Movement of British diplomats in Russia restricted by Moscow
Russia has restricted the movement of British diplomats within the country in a response to “hostile actions” from London, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
On Thursday, the ministry summoned the British interim charge d’affaires, Tom Dodd, where it announced that a “notification procedure” for the movement of employees beyond a 75-mile radius would be implemented.
In a statement it said details including the purpose of a trip, accommodation, accompanying persons and mode of transport would need to be submitted at least five working days before a trip is planned to go ahead.
The restrictions come as a consequence of what the Russian Foreign Ministry referred to as “inadmissible support [of] the terrorist actions of the Kyiv regime” and the obstruction of Russian diplomacy in Britain, although it failed to give any specific details.
Ukraine war latest: Moscow imposes restrictions on UK
In response, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) disputed the claim that Mr Dodd was summoned to the Russian ministry.
“This was a planned meeting, held at our request, as part of a standard diplomatic practice,” a spokesperson said. The FCDO said it was considering the implications of Russia’s statement on travel restrictions.
As the charge d’affaires, Mr Dodd is the deputy to the British ambassador in Russia, Dame Deborah Bronnert. The restrictions do not apply to the ambassador.
Other recent developments in regard to the Ukraine war include:
• Russia’s Defence Ministry said it will deem all ships travelling to Ukraine as potentially carrying military cargo.
• At least two dead after Russian airstrikes in the Ukrainian port town of Odesa.
• Overnight incidents have been reported in Russian-occupied Crimea for the fourth day in a row.
• Belarusian forces are holding military exercises with Wagner fighters near the Polish border.
Following the end of the Black Sea grain deal – which provided some protection to ships exporting goods from Ukraine’s blockaded ports – Russia said that it was declaring southeastern and northwestern parts of the Black Sea’s international waters as unsafe for navigation.
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Analysis: Russia threatens ships
As a result, any vessel heading to Ukraine is now deemed a potential carrier of military equipment by the foreign ministry.
In retaliation, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that Kyiv will also consider all ships travelling to Russian ports and Ukrainian ports currently occupied by Russia as potential carriers of military cargo.
Administrative building heavily damaged after Russia’s attack on Odesa
Following Moscow’s exit from the grain deal, some of Ukraine’s most critical grain export infrastructure has been the target of Russian airstrikes for the third consecutive night.
At least two people, including a 21-year-old security guard, were killed in the besieged port city of Odesa, which destroyed administrative and residential buildings near the port, according to Odesa governor Oleh Kiper.
He said Ukrainian air defences destroyed all of the 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones and two Kalibr missiles that targeted the area.
The attack came after Moscow vowed “retribution” for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge between Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Russian officials blamed that strike on Ukrainian drone boats.
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Russia targets Odesa with missile and drone attacks
Reports of incidents in the popular Russian holiday destination of Crimea have been reported for the past four nights.
Following the attack on the Kerch Bridge on Monday, Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces foiled a 28-drone Ukrainian attack on Tuesday.
Section of the Kerch Bridge damaged by alleged Ukrainian attack
The following day, an explosion at a military base in Crimea’s Kirovske district caused a huge fire and led to mass evacuations. While on Thursday, Russia claimed a teenage girl was killed in a drone strike in northwestern Crimea.
Ukraine has claimed that it wants to take back Crimea – after it was annexed in 2014 – but has not explicitly claimed responsibility for attacks on the territory.
The West has also largely been hesitant to provide any support for Ukraine’s mission to take back Crimea, and has urged against Western weapons being used on Russian territory.
Meanwhile, Russia has increasingly flexed its influence and control over Belarus.
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Wagner boss ‘welcomes fighters’
Ties between the two countries deepened after Russia helped to curb huge anti-government demonstrations against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in 2020.
Belarus has since remained in support of Russia’s war on Ukraine and now, fighters from the Wagner group have been seen practicing military exercises at a base near the Polish border.
Vehicles and tents at the base near Tsel, about 65 miles southeast from the capital Minsk.
Pic:Planet Labs PBC/AP
New satellite imagery revealed that about 300 vehicles have arrived over three days at the base in Tsel, near Osipovichi in Belarus.
This comes after troop tents were first pitched at the base on 26 June, two days after an agreement was made to end Wagner’s attempted coup in Russia. Part of this agreement was for Wagner troops to move to Belarus.
