Latest news with #BelTrew
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Author Philippe Sands was told it is ‘unacceptable' to read Russian writer Tolstoy amid Ukraine war
British-French author Philippe Sands has said he was told it is 'unacceptable' to read the work of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sands is a lawyer and the author of bestselling books including The Ratline and The Last Colony. In 2016, his memoir East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. The 64-year-old appeared on a panel at the 2025 Hay Festival, which has partnered with The Independent for a second year. He was joined by Swedish philanthropist Sigrid Rausing, academic Adam Rutherford, and The Independent's chief international correspondent Bel Trew. Responding to Rausing's concerns over 'how far Ukraine is going to go' in retaliating against the Russian invasion, Sands said: 'I've got no objection to that. I've got no objection to them targeting Russian bridges.' He continued: 'The issue I've found in Kyiv, and in other places in Ukraine, is I want to read a short story by Tolstoy and I'm told I can't do that because it's unacceptable.' Russian novelist Tolstoy, who died in 1910, was the author of seminal books including War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1878). The latter has been the subject of numerous film adaptations, including a critically acclaimed version starring Greta Garbo in 1935, and Joe Wright's 2012 adaptation starring Keira Knightley. 'It's an issue right now because [Ukrainians] are feeling very beleaguered,' said Sands. 'On the other hand, there are people who say, 'No, absolutely there are many good Russian writers, and many good Russian people...' so that is complex.' He added: 'But in terms of going into the Russian side, absolutely. [Ukraine have] got to defend themselves.' The discussion came in light of the news that at least seven people had been killed and dozens more injured when bridges collapsed in separate incidents across Russia. Moscow Railways initially blamed the collapse in the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, on 'illegal interference in the operation of transport', in a likely reference to Ukrainian saboteurs, but its Telegram post was later removed. Prominent Russian military blogger Semyon Pegov, who uses the name War Gonzo, called it 'sabotage'. Neither report could be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. A second bridge collapsed hours later when a freight train was crossing a bridge in the Kursk region early on Sunday (1 June), according to a local governor, causing a similar derailment. Russia's Investigative Committee said on Sunday that the two bridges had collapsed following explosions. In a third, separate incident, a prominent Ukrainian partisan group claimed responsibility for an attack on relay systems in the occupied Donetsk province, which brought a new Russian rail line to a standstill. Russia has been hit by dozens of sabotage attacks since Moscow launched its offensive against Ukraine in 2022, with many targeting its vast rail network. Kyiv said railways are targeted because they are used to transport troops and weapons for deployment in the war. You can follow updates on the Ukraine-Russia war in The Independent's live blog. Elsewhere during the panel, Sands, a visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School, said that reports of 'rampant antisemitism' at the prestigious university are 'complete nonsense'.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Donald Trump must reverse his aid cuts and lift the death sentence on HIV patients
One of the most arresting moments in The Independent's latest documentary by Bel Trew, our chief international correspondent, about the chilling effects of Donald Trump shutting down America's aid programme, comes when she asks a boy in Zimbabwe, orphaned when his parents died of Aids, what he was called. 'My name is Hardlife,' he says. Before Mr Trump returned to the White House, this young man had hope for the future. The President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, a programme set up by George W Bush in 2003, was one of the world's most successful health initiatives ever. The world was on track to end Aids in five years' time, by targeted and realistic intervention, delivering antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people in countries of the global South. Within days of Mr Trump's second inauguration, however, he announced a freeze in United States aid spending. Two months later, he confirmed the closure of USAID, the aid agency that he said was 'run by a bunch of radical lunatics'. Since then, as is typical of the Trump administration, confusion has reigned. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, has said that he wants the programme supplying life-saving drugs for babies with HIV and adults who are sick with Aids to continue, but that it should get smaller. (If it were allowed to achieve its aim of eliminating Aids by the end of the decade, it would indeed be smaller.) The president has signed a waiver for 'life-saving care' – but, as Trew reports from Uganda and Zimbabwe, this has not resulted in restoring the supply of drugs that was abruptly cut off in January. When The Independent asked Mr Trump about this on board Air Force One, he said: 'We did a waiver.' When our reporter pointed out that this had not restored the supply of vital medicine, he replied: 'I can't help that.' He said that 'you have to get your people to act properly', as if The Independent were responsible for administering the US foreign aid programme. The president also complained that it was unreasonable to expect the US to take sole responsibility for tackling Aids. 'Other countries should be helping – where is France, where is Germany, where are those other countries?' he asked. 