Putin criticises 'mad and thoughtless' Russia sanctions
Russia 'forced' to launch 'special operation' in Ukraine - Putin
He says Russia's decision to start it's so-called "special military operation" was difficult - but was "forced on us".
Putin says it was aimed at protecting "our people" the people of Donbas - in eastern Ukraine, as he repeats his unfounded accusation that they were "being subjected to genocide".
He adds "the West is continuing to pump Ukraine with weapons", saying that "all the goals of the special operation will be achieved without any doubt".
Summary
- President Putin denounces the European Union and the US, adding that Russia's economy will withstand their sanctions
- He claims that the real interest of people in Europe are being sidelined after Ukraine moved a step closer to EU membership
- He spoke after the European Commission recommended that Ukraine be given candidate status
- Sanctions on Russia could cost EU countries more than $400bn (£326bn), Putin adds
- Ukrainians have shown they are "ready to die" for their European aspirations, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said earlier
- But the commission warned Ukraine must make reforms - on rule of law, oligarchs, human rights and tackling corruption
- Meanwhile UK PM Boris Johnson has made a second surprise visit to Kyiv - and offered to launch a major training operation for Ukrainian forces
Fossil fuel firms ‘have humanity by the throat’, says UN head in blistering attack
António Guterres compares climate inaction to tobacco firms dismissing links between smoking and cancer
Fossil fuel companies and the banks that finance them “have humanity by the throat”, the UN secretary general has said, in a “blistering” attack on the industry and its backers, who are pulling in record profits amid energy prices sent soaring by the Ukraine war.
António Guterres compared fossil fuel companies to the tobacco companies that continued to push their addictive products while concealing or attacking health advice that showed clear links between smoking and cancer, the first time he has drawn such a parallel.
He said: “We seem trapped in a world where fossil fuel producers and financiers have humanity by the throat. For decades, the fossil fuel industry has invested heavily in pseudoscience and public relations – with a false narrative to minimise their responsibility for climate change and undermine ambitious climate policies.
Gazprom reduces gas supplies to Italy, France cut off
An Italian energy firm says the Russian company is slashing its deliveries by 50%. France's gas operator says it has not received any natural gas from Russia via its pipeline from Germany for more than a month.
Italy's energy firm Eni said on Friday that Russian energy giant Gazprom was reducing its gas supplies to Italy by 50%.
In recent weeks, Moscow has reduced or cut off gas deliveries to several European Union countries, which have imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
French network operator GRTgaz also said on Friday that France has not received any Russian gas via Germany since May 15, citing the effects of reduced Russian supply.
Japan's top court rules gov't not liable for Fukushima disaster
Japan's top court on Friday dismissed claims that the government should pay damages in cases involving around 3,700 people whose lives were seriously affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, absolving the state of responsibility for the crisis that led to mass evacuations.
The decision by the Supreme Court's Second Petty Bench was the first for the top court and covered four lawsuits filed in Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba and Ehime prefectures. Around 30 such lawsuits have been filed across Japan by people who had to evacuate from their homes or whose lives were greatly impacted by the earthquake- and tsunami-triggered disaster.
The ruling leaves Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, solely responsible for slightly over 1.4 billion yen in damages in the four lawsuits. The top court finalized the utility's liability in March for the first time.
‘Cattle are the only way to a decent life here’
Brazil’s trans-Amazonian highway of fire and mud
In the 1970s Brazil’s military regime saw the Amazonian rainforest as virgin territory to be claimed for agriculture, mining and new towns. The first step to its conquest was an ambitious new road.
by Anne Vigna
On reaching the town of Lábrea in the heart of Brazilian Amazonia I saw bikers covered in ochre dust, waving their mobiles and asking locals where they’d find the official plaque marking the end of the Trans-Amazonian Highway. I’m told it’s a common sight. They wanted to photograph the completion of their 4,260-km journey. But there is no official sign, because the highway was not supposed to end here. Fifty years ago, Brazil’s military leaders, in power from 1964 to 1985, planned to build a bridge over the Purus River at Lábrea and extend the highway 660km west to Benjamin Constant, a border town in the state of Amazonas named after the general regarded as Brazil’s founder. But, after four years’ work, the planned 5,000-km road stopped short in Lábrea — which got no commemorative plaque.
China launches third, most advanced aircraft carrier named 'Fujian'
Updated 1055 GMT (1855 HKT) June 17, 2022
China on Friday launched its third and most advanced aircraft carrier from Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard, with new combat systems that experts say are fast catching up with the United States.
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