Putin says he is ready to talk with Germany's Merz
ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he was ready to talk with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, but he doubted that Germany could be an intermediary in talks with Ukraine.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Russia can defend itself, says Putin, as North Korea sends more soldiers
Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he was ready to meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy but only during a 'final phase' of negotiations 'so as not to sit there and divide things up endlessly, but to put an end to it'. Putin made his customary false accusation that Zelenskyy is not Ukraine's legitimate president. In a round-table interview in St Petersburg with international news agencies, Putin said on Nato: 'We do not consider any Nato rearmament to be a threat to the Russian Federation, because we are self-sufficient in terms of ensuring our security.' Russia has brought in thousands of North Korean soldiers to help defend Kursk; and has relied on a flood of arms and ammunition from North Korea as well as Iranian drones and missiles to wage war on Ukraine; while also receiving suspected help from China to continue arming a 'special military operation' that Putin thought would be over in three days. The potential collapse of the Iranian regime would be a serious blow to Putin, Russian affairs reporter Pjotr Sauer writes. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to attend the Nato summit in The Hague on 24-25 June, a source in the Ukrainian presidency told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. 'The decision will be made on the eve of the summit. This is just the schedule,' the source said, describing the meeting as 'an opportunity to maintain support and promote a ceasefire'. Nato leaders want to keep the summit brief so as not to aggravate Donald Trump and his short attention span, the Times has reported (£). Senior Ukrainian officials at the G7 summit in Canada discussed with US counterparts the possibility of supporting defence projects in Ukraine under a joint investment fund set up in May, Kyiv's first deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said on Wednesday. The talks included the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, Svyrydenko said. The death toll from Tuesday's Russian attack on Kyiv stood at 28, with more than 130 injured, as the recovery of bodies continued at destroyed apartment blocks. Russia's defence ministry claimed its forces hit a Ukrainian troop position in the Sumy region with an Iskander missile. The Reuters news agency said it could not independently confirm the battlefield report, or determine exactly when it took place. Ukrainian authorities on Monday reported an Iskander missile strike on Konotop damaged flats in multi-storey buildings with no casualties. Ukraine is trying to drive Russian forces from the Sumy region where border areas are gripped by heavy fighting. Slovak police have detained eight people, including defence ministry officials, in an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office into possible misuse of €7.4m for military aid to Ukraine at the start of the war in February 2022. Jaroslav Nad, who was Slovakia's defence minister at the time, has called the police action 'theatre'. Slovakia's pro-Russia current prime minister, Robert Fico, has taken sharp policy turns since taking power in 2023 – stopping military aid to Ukraine and making a trip to Moscow that fuelled large and widespread protests in opposition to his stance on Ukraine.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Be ready to be shocked and offended at university, students told
Students should be ready to be shocked and offended at university, according to the man in charge of ensuring free speech on Ahmed, from the Office for Students (OfS), which regulates universities, told the BBC that exposure to views which students might find offensive was "part of the process of education".It comes as the OfS published guidance for universities in England on how a new law, designed to protect free speech, will work when it comes into force from had requested clarity from the OfS on how to best uphold freedom of speech, after the University of Sussex was fined £585,000 for failing to do so in March. The university was issued with the fine earlier this year under existing powers, after the OfS said its policy on trans and non-binary equality had a "chilling effect" on freedom of Stock had previously resigned from her post as philosophy professor at the university, following protests by students against her gender-critical university has begun a legal challenge against the fine, arguing that the investigation was flawed. Universities UK, which represents 141 institutions, said at the time of the fine that it would write to the OfS to clarify what would represent a breach of freedom of speech now say they are "pleased" the OfS has taken on feedback, and would "make sure universities are appropriately supported to comply" with the new this summer, the new law will place a stronger responsibility on universities in England to uphold freedom of speech and academic OfS can sanction universities, with the potential for fines to run into millions of pounds, if they are found to have failed to do every aspect of university life - from protests to debates, training and teaching - is covered by the new guidelines on how the law will be returning students, or those starting university this year, there may be not be a noticeable immediate change, but Dr Ahmed says the law is about the freedom for anything to be discussed or directly to students, the director for free speech said: "You should expect to face views you might find shocking or offensive, and you should be aware that's part of the process of education."He added that students should be able to express any view, no matter how offensive it is to others, as long as it is not outside what is generally allowed by law, such as harassment or unlawful discrimination. 'Be respectful of everyone's opinions' Paris and Marie-Louise, who both study mental health nursing at the University of Salford, said they felt that being respectful of others' opinions is key. Paris said she thought it was important to be able to "express your emotions and feelings without being disrespectful", and allow others to do so too."I think it's important to be able to allow other people to express themselves, because at the end of the day everyone's gone through different situations that may lead to them having different opinions," she Marie-Louise said freedom of speech "doesn't mean you have to be nasty" or "act out of manner", but rather "just stay true to yourself".In the OfS guidelines, 54 detailed scenarios are used to explore how the new law might be interpreted, with some likely to provoke debate and even looks at "simulated military checkpoints" as part of student protests about Palestine - something that has happened in the United States, but not on campuses in the right for peaceful student protests is balanced with universities being able to limit the time and place they happen, in order to ensure no students are intimidated or prevented from attending guidelines also make it clear that any agreements with foreign states that enable censorship on campus must be changed or scrapped. 