Month: August 2022

At UN, Review of Nuclear Controls in Tense World Underway

The U.N. secretary-general warned Monday at the start of a nuclear non-proliferation conference that the risks of more nuclear weapons is growing as guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening. “Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation,” Antonio Guterres told the opening of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference. He warned that there are crises with nuclear undertones from the Middle East to the Korean Peninsula, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said there are nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled around the world. “States are seeking false security in stockpiling and spending hundreds …

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Russia Imposes Travel Ban on Dozens More Prominent Britons

Russia announced sanctions Monday against dozens of British politicians, officials and public figures, accusing them of supporting the “demonization” of the country. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said 39 Britons would be banned from entering the country, joining more than 200 other British nationals that Moscow has already banned. The latest additions include opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, former Prime Minister David Cameron and TV presenter Piers Morgan. The British government has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of the country at the end of February. Most of Britain’s leading politicians have already been banned from traveling to …

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Прикордонники: відновлено рух легкових автомобілів через пункт пропуску «Краковець»

«Для перетину кордону легковими авто тут встановлено шість павільйонів прикордонно-митного контролю й облаштовано накриття для комфортного перетину кордону громадянами», …

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Ukrainian Grain Shipments Resume from Odesa

Grain shipments from Ukraine’s port of Odesa resumed Monday, the first since Russia invaded its neighbor in late February. The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni was the first to leave port, carrying more than 26,000 tons of corn bound for Lebanon. In a statement, Turkey’s defense ministry said other unspecified ships would also depart Ukraine on Monday. Turkey and the United Nations brokered an agreement with Russia and Ukraine in late July to get grain exports going again amid a global food crisis that the United Nations says has been worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The deal calls for …

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Spanish Government’s Body Positivity Campaign Goes Awry

The Spanish government maybe had a good idea, but the execution of the body positivity campaign has gone horribly wrong.  The idea was to encourage women to come out and enjoy the beaches – without any worries about how they looked in their swimsuits. But three of the five women whose photographs were used in the campaign said they had not given permission for the images to be used.  Arte Mapache the campaign’s creator, has apologized for failing to obtain permission to use the images.   “Given the – justified – controversy over the image rights in the illustration, I …

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Kosovo Delays License Plate Plan After Border Tensions

The Kosovo government postponed implementation of a decision that would oblige Serbs in the north of the country to apply for car license plates issued by Pristina institutions after tensions rose between police and local communities that set roadblocks. Late on Sunday the protesters parked trucks filled with gravel and other heavy machinery on the roads leading to the two border crossings, Jarinje and Bernjak, in a territory where Serbs form a majority. Kosovo police said they had to close the border crossings. “The overall security situation in the Northern municipalities of Kosovo is tense,” NATO-led mission to Kosovo KFOR …

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Ukraine War Hangs Over UN Meeting on Nuclear Treaty’s Legacy

There was already plenty of trouble to talk about when a major U.N. meeting on the landmark Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was originally supposed to happen in 2020. Now the pandemic-postponed conference finally starts Monday as Russia’s war in Ukraine has reanimated fears of nuclear confrontation and cranked up the urgency of trying to reinforce the 50-year-old treaty. “It is a very, very difficult moment,” said Beatrice Fihn, the executive director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Russia’s invasion, accompanied by ominous references to its nuclear arsenal, “is so significant for the treaty and really going …

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England Beats Germany in Extra Time to Win Women’s Euro 2022

England beat Germany 2-1 in the final of the European Championship after extra time on Sunday to win its first major women’s soccer title. Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal on a rebound in the second half of extra time after Germany failed to clear a corner. The game had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium with Lina Magull for Germany canceling out Ella Toone’s goal for England. After the final whistle, the England players danced and the crowd sang their anthem “Sweet Caroline.” The good-natured atmosphere inside the stadium Sunday drew contrasts with the violent scenes when …

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