Britain’s cyber security centre has urged UK organisations to check their cyber defences because of concern about the potential for new Russian cyber attacks linked to tensions with Ukraine. The public-facing arm of the spy agency GCHQ encouraged everyone to read new guidance published on its website entitled: “Actions to take when the cyber threat
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Boris Johnson has dismissed claims he approved the airlift of animals out of Afghanistan, saying they are “total rhubarb”, as Sky News obtained more emails which call into question the government’s account. Leaked messages appear to show that the prime minister‘s top parliamentary aide, Trudy Harrison, told Virgin Atlantic her efforts to secure a plane
They are taking the latest twists and turns in the diplomatic crisis over Ukraine in their stride here in the country’s capital. Kyiv feels like a city caught in a moment of time, suspended between humdrum normality and the threat of looming conflict. There are thousands of Russian troops just a few hours drive north
Warning: This article contains distressing content. In our first few days in Herat, we’ve met whole families who’ve sold their kidneys so they can eat. In one case, three brothers and their two sisters told us they flogged their organs for around £1,150 a piece to buy food for the rest of the family. We’ve
Fears are growing for hundreds of children trapped inside a prison in Syria that has been seized by Islamic State (IS) inmates. Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and US troops attempted to storm the Gweiran prison, in the city of Hassakeh, after it was seized by militants last Thursday. Around 850 children are thought to
With a soldier on board, we were given directions to drive off main roads and along snow-covered tracks to a desolate spot and await further instructions. The soldier’s telephone rang and he was given new orders, turning us around, then taking a sharp right down another track where a car was waiting for us. As
The Ukrainian soldiers speak in whispers as they trudge through the snow and mud of their trenches, keeping low as they pass the most exposed sections, past signs warning of sniper activity. Nothing has changed here for years. The daily exchanges with Russian-backed separatists and, what the Ukrainians are certain of, professional Russian soldiers, goes
With NATO bolstering its eastern flank, some UK and US embassy staff evacuating Kyiv and Britain warning of a Russian plot to install a puppet regime in Ukraine, signs of hostility seem far stronger than any signals of hope for a peaceful solution to a growing crisis with Russia. It was only last Friday that
A 36-year-old Australian man has pleaded guilty to abducting four-year-old Cleo Smith and keeping her inside his home for more than two weeks. Terence Darrell Kelly has appeared in Carnarvon Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to a charge of child stealing. The 36-year-old could face up to 20 years in prison on a conviction
A British man who died in Thailand following an alleged assault has been named as Marcus Evans. The 49-year-old, from Berrow, Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, was killed in the early hours of Saturday morning in the Kanchanaburi Province in the west of the country. Thai Police were called to a house – thought to belong to
Britain has accused Russia of a shadowy plot to install a pro-Kremlin government in Kyiv as Moscow weighs up a further invasion of Ukraine. In a highly-unusual move that appeared to be based on specially declassified intelligence, the Foreign Office alleged that a former Ukrainian MP was “being considered as a potential candidate” as a
Russia’s defence minister has accepted an invitation to meet his UK counterpart Ben Wallace amid fears that an invasion of Ukraine is “imminent”. The British defence secretary offered earlier this week to hold talks with Sergei Shoigu in London to discuss mutual security concerns, against heightened tensions with the Kremlin over its former Soviet neighbour.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said that any movement of “Russian military forces across Ukraine’s border” will be met with a “swift, severe and united response”. He also warned Moscow’s “extensive playbook of aggression” would also be met with action – following his crunch talks with his counterpart foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, aimed
It doesn’t matter that I lived in Russia and experienced its winters for a number of years. It doesn’t matter that I reported on the wintry months of the Ukrainian separatist uprising in 2014 into 2015. Because each time one comes back, the weather is as horrendous and painful as ever. Looking out across miles
Austria’s parliament has approved a universal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for adults – the first of its kind in Europe. The mandate will come into force next month, with authorities writing to every household to inform them of the new rules. From mid-March, police will start checking people’s vaccination status during routine checks. Those who cannot
Britain’s armed forces have flown some 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine this week amid fears of an imminent, new Russian invasion. British surveillance aircraft have also been spotted. Open source flight-tracking software has plotted Royal Air Force C-17 transport aircraft flying back and forth between the UK and Ukraine. Image: A British military cargo C-17