Putin claims Russia is united than ever just days after Wagner troops march on Moscow
Vladimir Putin claimed that Russians were more united than ever after responding to the short-lived but dramatic mutiny by his private mercenary Wagner group and its march on Moscow. The Russian president was speaking alongside Asian leaders such as his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi at the virtual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Tuesday. He was delivering his first remarks outside of Moscow acknowledging June’s aborted coup – the biggest challenge to the Russian leader’s rule in decades. “The Russian people are consolidated as never before,” he said "Russian political circles and the whole of society clearly demonstrated their unity and elevated sense of responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland when they responded as a united front against an attempted armed mutiny,” Mr Putin said in his remarks to his allies. The speech on a united front to Russia’s key allies by Mr Putin comes as he looks to assure the leaders about his challenged authority on the world stage while Russian forces continue to carry out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine for nearly 500 days. Hundreds of Wagner fighters led by Mr Putin’s affiliate and the group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin marched on Moscow after taking control of a southern city on 24 June, threatening to overthrow the defence ministry. After a failed rebellion, Mr Putin accused the Wagner group of a “stab in the back” and said Russia was “facing treason”. He also thanked his army and security services for averting chaos and civil war. On Tuesday, 10 days after the Wagner’s insurgency, Mr Putin shifted his focus to the invasion of Ukraine in his public remarks at the virtual summit helmed by New Delhi and tried to project confidence. He said Russia will stand up against the West’s sanctions and “provocations”. Moscow and the country’s oligarchs are reeling under hundreds of financial sanctions imposed by the international community for launching a war on Ukraine. Thanking the SCO nations for backing the Russian authorities during the rebellion, he said that the West turned Ukraine into “a virtually hostile state – anti-Russia”. Mr Putin said Moscow was looking to boost ties with the SCO member nations, and backed the transition to settlements in local currencies in foreign trade. The Russian president, who launched a “special military operation” on Ukraine in February last year, added that the world was seeing an increasing potential for conflicts, and that the risk of a global economic crisis was on the rise. Experts have said the summit gave Mr Putin a rare window to demonstrate control over rumblings in Moscow. “Putin will want to reassure his partners that he is very much still in charge, and leave no doubt that the challenges to his government have been crushed,” said Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The summit of the security-led group saw the top leaders of its member states China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in attendance as Indian prime minister Narendra Modi commenced the gathering virtually. Mr Modi, who wrapped up his state visit to the US two weeks earlier with pomp and fervour after meeting Joe Biden, did not mention the war in Ukraine in his opening remarks. While he warned of global challenges to food, fuel and fertiliser supplies, Mr Modi did not blame Moscow’s continuing invasion and halt on grain deal which has shot up the prices across the world. International trade, especially for Russia’s allies, suffered a major setback but all SCO members avoided directly mentioning the war. Mr Modi instead kept his focus on indirectly targeting Pakistan for terrorism, asking the SCO members to not hesitate while criticising the nations “using terrorism as an instrument of its state policy”. India has largely protested any support to Pakistan, accusing its neighbour of breeding terrorism and armed insurgent groups for decades. “Terrorism poses a threat to regional peace and we need to take up a joint fight,” Mr Modi said without naming Pakistan. He was joined by Pakistan prime minister Shahbaz Sharif in condemnation of terrorism, who defended his nation’s fight against it. “While the sacrifices made by Pakistan in fighting terrorism are without parallel, this scourge continues to plague our region and remains a serious obstacle to the maintenance of peace and stability,” Mr Sharif said. “Any temptation to use it as a cudgel for diplomatic point scoring must be eschewed,” Mr Sharif said. The Asian security grouping founded by Russia and China in 2001 to counter Western alliances also welcomed Iran as a new member, bringing its membership to nine nations. Belarus has also queued up at the summit for membership. Read More Russia-Ukraine war– live: Putin claims Russia ‘united’ days after mutiny pushes country to brink of civil war Ukraine’s push to smash Russian defences on the battlefield: ‘Small advances have colossal meaning’ Russia ‘arrests General Armageddon’ over knowledge of Wagner mutiny Putin admits Moscow paid Wagner mercenaries £800m in wages in a year – and that his forces ‘stopped civil war’ A week after an armed rebellion rattled Russia, key details about it are still shrouded in mystery
2023-07-04 19:57
Three people killed and eight wounded in mass shooting at July 4 fireworks event in Fort Worth
