Russia has started preparations for missile drills near Ukraine simulating the use of tactical nuclear weapons in response to “threats” by Western officials.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron and the British Foreign Secretary David Cameron constituted a “completely new round of escalation of tension”.

Last week, Mr Macron refused to rule out potentially deploying French troops, should Kyiv request them, while Lord Cameron said that Ukraine had the right to use British weapons for strikes within Russia.

On Monday, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Lord Cameron’s “hostile outburst” contradicted previous British assurances that the long-range missiles sent to Ukraine would not be used on Russian territory and meant that the UK was a “party to the conflict”.

The ministry added that the response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russia could involve targeting any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and beyond.

It also said that Mr Macron’s statement on possible deployment of French troops to Ukraine could be considered as “readiness for direct confrontation with Russia”.

Both the British and the French ambassadors in Moscow were summoned on Monday.

The tactical nuclear weapons drills announced on Monday were ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to TASS news agency.

They were expected to take place “in the near future” and would involve missile formations as well as air and naval forces.

Tactical nuclear weapons are small nuclear warheads and delivery systems intended for use on the battlefield, or for a limited strike.

They are designed to destroy enemy targets in a specific area without causing widespread radioactive fallout.

Strategic nuclear weapons, on the other hand, are large and designed to be fired at a long range – for example, between continents. Russia holds regular drills with strategic nuclear weapons.

In April, Belarus’s long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko said “several dozen” tactical nuclear weapons were stationed in his country.

A Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman dismissed the announcement that drills would take place, calling it “nuclear blackmail”.

But Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said it was “dangerous and irresponsible” and stated that Nato remained “vigilant”.

Following a meeting in Paris with Mr Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that she hoped President Xi would help de-escalate Russia’s “irresponsible” nuclear threats.

Russia’s sabre-rattling come on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a fifth presidential term.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry has said it will no longer regard Vladimir Putin as a legitimate president after his inauguration and has urged other countries and international organisations to follow suit.

However, a French diplomatic source quoted by Reuters said the French ambassador would attend the ceremony.

Germany and several other European countries have ruled out sending their envoys.

Source: BBC

King Charles III will resume his public duties next week following treatment for cancer, Buckingham Palace announced Friday.

Charles took a break from public appearances almost three months ago to focus on his treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer.

The palace said Charles would make a public visit to a cancer treatment center on Tuesday in the first of several appearances he will make in coming weeks. One of his first major engagements will be hosting a state visit by the emperor and empress of Japan in June.

The palace didn’t provide an update on the king’s health or his treatment, though it says that the “medical team are very encouraged by the progress made so far and remain positive about the King’s continued recovery.″

Charles continued his state duties, including reviewing government documents and meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after his diagnosis was disclosed on Feb. 5.

“His Majesty is greatly encouraged to be resuming some public-facing duties and very grateful to his medical team for their continued care and expertise,” the palace said in a statement.

Charles’ return will relieve pressure on other members of the royal family after the king’s absence, coupled with that of the Princess of Wales, also due to illness, highlighted the challenges faced by a slimmed down monarchy.

Amid the king’s commitment to cut costs and the decision of Duke and Duchess of Sussex – more commonly known as Prince Harry and Meghan – to walk away from royal duties, there are simply fewer family members available to carry out the endless round of ribbon cuttings, awards ceremonies and state events that make up the life of a modern royal

Source: AP

Fifty people were hurt, with 12 in hospital, after a flight from Sydney to Auckland suffered what was described as a mid-air “technical event”.

The Latam Airlines jet “just froze” after a “quick little drop”, one passenger told the New Zealand Herald.

Emergency services said 12 people were taken to hospital, and one patient was in a serious condition.

Reports said multiple passengers felt the aircraft, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, drop suddenly mid-flight.

Passengers were thrown out of their seats, causing them to hit their heads on the plane’s ceiling.

Some were not wearing their seatbelts, Radio New Zealand reported, quoting one of those on board.

Another passenger reported seeing people “flying around” and seeing traces of their blood on the ceiling.

New Zealand’s St John ambulance service said it had “assessed and treated approximately” 50 patients.

