Truss surges ahead, wins key backers in UK leadership race
U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss cemented her place as front-runner in the race to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, winning endorsement Saturday from an influential former rival for the top job. Tom Tugendhat, who was eliminated from the contest in earlier rounds of voting by Conservative lawmakers, said Truss had the “resolution, determination, and passion” to be prime minister. The endorsement is a blow to ex-Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, the other finalist in the race for the next Conservative leader.
news.yahoo.comUkrainian soldiers train in UK as war with Russia rages on
The U.K. Ministry of Defense says the first cohort of Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom have no previous military experience, have arrived in the U.K. for combat training as the eastern European nation races to replace troops killed and wounded in the war against Russia.
Ukrainian soldiers train in UK as war with Russia rages on
The first cohort of Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom have no previous military experience, have arrived in the U.K. for combat training as the eastern European nation races to replace troops killed and wounded in the war against Russia. The first few hundred recruits are receiving instruction at sites across Britain in the first phase of program that aims to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in weapons handling, battlefield first aid and patrol tactics, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said. It is part of broader package of support for Ukraine that includes 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) of anti-tank weapons, rocket systems and other hardware.
news.yahoo.comJustices rule for American woman in custody dispute
The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously for an American woman who is involved in an international custody dispute with her Italian husband over their young son. The high court determined that the boy would be at risk because of the father’s abuse of the mother.
news.yahoo.comRussians should not assassinate Vladimir Putin, says Boris Johnson
Brexit on back burner due to Ukraine Anger over knighthood for Gavin Williamson NHS axes free flu jabs for over-50s and secondary students Fraser Nelson: Putin will regret a war that has united Europe Labour holds seat in by-election with reduced majority US says Nato is 'ready for conflict' seizure of nuclear plant
news.yahoo.comRussia Used Beatings and Tricks to Forcibly Send Rookie Troops to Ukraine, Rights Group Says
GettyRussian soldiers from all across the country were deceived into heading to the Ukrainian border, and some were beaten if they resisted, according to the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers, a Russian non-governmental organization that works to expose human rights violations within the military.The group is reportedly preparing a complaint for the Chief Military Prosecutor’s Office alleging that their sons only recently joined the military as conscripts and were told they were going to the border
news.yahoo.comAfghan withdrawal extension would cross a 'red line', warns Taliban
Any extension to the deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan would cross a red line that will lead to "consequences", the Taliban has said, as the British defence minister warned that the UK was "down to hours now, not weeks" in its evacuation plan.
news.yahoo.comJapan, UK to expand defense ties at sea, military technology
The British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and its strike group will visit Japanese ports in September for joint exercises, defense ministers from Japan and Britain said Tuesday as the two countries step up military ties amid increased Chinese assertiveness in regional seas. British defense secretary Ben Wallace said the visit by the Royal Navy’s largest warship is part of his country’s “Indo-Pacific tilt” that shares goals with Japan. “Both our countries seek to protect and uphold the rules-based international order,” Wallace said at a joint news conference after meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Nobuo Kishi.
news.yahoo.comNavy sea graves to be protected from looters by underwater drones, says First Sea Lord
Royal Navy sea graves are to be protected from looters by underwater drones, the First Sea Lord has said, as US forensics teams work to identify British remains of past conflicts. Wrecks from Second World War battles in the Pacific have been raided in recent years by unethical scrap metal bounty hunters. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the Royal Navy, said there were “no easy answers” over the “very sensitive issue” of grave robbers disturbing Britain’s maritime war dead. Speaking to the T
news.yahoo.comSpace base tracking ‘reckless’ threats to satellites by Russia and China to be built in Britain
A new space base will be built in Britain to monitor the “irresponsible and reckless” threats to satellites by Russia and China, the head of the Royal Air Force has said. The Deep-Space Advanced Radar Capability (Darc) will be located either in southern England or Scotland. The site will work with identical facilities in Texas and Australia to cover the entire world up to 36,000km (22,000 miles) above the Earth, watching for incoming nuclear missiles or space debris on collision courses with sat
news.yahoo.comUK unveils plan for smaller, more high-tech armed forces
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks, during a visit to BAE Systems at Warton Aerodrome in Lancashire, England, Monday, March 22, 2021 to mark the publication of the Integrated Review and the Defence White Paper. (Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP)LONDON – Britain plans to cut the size of its army and boost spending on drones, robots and a new “cyber force” under defense plans announced by the government on Monday. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the British Army would shrink from 76,500 soldiers to 72,500 by 2025. He said the army hadn't been at its “established strength” of 82,500 for several years. In November the government announced a 16.5 billion-pound ($23 billion) increase in defense spending over the next four years, focusing on the future battlefields of space and cyber rather than traditional resources such as army troops.
The Latest: Mexico sees near-record daily coronavirus deaths
(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)MEXICO CITY — Mexico reported a near-record 1,707 confirmed coronavirus deaths Wednesday, as the country runs out of vaccines. Ad___THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:Spain surpasses 60,000 confirmed virus deaths. British officials say Oxford study backs up their decision to delay second vaccine shot for up to 12 weeks. Ad___OKLAHOMA CITY -- About 11,500 doses of the coronavirus vaccine will be shipped to pharmacies across Oklahoma next week, state health officials said. ___MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Nicaragua’s government says it has approved Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.
UK defense spending boost stokes concerns about overseas aid
Johnson said the armed forces will receive an additional 16.5 billion pounds ($21 billion) over and above the governments earlier plans. Since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, Britain, like many other Western countries, cut defense spending in order to reap a peace dividend. Starmer and others, including members of Johnson's Conservative Party, voiced concerns that the government is about to abandon its commitments on overseas aid to pay for the higher military spending. The government has already rolled the department overseeing overseas aid into the Foreign Office. Some in government have argued for a reduction in the commitment to maintain aid spending at 0.7% of national income to 0.5%, which could free up billions of pounds for use elsewhere.
7 held for suspected tanker hijack after UK commando raid
The Nave Andromeda oil tanker is docked next to the Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Terminal in Southampton, England, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. The U.K. military seized control of the oil tanker that dropped anchor in the English Channel after reporting it had seven stowaways on board who had become violent. (Andrew Matthews/PA Wire via AP)LONDON – Seven stowaways seized when British naval special forces stormed an oil tanker in the English Channel have been arrested on suspicion of hijacking, police said Monday. Police said the 22 crew members of the Nave Andromeda were “safe and well” after the raid, which unfolded after darkness fell on Sunday. Suspecting a hijacking, Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel authorized military action, the U.K. government said.