex-wife Rhona Gemmell, and his kids Spencer and Alice all still alive, she said.

In the 1990s, Robbie Coltrane first achieved recognition as a tough detective in Cracker. He earned the best actor prize three times in a row at the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA) for his portrayal on the show.

He later achieved global fame in the role of Hagrid in the movie adaptation of JK Rowling’s acclaimed and best-selling Harry Potter books. In all eight of the Harry Potter movies, which were produced between 2001 and 2011, he portrayed the kind half-giant who serves as the child wizard’s mentor and companion. In the James Bond thrillers GoldenEye and The World is Not Enough, a Russian crime boss also appears.

He received praise from critics recently for his portrayal of a beloved TV personality who might be hiding a sinister secret in the 2016 miniseries National Treasure. In Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, he was last seen.

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Turkey coal mine explosion kills 41, injures 11

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The president of Turkey reports that a coal mine explosion in the country’s north has resulted in the deaths of 41 persons. More than 20 hours after Friday’s fatal explosion, the search for the last unaccounted-for body ends.

The interior minister had earlier said that 58 miners who were inside when the blast occurred were either saved or managed to escape on their own. Ten patients were still hospitalised, according to Suleyman Soylu, and one was released.

At the time of the incident on Friday, around 110 individuals were inside the mine, with over half of them at a depth of more than 300m (984ft). To try to find survivors, rescue teams had been excavating through rock all night.

At the mine in Amasra, on the Black Sea coast, rescuers could be seen arriving with blackened and sleep-deprived miners. Additionally, there were relatives and friends of the missing at the mine, awaiting word on their loved ones.

Along with other ministers, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been at the scene in the province of Bartin, and he has announced that the last person still missing has been found dead. Authorities stated that Turkish prosecutors have begun an inquiry into the explosion’s cause, although early findings suggested that firedamp—a word used to describe methane producing an explosive mixture in coal mines—was to blame.

We don’t know exactly what happened, but there was dust and smoke, according to one worker who made it out on his own. State-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises is the owner of the mine.

301 persons perished in Turkey’s deadliest coal mining accident in 2014 after an explosion in the western town of Soma.

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Oil protesters throw soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting

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Apparently tomato soup cans have been hurled over a Van Gogh painting of sunflowers at the National Gallery in London by environmental protestors. Two persons were captured on camera opening tins, throwing the contents onto the artwork, and then sticking their hands to the wall while wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts.
 
Two people, according to the Metropolitan Police, have been detained. The picture was declared to be undamaged by the gallery because it was protected by glass. According to a statement from the Trafalgar Square location: “This morning at little after 11 a.m., two individuals entered Room 43 of the National Gallery.

“The two appeared to have applied wall glue to the area next to Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (1888). Additionally, they daubed the artwork with a red material that appeared to be tomato soup.

“The room was cleared of visitors and police were called. Officers are now on the scene.

“There is some minor damage to the frame but the painting is unharmed.

“Two people have been arrested.”

Officers were on the scene at the National Gallery this morning after two Just Stop Oil protestors threw something over a picture and then fastened themselves to a wall, according to the Metropolitan Police.

“Both have been detained on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal mischief. Currently, officers are de-bonding them.

Videos of the event on Friday captured a protester yelling, “What is worth more? Or life, is it? Is it more valuable than food? More valuable than the law? Are the protection of our planet and its inhabitants more important to you than the preservation of a painting?

Additionally, she made mention of the rising cost of living and the “millions of hungry, chilly families” who “can’t even afford to heat a can of soup.”

Van Gogh painted seven sunflower-themed pieces between 1888 and 1889, five of which are currently on exhibit in galleries and museums around the globe. They were made by the artist to adorn his home in Arles, France, before his friend and fellow artist Paul Gauguin paid him a visit.

The sunflower paintings are “among Van Gogh’s most recognisable and best-loved masterpieces,” according to the exhibition.

Three months prior, individuals from the same group covered John Constable’s The Hay Wain in the same gallery with paper using tape.

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France sends Germany gas for first time amid Russia energy crisis

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In response to mounting energy strain, France has delivered gas to Germany for the first time in an act of “European solidarity.” The pipeline-delivered gas is a component of a pact between the nations to reduce energy shortages following Russian shutoff of the taps to Europe.

Despite providing less than 2% of Germany’s daily demands, the increased flow is appreciated as Berlin fights to diversify its energy sources. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been charged with exploiting gas supplies as a weapon against the West.

The French grid operator GRTgaz announced that it would initially supply 31 gigawatt hours (GWh) per day via a pipeline from the village of Obergailbach on the country’s border.The additional gas flow has a 100 GWh daily maximum capacity, it was added in a statement. 

In the energy solidarity agreement last month, Germany committed to aid France with gas supplies in exchange for Germany agreeing to supply additional electricity to France as needed.

“We would have significant problems right now if we didn’t have European unity and an integrated, united market,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday. Russia shutting off the gas is less of an issue for France because most of its energy requirements are met by Norway and through supply of liquefied natural gas.

Gas prices increased as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, and this winter EU customers will pay record prices.

Germany had previously gotten 55% of its gas from Russia. It has decreased this to 35% and eventually wants to stop all imports.

Despite the detrimental effects on the environment, Germany is also increasing its usage of coal and prolonging the life of power plants that were scheduled to close.

During her 16 years in office, former German chancellor Angela Merkel claimed she did not regret relying on Russia as a significant gas provider.

This winter, the German government plans to reduce the consumption of lighting and heating in public buildings by 2%.

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Elon Musk denies he spoke to Putin about Ukraine war

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Elon Musk has refuted claims that he communicated with Vladimir Putin before putting his recommendations for stopping Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a Twitter poll.

Head of the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group Ian Bremmer claimed that Mr. Musk had personally briefed him about the chat with Mr. Putin.  However, Mr. Musk has since denied this.

“Putin and I have only communicated once, perhaps 18 months ago. The topic concerned space, “Musk posted a tweet.

The Tesla CEO invited his 107.7 million followers to vote on how to end the conflict in Ukraine last week.

One of the ideas was to organise elections in regions of Ukraine that Russia claims it has seized and has occupied. His remarks were well received in Moscow.

If the people’s will is to have Russia go, the multibillionaire said. Four Ukrainian regions have already been annexed by Russia, according to President Putin, after phoney referendums that Kyiv and its Western partners deemed fake. All four of these regions are not entirely under Russian authority.

The illegally annexed Crimea by Moscow in 2014, according to Mr. Musk, should be “officially” recognised as a part of Russia. According to Mr. Bremmer’s account in a newsletter, Mr. Musk told him that the Russian president was “prepared to negotiate,” but only if Ukraine agreed to some form of permanent neutrality, Crimea remained under Russian control, and Kyiv acknowledged Russia’s annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

Mr. Bremmer claimed that the CEO of SpaceX had informed him that Mr. Putin had stated that these objectives would be achieved “no matter what” and that a nuclear attack may be launched if Ukraine attacked Crimea.

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