
UK sanctions Russians over chemical weapons in Ukraine
It imposed asset freezes and travel bans on Aleksey Viktorovich Rtishchev and Andrei Marchenko, the head and deputy head of Russia's radiological chemical and biological defence troops, for their role in the transfer and use of chemical weapons in Ukraine, the British government said.
It said the Joint Stock Company Federal Scientific and Production Centre Scientific Research Institute of Applied Chemistry was sanctioned for supplying RG-Vo riot control agent grenades to the Russian military.
The grenades have been used as a method of warfare against Ukraine in contravention of the Chemical Weapons Convention, the British government said.
The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to Reuters request for a comment. Moscow has previously called Western sanctions illegal.
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Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Aussie shock jock turns on his bosses and sues radio network after 'royal prank' call to a UK hospital led to nurse's suicide
A 'shock jock' who made a prank call to a UK hospital caring for Princess Catherine claims he was not supported by his employer in the fall-out of a nurse's death by suicide. Mike Christian and Mel Greig were presenting on 2Day FM on December 4, 2012 when they made the phone call to the King Edward VII Hospital in London. The then-Duchess of Cambridge had been admitted to the hospital for severe morning sickness ahead of her first child's birth. Christian alleges he was ordered by 2Day FM's production team to make a prank call to the hospital and impersonate Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth to try to gain access to the duchess. Nurse Jacintha Saldanha died by suicide days after the prank call, leading to widespread backlash against the radio hosts and broadcaster. Almost 13 years later, Christian has sued 2Day FM's broadcaster Southern Cross Austereo in the Federal Court, claiming the firm promised to provide support if the content put out by its 'shock jocks' ever went too far. The former radio host - who was made redundant in February - says he believed these claims, but was let down by the organisation. The broadcaster did not 'step in' but rather let its radio presenters take the blame, negatively impacting their careers, court documents seen by AAP allege. Christian and Greig called out Southern Cross Austereo and tried to prevent the company from crossing the line, but were left in the cold after the suicide, the documents say. 'SCA did not immediately take public accountability for the incident, but rather allowed Mr Christian and Ms Greig to be left exposed to relentless public vitriol, harassment and abuse, including death threats,' his lawyers wrote. 'The radio presenters were left by SCA as the convenient fall guys and scapegoats for SCA management decisions and non-compliance.' Greig made a tearful apology to Ms Saldanha's family at an inquest into the nurse's death in 2014, placing the blame on the radio station and commercial radio culture. Rhys Holleran, SCA's chief executive at the time of the incident, told the ABC in 2024 he suffers anxiety about it. 'I have always felt completely and utterly responsible for this,' he said. Christian says he started as a 2Day FM presenter just two days before the prank call, which he alleges breached the Australian Communications and Media Authority code of practice. He claims he was told in early 2013 the broadcaster would help restore his reputation and rebuild his career. He remained working for 2Day FM and did not pursue legal proceedings against them because of this promise, court documents say. However, the firm failed to provide meaningful health support, did not start a public relations campaign to rebuild his brand, and failed to offer meaningful opportunities or pay rises to reward his loyalty, he alleges. Instead, he claims he was 'gradually marginalised' within the organisation. Christian did not sign a release preventing him from speaking publicly about his time at the broadcaster, instead retaining lawyers after learning of his impending redundancy in February. 'Mr Christian claims that the redundancy was not genuine, particularly in circumstances where SCA still requires Mr Christian's former role to be performed,' court documents allege. Christian is seeking penalties, compensation for economic loss and damages. The matter is yet to appear before the Federal Court.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
First tranche of final report from Horizon scandal inquiry to be published
The first tranche of the long-awaited final report from an inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is set to be published. More than 900 subpostmasters were wrongfully prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 in what has been dubbed as the worst miscarriage of justice in British legal history. Many were wrongly convicted of crimes such as theft and false accounting after faulty Horizon software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. Subpostmasters' lives were destroyed – with some bankrupted by legal action and sent to prison. On Tuesday, the first volume of the Horizon IT inquiry's final report will be published – covering the devastating impact on the lives of the scandal's victims and the compensation process. The issue of financial redress has frequently been flagged as an issue by subpostmasters – with many still awaiting full compensation. The various compensation schemes have been criticised by victims as unfair and difficult to navigate – processes which lead campaigner Sir Alan Bates has previously described as 'quasi-kangaroo courts'. Retired judge Sir Wyn Williams, the chairman of the probe, will make a public statement following the report's publication. The inquiry was established in 2020, with a number of witnesses giving evidence on the use of Fujitsu's Horizon system, Post Office governance and the legal action taken against subpostmasters. In a previous statement addressing the compensation schemes, the Department for Business and Trade said: 'This Government has quadrupled the total amount paid to affected postmasters to provide them with full and fair redress, with more than £1 billion having now been paid to over 7,300 claimants.'


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
France and UK expected to announce joint plan on small boat crossings
Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce plans for French police to do more to block small boats crossing the Channel at a summit in London this week, but a wider deal on returning asylum seekers is still up in the air. While details remain limited, with French officials believed to be still finalising what action the country can take with boats that are already in shallow waters, an announcement is expected on Wednesday. It is also still possible that Starmer and the visiting French president could set out plans for a 'one in, one out' returns scheme for asylum seekers who make it to Britain, although UK officials say this is less likely. This scheme would allow for the return of small boat arrivals in exchange for the UK accepting another asylum seeker from France who is thought to have a clearer right to claim asylum in Britain, such as through family ties. Macron arrives on Tuesday for a state visit that will involve events with royals and other pageantry but is also scheduled to include an Anglo-French summit and other meetings with Starmer. France is expected to announce it will allow police to intervene in shallow waters up to 300 metres from shore in order to stop small boats leaving. It would help prevent 'taxi-boats', which pick people up in the water rather than launching from the beach with passengers on board. This will require changes to existing protocol that do not contravene the UN convention on the law of the sea, which bars any intervention at sea that is not an actual rescue. Maritime authorities have been asked to draw up proposals to 'advance' French protocol on interceptions to allow such interventions to take place 'while still respecting the UN convention on the law of the sea'. It is understood that a French review of such tactics has been completed, with French and British officials continuing talks about what more could be done. On Friday, French police used knives to puncture a boat in shallow seas near Boulogne, in northern France, although it is not known if this was a sign of new protocols or a one-off. Downing Street declined to comment on possible announcements before the visit, although Starmer's deputy spokesperson indicated that there was likely to be concrete progress on small boat crossings. He told reporters: 'We expect to make progress on a wide range of issues and joint priorities, and that includes migration. I'm not going to get ahead of the summit this week, but there are a range of maritime tactics that we have been discussing and have secured agreement with the French over. 'It is operationally and legally complicated, but we expect these tactics to be operationalised soon. 'It's for French authorities to make operational decisions for themselves, but as I say, it's a complex area, but we are working extremely closely with the French. Our relationship with them is better than it has been for a long time.' The hope of the 'one in, one out plan', in combination with a greater likelihood of boats being stopped in the water, is that people could be dissuaded from paying people-smugglers to try to get them across the faces sustained political pressure to reduce the number of people arriving across the Channel. Despite a government promise to 'smash the gangs' that organise the crossings, more than 20,000 people have crossed to the UK in the first six months of this year, up 48% on the equivalent period in 2024.