'Offensive, shocking, controversial or disturbing' But not everyone accepts there are serious issues around freedom of expression at challenged on the scale of the issue, Dr Ahmed pointed to polling carried out for the OfS, which he said suggests a fifth of academics do not feel free to discuss controversial topics in their issues most frequently highlighted by those expressing concern were race and racism, as well as sex and gender, with women more likely to feel unable to speak out. The guidelines also make clear that the OfS expects universities to support and protect academics whose views might provoke protest from students, and not to delay speaking up in their Ahmed told the BBC universities could not sack a lecturer "simply because that person expresses views students find offensive, shocking, controversial or disturbing - and that's essential to academic freedom."What is less clear is what happens when an academic leaves a job because they feel the situation is Jo Phoenix won a case for constructive dismissal with the Open University, and a tribunal found she had faced harassment for her gender-critical employment tribunal, due to take place next year, will look at an allegation by a different academic that he was constructively dismissed after students boycotted his teaching over his opinion that racial diversity programmes had gone too the meantime, the law will come into effect, with a complaints system to follow. Students will be able to complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator if they feel free speech or academic freedom is not upheld, while academics or visiting speakers will go direct to the OfS. Universities have expressed unease about the new system, pointing out they already have a legal obligation to uphold free speech. A Universities UK spokesperson said: "We strongly agree that universities must be places where free speech is protected and promoted."It added that issues were complex, and said it was pleased the regulator had taken on board feedback on its previous draft guidelines.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
French authorities finally promise to intercept small boats in the Channel as shocking figures reveal one migrant reaches Britain every four-and-a-half minutes
French authorities have finally promised to intercept small boats in Channel waters as figures reveal a migrant reached Britain every four-and-a-half minutes last week. A new 'maritime doctrine' set to come into operation next month allows French police officers to block dinghy departures within 300 yards of the shoreline. Currently, they are barred from intercepting any boat once it is in the water. But gendarmes have expressed concerns over their safety when the new policy comes into force. The new rules will be introduced after Channel migrants reaching the UK topped 2,000 in a week for the first time in 21 months, following 489 arrivals on Tuesday. The 2,222 arrivals over seven days meant an average of one migrant reached Britain every four-and-a-half minutes. Police unions are understood to have concerns their members may be required to enter the water wearing 'Kevlar' body armour, which can weigh up to 6lbs and would put them at risk of drowning. Sources said French officers had also raised concerns about being unable to carry firearms if they are required to go into the sea, because salt water would damage the weapons. However, French police colonel Olivier Alary said that his teams 'will be able to do more' once the 300-yard rule comes into force. 'If the rules change to allow us to intervene against these taxi boats, as close as possible to the shore, then we'll be able... to be more effective,' he told the BBC. Marc Musiol, of the police union Unity, said: 'I can understand an average British person watching this on television might say, 'Damn, those police don't want to intervene.' But it's not like that. 'Imagine people on a boat panic and we end up with children drowning. The police officer who intervened would end up in a French court.' He added: 'It's a complicated business, but we can't fence off the entire coastline. It's not the Second World War.' Last week's crossing total was the most since September 2023, when the former Tory government's Rwanda policy was still in legal limbo. It tipped the total since Labour came to power at last July's general election past the 40,000 mark, hitting 40,276. Since the start of this year, 17,034 migrants have reached Britain, up 38 per cent on the same period last year. The figure does not include hundreds more who reached Dover yesterday. Reform leader Nigel Farage said it was 'about time' Britain faced up to the fact it was 'our fault' – rather than France's – that so many migrants head here. 'We will never stop the boats from leaving France,' he told broadcaster Talk. 'They'd need 10,000 soldiers on the beaches to stop every boat from going. The reason they're coming isn't the French's fault, the reason they're coming – it's our fault. It's about time we faced up to that.' His remarks echoed comments from French politicians over recent years which blamed Britain's asylum system, as well as inadequate checks on illegal working, for making this country an 'El Dorado' for illegal migrants. In a new development, people-smuggling gangs have begun delivering inflated dinghies to the shore tied to car roofs rather than inflating them on French beaches, in a bid to reduce the risk of detection by police. It demonstrates how traffickers are constantly evolving their methods. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer cancelled the Tories' Rwanda asylum scheme – which was designed to deter crossings and save lives – as one of his first acts in office. Instead, Labour vowed that investment in law enforcement would solve the crisis. But migrant numbers are soaring and Downing Street this week admitted the situation was 'deteriorating'. A government source said last night: 'Any new tactics to prevent these criminals from facilitating these dangerous journeys are always welcome.' And a Home Office source pointed out: 'On exactly the same days in 2023, 2,375 people arrived – or one every 4.2 minutes – when Rishi Sunak was PM and Robert Jenrick was immigration minister.'