At leat three people have been killed and eight others wounded in a mass shooting at a July 4 fireworks display in Fort Worth, Texas. The massacre unfolded just before midnight on Monday night as revellers gathered to enjoy Independence Day celebrations in the area of Diaz Avenue and Horne Street in Fort Worth’s Como neighbourhood. Fort Worth Police said that investigators believe someone opened fire into the crowd, hitting at least 11 people and sending terrified revellers running for their lives. “We had a shooting. It appears that we had multiple victims that were shot. Probably three of them were transported to Harris Southwest,” said Fort Worth Police Captain Shawn Murray in a press conference. “Five more victims were transported to John Peter Smith.” Police said that emergency responders struggled to reach the victimes due to the large crowds of people and the number of vehicles in the area. Instead, officers loaded victims into their patrol cars and drove them to waiting paramedics, police said. One shooting victim was pronounced dead at the scene while the other 10 were rushed to hospital, reported WFAA. Two other victims were pronounced dead taking the death toll up to three. The identities of the victims are currently unknown but one of the 11 is believed to be a juvenile. No arrests have been made and the identities of the shooter or shooters remain unknown. Capt. Murray said that investigators are working to determine what led up to the shooting and how many people opened fire. “We don’t if this was domestic related or gang related. It’s too early to tell,” he said. “We just know someone shot a bunch of times. We don’t know if it was a single shooter or more than one shooter. “We hope it is just a single shooter and not a crossfire situation. Homicide will figure that out... how many shooters there were.” The mass shooting came just hours after the neighbourhood’s annual ComoFest came to an end. This isn’t the first time Fort Worth’s ComoFest ended in tragedy. Two years ago in 2021, eight people were shot close to a car wash on Horne Street during the celebrations. All shooting victims survived back then. Anyone with information or videos in connection to Monday’s shooting is asked to call Fort Worth Police at 817-392-4330. You could also call Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County at 817-469-8477. Read More Philadelphia mass shooting – live: Fifth victim found dead after gunman, 40, opened fire in Kingsessing Philadelphia shooting: At least five dead as heavily armed gunman opens fire at random on streets
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Thailand chooses a House speaker as the Move Forward Party tries to secure the prime minister job
Thailand's new government took a step closer to forming with the speaker of the House of Representative chosen Tuesday in what has been an arduous task before the next prime minister is named. The House vote for prime minister is the next major move, expected next week. The leader of the surprise election winner Move Forward Party, 42-year-old businessman Pita Limjaroenrat, has faced strong opposition from conservative lawmakers in his bid to take the job. A successful candidate must have the backing of a combined majority of the elected lawmakers in the Lower House and the military-appointed Senate, which represents the country’s traditional ruling class. Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, the Prachachat Party's veteran leader who is better known as Wan Noor, was the sole nomination for the speakership and was automatically chosen with no house vote required. “I will perform my duty with political neutrality,” Wan Noor gave a speech after the nomination. “I will perform my duty with transparency, honesty, and I will fully comply with the constitution and the rules of the parliament.” The House Speaker position was highly sought after as it could influence the passage of legislation. Move Forward said it needed the post to ensure their progressive policies, often blocked by conservative lawmakers, will pass through. But many members of the populist Phue Thai Party insisted that their party should take the crucial post as it was the second winner of the election. Weeks of tensions between the two parties over the speaker’s post had raised concerns over the unity of their coalition and added to the anxiety Move Forward is facing in forming a government, but the proposals Tuesday went according to a compromise the two parties made the day before. Move Forward and Pheu Thai, the two biggest parties in the coalition, each got a candidate endorsed for the two deputy speaker posts. Several Move Forward supporters expressed their disappointment in the speaker deal, fearing it would be seen as the party backing down, which could undermine their reform agendas. Party leader Pita wrote Tuesday on Facebook that the decision was reached in order to “preserve the unity of the work among parties of the coalition government” and that he fully trusts Wan Noor will serve the post with integrity and for the right causes. The general election in May saw Move Forward and Pheu Thai score a major win over parties in the army-backed ruling government. The victory alarmed the country’s conservative ruling establishment — especially with Move Forward, which they regard as radical and a threat to the monarchy because of modest reforms it had proposed during the election campaign. The election results reflected a public weary of nine years under Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army commander seized power in a 2014 coup. He was returned as prime minister after the 2019 election. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide
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