World
Brutal murder on ‘date’ exposes robbery gang suspected of targeting dozens of women in South Africa
Thirty-year-old Olorato Mongale made sure to take all the measures necessary for a safe first date in South Africa’s biggest city, Johannesburg.
She had agreed to meet ‘John’ in the daytime. She sent her friends her phone location after leaving her house and promptly texted them “on the road” at 2.47pm.
They replied “enjoy!”, hoping she would find love.
An hour later, their friend had gone silent and her phone location was showing up in dangerous areas of the city.
A search party of seven friends set off to trace Olorato’s digital footsteps.
It’s believed Olorato’s killers were part of a gang robbing young women at gunpoint
“It didn’t make sense. Where is she? Why is she missing?” says Karabo Mokoena, as we drove to the locations involved in their search.
“Every place we went to looked dodgier and dodgier. It made me panic – I was very scared.”
After finding her bag on a pile of bricks off the side of a main road, they filed a missing person report at a police station.
“I thought there was no way we were not going to find her. We did end up finding her but not in the way we would have hoped,” says Karabo.
Olorato’s body had been dumped at the dirt entrance of a random house less than 100m from where her friends were searching into the night.
Her face was swollen and her eyes black-blue from violent impact. Her top was ripped open to expose her breasts.
Police told Sky News that her post-mortem showed signs of blunt force trauma. She was likely beaten to death.
Olorato’s body was dumped outside this gate – she was likely beaten to death
“It was like I was dreaming, seeing her body like that with those bruises and blood everywhere,” says Olorato’s mother, Keabetswe Poppy Mongale, describing the moment she had to identify her only child at the morgue.
“I don’t think what I saw will ever go away,” she adds.
“It was very painful. I don’t wish that on any parent because my beautiful little girl looked different because someone chose to do that to her.”
Olorato’s mother says the image of her daughter in the morgue will never go away
CCTV from the driveway of Olorato’s building shows the last time she was seen alive, leaving her home to meet ‘John’.
In the video, she walks towards a white Volkswagen Polo and hesitates as she reaches the left back door. John had come with a friend.
Four days after Olorato was killed, police found the car in a different province with traces of her blood splattered across the back seat.
CCTV showed Olorato walking to a car for what she thought was a date
One suspect was shot dead but the second man is still on the run
Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makanya – ‘John’ – was shot dead by police in KwaZulu-Natal shortly after they found the vehicle.
The second man in the car, Bongani Mthimkhulu, is still on the run.
The two men have since been identified as part of a dangerous criminal syndicate that lure young women out on dates and rob them at gunpoint.
“Within the four days, the investigating officers received 94 calls from women who were raising concerns and identifying the suspects as those they once met,” South African Police Service deputy national commissioner Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili told Sky News.
“It was unfortunate about Olorato, but others were released after being robbed.”
Olorato’s friends say she ‘ticked all the boxes when it came to being careful’
A 24-year-old student who survived an armed robbery at the hands of Olorato’s suspected killers says she was happy to see Philangenkosi killed but she’s still scared for her life.
“As women, we are not even safe anymore – we can’t even walk freely,” she says.
“The moment you leave your house you wonder if you will make it back alive. I don’t feel comfortable walking around the street. I leave the house and then turn back.
“Even when I’m home, I still don’t feel safe and always want to keep myself locked indoors,” she says with a shaky voice – choosing to remain anonymous.
After meeting other victims of the syndicate, she was shocked to hear details of almost identical abductions.
“This other girl was surprised because we went through the exact same situation. They also approached her with the same tactic – let me take you out to lunch to get to know you – only for her to be robbed.”
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
South Africa has one of the highest femicide rates in the world – an average 15 women are killed a day, many by their intimate partners.
According to police statistics, more than 5,500 women were murdered in South Africa last year. An increase of 33.8% compared with the previous year.
“South Africa has six times the average rate of femicide – hundreds of women have already been killed since Olorato’s murder,” says Cameron Kasambala from Women for Change.
The advocacy group raises awareness of rising cases of femicide and gender-based violence across South Africa.
Campaigner Cameron Kasambala says many femicide cases take a long time to be resolved
In the hours after her murder, Olorato’s friends contacted Women for Change to share her missing poster after receiving little immediate help from the local police station.