Twelve people were taken to hospital, with one patient in a serious condition and the remainder in a moderate to minor condition

Further details about the “technical event” or what caused it are still not known.

Latam Airlines said it “deeply” regretted “any inconvenience and discomfort this situation may have caused its passengers”.

It said “a technical event during the flight” had “caused a strong movement” but provided no further information.

“The plane landed at Auckland Airport as scheduled,” it added.

The aircraft was scheduled to fly on from Auckland to Santiago, the capital of Chile, where the South American carrier is based.

The flight has been cancelled and a new flight was scheduled for Tuesday, RNZ reported.

Source: BBC

Weapons imports to Europe nearly doubled over the past five years, partly due to the war in Ukraine, while exports from Russia halved, researchers said on Monday.

Ukraine has become the world’s fourth largest arms importer, while France has replaced Russia as the world’s second largest exporter behind the United States.

Arms imports to Europe rose by 94 percent in 2019-2023, compared to the preceding five-year period, while overall global arms transfers decreased slightly, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

SIPRI prefers to analyse trends over half-decades as a few deliveries of major contracts can tilt yearly figures.

The increase is “partially explained by the war in Ukraine, and Ukraine has become the fourth largest importer of arms in the world in the last five years”, SIPRI researcher Katarina Djokic told AFP.

SIPRI noted that at least 30 countries had supplied major weapons as military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.

But other European nations also increased imports, with a larger share coming from the world’s number one exporter of arms, the United States.

In the 2019-2023 period, 55 percent of imports to Europe were from the US, up from 35 percent in the 2014-2018 period.

This is partly due to most European states being NATO members and partners of the US in the development of weapon systems like the F-35 fighter jet, Djokic said.

Russian exports plummet

At the same time increased imports from the US underlined many European nations’ desire to quickly acquire weapons and therefore buy “off the shelf” rather than develop new systems.

Globally, US exports grew by 17 percent in the period, bringing its share of total arms exports to 42 percent.

Meanwhile, Russia — which long held the position as the second largest exporter — saw its exports fall by 53 percent between 2014-2018 and 2019-2023.

Russia was not only exporting fewer weapons, it was also exporting to fewer recipients.

It only exported to 12 countries in 2023, compared to 31 in 2019.

“There are also important changes in the policies of their biggest customer, China,” Djokic said.

China was traditionally one of the biggest recipients of Russian arms but has been pushing to develop its domestic production.

China still accounted for 21 percent of Russian exports, while India was the biggest recipient with 34 percent.

While Russia’s exports declined, France saw its own grow by 47 percent, thereby narrowly edging out Russia to become the world’s second largest exporter.

Violations of humanitarian law

France accounted for 11 percent of total weapons exports in 2019-2023.

In particular, Djokic noted that France had been particularly successful in selling its Rafale fighter jet outside Europe.

The war in Gaza — which began in retaliation for Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel — has already affected arms imports to Israel.

This is primarily through transfers of weapons from the US, either via new military aid or the speeding up already existing contracts, according to SIPRI researcher Zain Hussain.

Hussain cautioned that the longer term impact of the conflict was harder to predict.

“We already see in certain European states a kind of push by different actors or states to limit arms to Israel during its (military) operations in Gaza due to potential violations of international humanitarian law,” Hussain said.

Such measures could affect transfers to Israel.

The question then remains as to whether they would remain in place after the end of Israel’s current ground and air assault on Gaza, Hussain explained.

Source: AFP

The Princess of Wales has apologised “for any confusion” her Mother’s Day photograph caused, after five agencies retracted it over editing concerns.

Catherine, in a statement posted on Kensington Palace social media, said: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.”

The image, taken by the Prince of Wales, was the first of Catherine to be released since her surgery in January.

PA, Getty Images, AFP, Reuters and Associated Press had removed the image.

In her statement on X, formerly Twitter, Catherine said: I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”

The photo shows the princess sitting down, surrounded by Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George, the latter wrapping his arms around her.

It was the first official photo of the Princess of Wales since her abdominal surgery two months ago. Since then she has stayed out of the public eye.

The image was posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s social media accounts with a message from Catherine which said: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.

“Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”

Source: BBC

Russia has put Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on a wanted list, an official register showed Tuesday, as tensions soar between Russia and the West over Ukraine.

Kallas’ name appeared on the Interior Ministry’s register of people wanted in connection with criminal charges. It didn’t specify what charges Kallas was facing.

It is the first time the ministry has put a foreign leader on a wanted list.

Kallas has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, spearheading efforts to increase military assistance to Kyiv and tighten sanctions against Russia.

She also has angered Moscow by pushing for the removal of monuments to Soviet World War II soldiers. Russia has laws criminalizing the “rehabilitation of Nazis” that include clauses punishing the desecration of war memorials.

Estonian Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop was also put on the wanted list, according to the register.

The moves appear to reflect an attempt by Moscow to up the ante as it faces pressure from NATO allies as fighting in Ukraine nears the two-year mark, but means little in practical terms as Russia-West contacts have been frozen during the conflict.

There was no immediate reaction to the move from the Estonian authorities.

Source: AP

King Charles III is set to attend hospital next week for treatment for an enlarged prostate.

Buckingham Palace said the King’s condition is benign but he will undergo a “corrective procedure”.

The 75 year old’s public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation, the Palace said.

The announcement comes shortly after it was revealed the Princess of Wales is in hospital after undergoing abdominal surgery.

It is unusual for medical updates about two senior royals to be released on the same day, but it is understood it was necessary because the King had to cancel engagements scheduled for Thursday.

He had been due to meet foreign dignitaries and cabinet members in Scotland on Thursday, but those meetings have been cancelled on medical grounds.

It is also thought the King was keen to share his diagnosis with the public to encourage other men who may be experiencing symptoms to get checked.

“In common with thousands of men each year, the King has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate,” the statement said.

Benign prostate enlargement – which is non-cancerous – is common in men over 50 and is not usually a serious condition, according to the NHS website.

Around one in three men over the age of 50 will have some symptoms of an enlarged prostate, which is a gland that sits just below the bladder.

While it is not usually a serious threat to health, it can cause symptoms and problems, including difficulty passing urine or emptying the bladder.

The condition does not mean the patient has an increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The NHS has published guidance on how it is treated.

Source: BBC

Three days after becoming the king of Denmark, Frederik X has published a book seemingly out of nowhere.

The book has come as a surprise to Danes, and media outlets have been hastily live-blogging lines from it.

“The King’s Word” promises Frederik’s thoughts on topics including Denmark’s place in the world and his relationship with his wife, Queen Mary.

Frederik was crowned king on Sunday after his mother, Margrethe II, abdicated on New Year’s Eve.

The book costs up to 250 Danish Krone (£29; €33.50) and is around 110 pages long.

The book was based on interviews conducted over the past year-and-a-half

It was written with Jens Andersen, who authored Frederik’s 2017 biography, and is based on interviews conducted over the last year-and-a-half.

In one section, Frederik says that, as a child, he had difficulty accepting he would become King of Denmark, saying he “just wanted to be like all other boys of my age”.

“I remember my 18th birthday as something similar to the end of the world. It was the feeling that now everything that was fun and exciting was coming to an end. Fortunately, it didn’t,” Frederik says.

Later in the book, the king also reportedly discusses his faith, saying that he and his Australian-born wife say prayers with their children every evening.

He also talks about family life, saying that his father – the late Prince Henrik of Denmark, who died in 2018 – was “very patriarchal” and “tried to pass that pattern on to his two sons”.

Frederik says: “I have learned a lot from having a wife who, from time to time, reminds me that of course I am not always right, and that my words are not automatically believed, just because I am a man in the house.”

Tens of thousands of people turned out to watch King Frederik X succeed his mother as the monarch of Denmark on Sunday.

Blinking back tears, Frederik told a cheering crowd outside Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen that he hoped to become “a unifying king” for the future.

His mother, Margarethe II, abdicated after 52 years on the throne.

Source: BBC

Wolfgang Schaeuble, who served as a member of the German parliament for over half a century, has died aged 81, ending one of Germany’s longest political careers in which he helped secure his country’s place at the heart of Europe.

