EU foreign ministers reach political consensus to fully suspend visa agreement between EU and Russia
Following a two-day informal meeting in Prague, the European foreign ministers have reached political consensus to fully suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a news conference following the meeting that this decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states” given that the process would become more difficult and take longer.
- A team from the UN's nuclear watchdog has arrived in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia ahead of a planned visit to the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine. The team is expected to visit the plant on Thursday, following recent shelling at the facility and mounting fears of a nuclear disaster.
US asked British spy agency to stop Guardian publishing Snowden revelations
Head of GCHQ rebuffed late-night request from National Security Agency amid strained relations in Five Eyes intelligence coalition
Julian Borger in Washington
The US National Security Agency (NSA) tried to persuade its British counterpart to stop the Guardian publishing revelations about secret mass data collection from the NSA contractor, Edward Snowden, according to a new book.
Sir Iain Lobban, the head of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), was reportedly called with the request in the early hours of 6 June 2013 but rebuffed the suggestion that his agency should act as a censor on behalf of its US partner in electronic spying.
The late-night call and the British refusal to shut down publication of the leaks was the first of several episodes in which the Snowden affair caused rifts within the Five Eyes signals intelligence coalition, recounted in a new book to be published on Thursday, The Secret History of Five Eyes, by film-maker and investigative journalist Richard Kerbaj.
Pakistanis outraged by inept government response to monsoon floods
Widespread flooding driven by devastating monsoons has affected 33 million people in Pakistan — some 15% of the population. Anger is growing at the government's failure to provide timely assistance.
For months, tens of millions of people across Pakistan have been battling the worst monsoon floods in over a decade. Pakistan's Climate Minister Sherry Rehman said on Monday that the "crisis of unimaginable proportions" had put a third of Pakistan "under water."
Unprecedented monsoon rains and catastrophic flooding have wreaked havoc on the lives of over 33 million people across Pakistan.
Greenhouse gas, sea levels at record in 2021: US agency
Earth's concentration of greenhouse gases and sea levels hit new highs in 2021, a US government report said Wednesday, showing that climate change keeps surging ahead despite efforts to curb emissions.
"The data presented in this report are clear -- we continue to see more compelling scientific evidence that climate change has global impacts and shows no sign of slowing," said Rick Spinrad, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The rise in greenhouse gas levels comes despite an easing of fossil fuel emissions the previous year as much of the global economy slowed sharply due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Canada spy smuggled UK’s Shamima Begum into Syria: New book
Mohammed al-Rashed, a spy working for Canadian intelligence, smuggled British schoolgirl Shamima Begum and her two friends into Syria in 2015, according to a new book and British media reports that prompted demands for an official inquiry.
The Secret History of the Five Eyes by Richard Kerbaj, a former security correspondent of The Sunday Times, said that the United Kingdom later conspired with Canada to cover up the role of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) in the case of Begum, who married an ISIL (ISIS) fighter.
Nord Stream 1: Russia shuts major gas pipeline to Europe
BBC News
Russia has completely halted gas supplies to Europe via a major pipeline, saying repairs are needed.
The Russian state-owned energy giant, Gazprom, said the restrictions on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would last for the next three days.
Russia has already significantly reduced gas exports via the pipeline.
It denies accusations it has used energy supplies as a weapon of war against Western countries.
The Nord Stream 1 pipeline stretches 1,200km (745 miles) under the Baltic Sea from the Russian coast near St Petersburg to north-eastern Germany.
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