“I think her friends were the real heroes in that moment,” says Cameron.
“Two police stations that were 10 minutes apart, one finds a body and one has a missing case, don’t make a connection for hours. It’s not the most reassuring police work. And if the friends had not come forward, how long would it have taken?
“Unfortunately, Olorato’s case is an exception. Most cases are not handled that quickly.”
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Olorato’s friends say she would be ‘proud to know that her name has not gone in vain’
Olorato’s friends are still contending with the violence of her death – what it means for their daily lives and how they navigate their safety as women in South Africa.
“It is difficult to process and difficult to believe. This is somebody who ticked all the boxes when it came to being careful – being meticulous, checking her surroundings and leaving clues,” says Olorato’s friend, Koketso Sejosengoe.
“It shows it can happen to anybody no matter how safe you are. It is happening to the average girl. They are being targeted. These men know what they are doing and who they are looking for.”
“In the purest sense, Olorato wanted women to be safe and wanted women to be protected,” adds Koketso.
“I think she would be very proud to know that her name has not gone in vain and that her death is standing for something – that there will be change that comes with this.”
Major heatwaves across southern Europe have left Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece in sweltering conditions of more than 40C (104F).
Two-thirds of Portugal was on high alert for extreme heat and risk of wildfires on Sunday, with temperatures in Lisbon expected to exceed 42C (107F).
In parts of southern Spain, temperatures are well above average, with 42C also expected in Seville and other cities.
The country’s meteorological service says June is likely to be the hottest Spain has experienced since records began.
In several Italian regions, including Lazio, Tuscany, Calabria, Puglia, and Umbria, outdoor work was banned during peak hours of sun on Sunday, with trade unions pushing for the measures to be extended and rolled out nationwide.
Twenty-one out of 27 cities were under the highest possible heat alert, including Rome, Milan, and Naples.
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What’s actually happening underneath your sunburn
Greece has already been plagued by wildfires this summer, with one breaking out south of Athens on Thursday, and several on the island of Chios last Sunday.
Near Athens, authorities deployed 130 firefighters, 12 helicopters, and 12 planes, with 40 people evacuated from the highest-risk areas.
A woman was arrested on suspicion of unintentional arson after wildfires spread across brush and pastureland for three days on Chios.
Flames rise above Thymari, near Athens, after wildfires broke out on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Tourists battle scorching temperatures at the Parthenon in Greece on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Scientists link increasing frequencies of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, wildfires, and storms to climate change.
In France and Germany, at least three people died amid stormy conditions.
A ridge of high pressure above central and western Europe is driving the scorching conditions, says Sky News meteorologist Chris England.
Hotter-than-normal sea temperatures, dry land, and surface winds are also partly to blame, he added.
Tourists in Retiro Park in Madrid on Saturday. Pic: AP
Locals fan themselves in Lisbon on Saturday. Pic: AP
UK heatwave also likely
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UK heatwaves explained
The UK is halfway through a four-day amber heat health alert, with temperatures expected to peak in the mid-30s (86F) on Tuesday.
Heat health alerts are not public weather warnings – but are instead designed to prepare health and social care bodies for the potential impact on their infrastructure and vulnerable groups.
Heatwave thresholds are likely to be met on Monday and Tuesday, which vary between 28C (82F) in the south of England and 25C (77F) across the rest of the country.
A British-Israeli soldier has been killed while fighting in Gaza, Israeli media reports said.
He was named locally as Sergeant Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, 20, from the city of Ra’anana.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it is “looking into reports that an IDF soldier who died in combat in Gaza is a British national”.
The IDF soldier, who served in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion, was killed by an explosive device on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported.
The paper said Mr Rosenfeld moved to Israel from London with his family 11 years ago.
More than 860 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Israel’s war against Hamas began on 7 October 2023, more than 400 of them during the fighting in Gaza.
The war began when the militant group launched an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has devastated the enclave and killed more than 56,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says more than half of the dead are women and children.
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It came as Donald Trump called for progress in ceasefire talks in the war between Israel and Hamas.
“MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!” the US president wrote on social media on Sunday.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
On Friday Mr Trump raised expectations by claiming there could be an agreement within the next week.
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