Schaeuble devoted much of his career to re-unifying his country and later served as former chancellor Angela Merkel’s finance minister during the eurozone debt crisis. He died peacefully late on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) said on Wednesday.

Schaeuble was born in 1942 in the southern city of Freiburg and had been a member of parliament without interruption since 1972.

“Germany has lost a formative Christian Democrat who loved to argue and yet never lost sight of what politics is all about: making life better for citizens,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a statement.

As interior minister, Schaeuble, who represented the West, was key in drawing up the terms of Germany’s reunification treaty, signed in August 1990, after the fall of the Berlin wall.

“He epitomised post-war democratic Germany like few others,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

The CDU praised Schaeuble’s commitment to stability and responsibility in financial matters, saying “his legacy will live on in the annals of German and European history”.

As finance minister, Schaeuble pulled the strings of Germany’s policy response to the euro zone crisis, securing support on the right of Merkel’s conservative bloc for three Greek bailouts.

That determination bordering on intransigence helped make him the most popular German politician at home and the most hated abroad, earning him the soubriquet – bestowed by news magazine Spiegel – of “chancellor behind the scenes”.

Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who was outspoken in his criticism of the austerity policies championed by Berlin at the height of the debt crisis, said on Wednesday that history would judge Schaeuble harshly.

“Wolfgang Schaeuble was the embodiment of the political project of buttressing a monetary union in which he himself did not believe,” wrote Varoufakis on his website.

However, praise for his contributions came from across Europe, including from leaders in France, Slovakia, the Netherlands and Italy.

“Europe loses one of its staunch supporters,” said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on X.

Schaeuble served as finance minister until 2017, when he took over as president of the Bundestag lower parliamentary house, showing the same focus that saw him adapt to paralysis after being shot three times at an election campaign event a few days after German reunification in 1990.

While that drive won him the respect of fellow conservatives and lawmakers from other parties, his career was not without setbacks.

For a time in the 1990s, Schaeuble was considered the anointed successor to former conservative chancellor Helmut Kohl. As head of the CDU in 1998 following Kohl’s election loss, Schaeuble had named Merkel as his deputy.

However, it was a pairing that would last less than a year and a half: Merkel was instrumental in forcing him to resign the CDU leadership in 2000 after a funding scandal, with Merkel taking over and eventually serving as chancellor in 2005.

“We will miss Wolfgang Schaeuble’s voice in Germany, I will personally miss his advice,” said Merkel in a statement. “I mourn the loss of a politician who shaped our country in many ways.”

Source: Reuters

Prince Harry has won 15 claims in his case accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of unlawfully gathering information for stories published about him.

A judge has ruled in his favour on almost half of the sample of 33 stories used in his claims of phone hacking and other methods.

A High Court ruling found evidence of “widespread and habitual” use of phone hacking at the Mirror newspapers.

Prince Harry described it as a “great day for truth” and accountability.

He was awarded £140,600 in damages and in a statement read out on the Duke of Sussex’s behalf outside the High Court, his lawyer David Sherborne called the ruling “vindicating and affirming”.

“This case is not just about hacking – it is about a systemic practice of unlawful and appalling behaviour, followed by cover ups and destruction of evidence, the shocking scale of which can only be revealed through these proceedings,” he said.

“I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press – it’s a worthwhile price to pay,” Prince Harry’s statement said.

He also called on the police and prosecuting authorities to “investigate bringing charges against the company and those who have broken the law”.

The stakes have also been high for the Mirror newspapers – the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People – with estimates that £100m has already been spent on damages and legal costs over previous hacking cases.

Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that unlawful information gathering had been “widespread” at all three of the Mirror titles and had become “habitual”.

In response a Mirror Group Newspapers spokeswoman said: “We welcome today’s judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago.

“Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation.”

The landmark ruling follows Prince Harry’s appearance at the High Court in June, where he became the first senior royal of modern times to give such extensive evidence in court in person.

Over two days, he was grilled about his claims that the group’s newspapers had published many stories about him, over several years, based on phone hacking and other unlawful ways of obtaining information.

Source: BBC