List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

Ukraine’s outgoing defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has turned in his resignation and said he was honoured to have served the war-hit country in its toughest modern-day history. From appearing next to president Volodymyr Zelensky in a viral video shot in Kyiv just hours into the Ukraine invasion last year to carrying out deals for military aid with dozens of Western allies, the lawyer-turned-politician had played a critical role in aiding the country against Russia’s continuing full-scale invasion. On Sunday, Mr Zelensky announced Mr Reznikov’s removal as he believed “the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole”. “I have submitted my letter of resignation to Ruslan Stefanchuk @r_stefanchuk, Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine @verkhovna_rada. It was an honour to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the #UAarmy for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine’s modern history,” Mr Reznikov said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. “Over 50 per cent of the temporarily occupied territories by Russia have already been liberated. Every day our defenders are moving forward,” the 57-year-old leader, tipped to possibly be Ukraine’s next ambassador to the UK, said in his resignation letter. “There is an understanding that Ukraine is a shield of Europe in the east,” he said, adding that one of his biggest priorities for Kyiv was long-term partnerships with allies and finalising “real security guarantees”. Mr Reznikov also shared on X a photo of himself smiling and holding his resignation letter. He cited the provision of modern tanks, air defence anti-missile systems, long-range missiles, armoured vehicles, artillery, the Multiple Launch Rocket System among other types of modern-style weapons procured during his ministership, and lauded the besieged country’s fierce wartime resistance against Russian forces. The minister’s tenure saw heavy lobbying efforts to secure vital military aid from the West. In recent months, however, Mr Zelensky pushed for greater reforms to tackle corruption in the country. The defence ministry, under Mr Reznikov’s handling, faced graft allegations of buying food at inflated prices. The allegations, that had emerged in January this year, sparked speculation of Mr Reznikov’s tenure being cut short. He has described the charges against him and his ministry as a smear attack. While Mr Reznikov is not alleged to have signed a December contract worth some 13bn hryvnias (£290m), he is viewed as ultimately responsible for the department and previously emphasised his own zero-tolerance approach to corruption. Mr Reznikov, who was appointed defence chief in November 2021, told reporters in February that his department had begun an internal audit of all procurement contracts and said his ministry’s anti-corruption department needed to be overhauled and had failed to perform its role properly. Mr Zelensky has proposed the name of Crimean Tatar Rustem Umerov, currently the head of Ukraine’s main privatisation agency, as a replacement candidate as defence minister, subject to the parliament’s approval. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Zelensky sacks defence minister as Putin strikes Kyiv grain exporting port President Zelensky nominates Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s new defence minister Ukraine replaces its defence minister Upward of 20,000 Ukrainian amputees face trauma on a scale unseen since WWI Russia attacks a Ukrainian port before key grain deal talks between Putin and Turkey's president

Romania has “firmly” denied Kyiv’s claims that Russian drones detonated on its territory during an attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure last night. On Monday, Ukraine’s defence ministry said Russian kamikaze drones had exploded on Romanian territory during Moscow’s strike on Odesa. But Romania’s Ministry of National Defence said in a statement: “The Ministry of National Defence firmly denies the information circulating in the public space with regard to a so-called situation occurred during the night of 3-4 September, when Russian drones would have fallen on Romania’s national territory. “The Ministry of National Defence reiterates the fact that these attacks targeting the Ukrainian sites and civilian infrastructure are unjustified and break all international humanitarian rules.” Russia fired around 32 drones at Ukraine in its Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, damaging industrial facilities and infrastructure, according to Ukraine’s air force. Earlier today, Volodymyr Zelensky said he has decided to dismiss his war-time defence minister Oleksii Reznikov and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s main privatisation fund. Mr Zelensky said he “believes the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction.” Read More President Zelensky nominates Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s new defence minister Russian cyber-attacks ‘relentless’ as threat of WW3 grows, expert warns Ukraine ‘targets critical bridge’ built by Putin as counteroffensive ‘breaks through on southern front’

A British tourist has said she was raped by five men in her hotel room while on holiday in Cyprus. The 20-year-old said told Cypriot police she was attacked by five men in her hotel in the city of Famagusta. Cypriot police have since arrested five men from Israel. A spokesman at the island’s police headquarters in Nicosia said on Monday: “The five were detained overnight in a cell following the charges. They will appear today before Famagusta’s district court. We have not released their ages but can confirm that they are all young.” The news comes after last year a British woman won her appeal to overturn a conviction for ‘lying’ about being gang-raped by 12 tourists when she was 18 in Cyprus, Read More Israel's prime minister pitches fiber optic cable idea to link Asia and the Middle East to Europe Greece: Firefighters rescue 25 migrants trapped in forest as massive wildfire approached Greece further reinforces firefighting forces in massive wildfire in northeast burning for 13th day

