England

Seven Russians, including Sechin, Miller, Deripaska, Abramovich, blacklisted in UK

LONDON, March 10. /TASS/:The UK expanded anti-Russia sanctions on Thursday, putting another seven Russian citizens on the blacklist. Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller, VTB CEO Andrey Kostin, the owner of London’s Chelsea FC Roman Abramovich, businessman Oleg Deripaska (EN+ Group), Chairman of Bank Rossiya board Dmitry Lebedev and Transneft president Nikolay Tokarev were placed under sanctions, according to the statement released by the Foreign Office.

UK urges ex-Myanmar ambassador to leave London home citing junta 'pressure'

LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Britain has urged Myanmar's former ambassador to leave the official London residence where he has continued to live since he was ousted for criticising last year's military coup, citing pressure from the junta, according to emails seen by Reuters.

Kyaw Zwar Minn was locked out of his embassy last April by his own staff after calling for the release of Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, detained alongside most of her government in the Feb. 1 coup. 

UK: Sanctions on Abramovich see restrictions placed on Chelsea

LONDON (AP) — European and world soccer champion Chelsea was among the assets of Roman Abramovich frozen by the British government on Thursday after he was sanctioned for his close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Team activities from selling new tickets to signing players were instantly restricted. The merchandise store at the Stamford Bridge stadium in west London was rapidly closed with a sign on the doors telling supporters it was “due to the latest government announcement.”

Britain plans to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles - minister

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - Britain is planning to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles to help it defend its skies from Russian invasion, defence minister Ben Wallace said, stressing that the technology fell within the definition of defensive weapons.

"It is vital... that Ukraine maintains its ability to fly and suppress Russian air attack," Wallace told lawmakers.

UK: Food crisis grows as spiralling prices spark export bans

LONDON, March 9 (Reuters) - A global food crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine escalated on Wednesday as Indonesia tightened curbs on palm oil exports, adding to a growing list of key producing countries seeking to keep vital food supplies within their borders.

The conflict in Ukraine is threatening global grain production, the supply of edible oils and fertiliser exports, sending basic commodity prices rocketing and mirroring the crisis in energy markets.

UK criticised over Ukraine refugee scheme, says 500 visas issued so far

LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - The British government faced heavy criticism from all sides of parliament on Tuesday over its policy towards Ukrainian refugees after Immigration Minister Kevin Foster said Britain had so far issued 500 visas to those fleeing the Russian invasion.

Unlike European Union counterparts, Britain requires those seeking refuge from the fighting in Ukraine to have a valid visa upon arrival. It has announced two new visa routes since the Russian invasion but only one of those is currently operational.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy to address British parliament

LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address British lawmakers via videolink in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the first time a president of another country has addressed the main Westminster chamber.

Zelenskiy, who has spoken to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on several occasions since Russia invaded his country, has made a number of impassioned speeches to Western leaders in the last week, asking for supplies and military support.

Russia-Ukraine conflict: West asks for Russia to be suspended from Interpol

  LONDON, March 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Several Western countries, including the UK and the United States, have called on Interpol to suspend Russia from the international law enforcement organisation, according to British Home
Secretary Priti Patel.

   The UK, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have requested “the immediate suspension of Russia’s access to its systems”, Patel tweeted.

   The grouping asked Interpol’s executive committee to make a decision this week.

Britain vows to speed up Ukrainian refugee process

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Britain defended its record on welcoming refugees fleeing Ukraine on Monday, after criticism it was not doing enough and was far behind its European neighbours in helping address the biggest humanitarian crisis since World War Two.

The United Nations estimates that more than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia started bombarding its neighbour, with hundreds of thousands pouring into Poland, Romania, Slovakia and elsewhere.

U.S. Criminal Justice System Has Racial Double Standard: The Guardian

LONDON, Mar 6 (NNN-XINHUA) – Several prominent U.S. cases, where Black people got harsher sentences, for unintentional voting errors than whites, who committed fraud, have shown that, there is a racial double standard in the country’s criminal justice system, The Guardian reported.

Bruce Bartman, white, was only sentenced to five years of probation, after he went to Pennsylvania’s voter registration website and signed up his mother and mother-in-law, both dead, to vote in the late summer of 2020, the report said.

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