'Nobody does anything but the United States.' This is, of course, not the case, although it is true that the US had the biggest aid programme of any country in the world, as might be expected of the richest country in the world. It might also be expected that the president of the US would be proud of the Aids programme in particular, one set up by his Republican predecessor, which has saved millions of lives and was on track to save many millions more. Unfortunately, the British government responded to Mr Trump's semi-legitimate complaint about the US bearing too great a share of the cost of defending Europe by cutting its aid budget to increase spending on defence. So when Mr Trump makes the less justified claim that the US funds too great a share of the world's aid budget, the UK government looks the other way. We defy anyone to watch Trew's report from Uganda and Zimbabwe and say that the withdrawal of life-saving Aids medicines is not a tragedy. There is hope that the Trump administration will resume the Aids programme, but the UK and other rich nations could put pressure on it to do so by offering to step in to sustain it. Even the most cynical and isolationist parts of British public opinion, which is, we realise, sceptical about foreign aid, must accept that President Bush's Aids programme has been a moral triumph – and should continue to be supported.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Death Sentence: The real cost of Trump's aid cuts on HIV
In his first hours as US president, Donald Trump signed an order freezing most foreign aid for 90 days — this included funding to PEPFAR, the global HIV programme credited with saving millions of lives. Although a waiver was later issued, experts say the fallout has been fatal. The Independent's Bel Trew travelled to Uganda and Zimbabwe, where people are dying because they can't access medication and pregnant women fear infecting their babies. The world had been on track to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030 – instead the death toll is set to triple by the decade's end. Speaking to The Independent, Trump defended the decision and accused European countries of failing to contribute to the global HIV response.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Donald Trump must reverse his aid cuts and lift the death sentence on HIV patients
One of the most arresting moments in The Independent 's latest documentary by Bel Trew, our chief international correspondent, about the chilling effects of Donald Trump shutting down America's aid programme, comes when she asks a boy in Zimbabwe, orphaned when his parents died of Aids, what he was called. 'My name is Hardlife,' he says. Before Mr Trump returned to the White House, this young man had hope for the future. The President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, a programme set up by George W Bush in 2003, was one of the world's most successful health initiatives ever. The world was on track to end Aids in five years' time, by targeted and realistic intervention, delivering antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people in countries of the global South. Within days of Mr Trump's second inauguration, however, he announced a freeze in United States aid spending. Two months later, he confirmed the closure of USAID, the aid agency that he said was 'run by a bunch of radical lunatics'. Since then, as is typical of the Trump administration, confusion has reigned. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, has said that he wants the programme supplying life-saving drugs for babies with HIV and adults who are sick with Aids to continue, but that it should get smaller. (If it were allowed to achieve its aim of eliminating Aids by the end of the decade, it would indeed be smaller.) The president has signed a waiver for 'life-saving care' – but, as Trew reports from Uganda and Zimbabwe, this has not resulted in restoring the supply of drugs that was abruptly cut off in January. When The Independent asked Mr Trump about this on board Air Force One, he said: 'We did a waiver.' When our reporter pointed out that this had not restored the supply of vital medicine, he replied: 'I can't help that.' He said that 'you have to get your people to act properly', as if The Independent were responsible for administering the US foreign aid programme. The president also complained that it was unreasonable to expect the US to take sole responsibility for tackling Aids. 'Other countries should be helping – where is France, where is Germany, where are those other countries?' he asked. 'Nobody does anything but the United States.' This is, of course, not the case, although it is true that the US had the biggest aid programme of any country in the world, as might be expected of the richest country in the world. It might also be expected that the president of the US would be proud of the Aids programme in particular, one set up by his Republican predecessor, which has saved millions of lives and was on track to save many millions more. Unfortunately, the British government responded to Mr Trump's semi-legitimate complaint about the US bearing too great a share of the cost of defending Europe by cutting its aid budget to increase spending on defence. So when Mr Trump makes the less justified claim that the US funds too great a share of the world's aid budget, the UK government looks the other way. We defy anyone to watch Trew's report from Uganda and Zimbabwe and say that the withdrawal of life-saving Aids medicines is not a tragedy. There is hope that the Trump administration will resume the Aids programme, but the UK and other rich nations could put pressure on it to do so by offering to step in to sustain it. Even the most cynical and isolationist parts of British public opinion, which is, we realise, sceptical about foreign aid, must accept that President Bush's Aids programme has been a moral triumph – and should continue to be supported.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Death Sentence: The real cost of Trump's aid cuts on HIV
In his first hours as US president, Donald Trump signed an order freezing most foreign aid for 90 days — this included funding to PEPFAR, the global HIV programme credited with saving millions of lives. Although a waiver was later issued, experts say the fallout has been fatal. The Independent's Bel Trew travelled to Uganda and Zimbabwe, where people are dying because they can't access medication and pregnant women fear infecting their babies. The world had been on track to end the AIDS pandemic by 2030 – instead the death toll is set to triple by the decade's end. Speaking to The Independent, Trump defended the decision and accused European countries of failing to contribute to the global HIV response.