A desperate search is underway for a father and son missing near Madrid after flash floods hit Spain just weeks after wildfires struck. Subway lines in the capital and high-speed train connections with southern cities were closed on Monday morning. Emergency services were involved in almost 1,200 incidents in the region overnight and firefighters and police were seeking two missing men in the rural area of Aldea del Fresno, southwest of Madrid, said Javier Chivite, the spokesperson of the emergency services in the region. “Two people are missing, a father and his son, they were in a vehicle that got in an avalanche caused by the spate of the Alberche river,” Chivite said. “We hope this will have a positive outcome.” Several roads in the Madrid region were closed as half a dozen bridges were torn down by water overflowing the riverbanks. The sudden torrential rain that hit the country transformed streets into rivers in Madrid, Castile, Catalonia and Valencia regions. Hail also fell in many areas. The heavy rainfall was waning on Monday morning, though. Rain continued in most of the country, but the National Weather Agency on Monday lowered the alert level to yellow from orange and red on Sunday. On Sunday Madrid’s mayor told all residents to stay at home as the capital braced itself for torrential rain and storms affecting parts of Spain. National weather agency AEMET issued a maximum red alert, which means possible extreme danger, for Sunday in the Madrid region, Toledo province, and the city of Cadiz. It said up to 120 litres per square metre of rain could fall over 12 hours in Madrid. “Due to the exceptional and abnormal situation, in which rainfall records will be broken, I ask the people of Madrid to stay at home today,” Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Dark storm clouds were gathering over Madrid during the early afternoon of Sunday, but many people were outside as usual. “I think (the red alert) is a good idea,” said Madrid resident Manuel Loro, 42. “The best thing to do is not to use your car today. It’s going to be strongest at six o’clock so we’ll go home earlier.” Madrid’s emergency services sent texts to residents warning them of flood risks and advising them not to use vehicles. LaLiga suspended an evening match between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid due to the alert. Read More Burning Man revellers build mud sculptures and wade through dirt as thousands stranded after floods Spain: Muddy water rushes down street as torrential rain causes major flooding Spain floods: Cars washed away by torrential rain in aerial footage Russian cyber-attacks ‘relentless’ as threat of WW3 grows, expert warns Berlin Wall relic gets a 'second life' on US-Mexico border as Biden adds barriers Ukraine ‘targets Crimea bridge’ built by Putin as counteroffensive ‘breaks through’

Volodymyr Zelensky said he has decided to dismiss his war-time defence minister Oleksii Reznikov and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine’s main privatisation fund. “I’ve decided to replace the Minister of Defence of Ukraine. Oleksii Reznikov has been through more than 550 days of full-scale war,” he said, adding that he “believes the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole”. The exit of lawyer-turned-politician Reznikov marks the biggest shakeup of Ukraine’s defence establishment during the war launched by Russia in February 2022. While he secured billions of dollars of Western military aid to help the war effort, Reznikov has been dogged by graft allegations surrounding his ministry that he described as smears. This comes as Russia launched a major drone strike on Ukraine’s grain exporting port in Odesa region this morning. The three and a half hour long drone assault damaged warehouses and set buildings on fire just hours before Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdogan, were due to hold talks on the halted grain deal. Read More President Zelensky nominates Rustem Umerov as Ukraine’s new defence minister Russian cyber-attacks ‘relentless’ as threat of WW3 grows, expert warns Ukraine ‘targets critical bridge’ built by Putin as counteroffensive ‘breaks through on southern front’

Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong advanced on Monday after the nation rolled out further property support measures

Team USA and Slovenia will join Italy, Serbia, Germany, Canada, Latvia, and Lithuania in the 2023 FIBA World Cup quarterfinals despite suffering their first losses of the tournament today.

Australia’s central bank is set to keep interest rates unchanged at Governor Philip Lowe’s final meeting amid mounting

VIDEO: Dennis Schroder incident with coach.

The UK government is still on track to achieve its pledge to halve record inflation this year and

Thousands of protesters gathered outside a French army base in Niger’s capital Niamey over the weekend as a

One of the world’s most popular types of rough diamonds has plunged into a pricing free fall, as