The UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has warned that the international system for policing human trafficking is “not working”. He also criticised the rules that have prevented the UK’s first scheduled deportation flight from taking asylum seekers to Rwanda. However, Iceland’s foreign affairs minister Thordis Kolbrun Gylfadottir suggested these issues would not be top of the agenda at the Council of Europe meeting in Reykjavik at which Sunak is due to speak. Instead, Gylfadottir said the discussions would focus on other issues such as the environment and artificial intelligence, although “migration is an issue for Europe”.
US Representative Robert Garcia is attempting to have Republican congressman George Santos expelled following federal charges against him for fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds. Santos has pleaded not guilty, calling the allegations a "witch hunt". He has made false claims about his past, including earning degrees from New York University and Baruch College, having worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that he was Jewish and his grandparents escaped the Nazis during World War Two. Two-thirds of the House of Representatives would have to vote in favour for Santos to be expelled, in a chamber that Republicans control by a narrow 222-213 margin.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for reform of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to prevent future illegal migrant deportations being blocked “arbitrarily” in last-minute injunctions. Sunak met Siofra O’Leary, the court’s president, in Reykjavik to appeal for alterations to the court’s rules to prevent a repeat of the “opaque” rule 39 procedures, which in June 2020 saw a judge block the first deportation flight to Rwanda by the UK government at the eleventh hour. Sunak said that the UK had a record of “leading and being at the heart of these conversations” on ECHR change.
Crowds have gathered across Lincolnshire to mark the 80th anniversary of the Dambusters raids. A Lancaster bomber flew over 28 former RAF bases while dignitaries laid wreathes at the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) in Lincoln. The famous mission targeted three German dams on 16-17 May 1943. This is the first year events have taken place without any surviving crew. The names of the men lost in the raids are recorded on memorial walls at IBCC, where guests gathered on Tuesday evening for a wreath-laying ceremony.
Koji Sato's ascension to the role of CEO of Toyota marks a considerable change of trajectory for the 53-year-old who only 10 years ago was a concept planner. He takes over from the long-serving Akio Toyoda, who brought the manufacturer through a period that included the 2010 crisis involving 8.5 million recalls and major accidents. This month, Sato has been present at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium cheering on his Gazoo Racing team to victory in the World Endurance Championship. One of the challenges ahead is to continue Toyota's commitment to hybrid technologies with the need to adopt direct battery-electric technologies which include Toyota's hydrogen-based fuel cells. There is the struggle to bridge the widening gulf in attitudes towards traditional combustion technologies versus the software-driven devices and EV start-ups that are seen as being more relevant to the future.
A Group of Seven summit is expected to face significant tensions on the issue of nuclear disarmament. Many atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima fear that the summit may be the last time that world leaders will call for disarmament. For those in the West, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reminded them of the important role played by nuclear deterrence. The summit is also expected to discuss ways of curbing nuclear programmes in Iran and North Korea. Barack Obama, the last US President to visit Hiroshima, chose the city as an opportunity to express his hope for a world without nuclear weapons.
Director Deborah Warner has spoken to the Telegraph about revisiting her production of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, to be staged at the Royal Opera House (ROH) nearly 30 years after the first performance in Leeds. The production tells the tale of a man exploited by those in power who must overcome a brutalising society. Described as “one of the great masterpieces of the 20th century,” Warner says that the opera is “so immediate, compelling, anarchic – the work of an impassioned 23-year-old.” The production features cutouts by designer Hyemi Shin. Commenting on the design, Warner said: “Hyemi’s painted backdrops will be exquisitely beautiful – and not what you expect from Wozzeck.”
Former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has criticised China for the threat it poses to both free societies such as Taiwan and the wider West. Speaking on her recent visit to Taiwan, she urged supporters of freedom and democracy to ensure the region was as protected as possible to dissuade China from taking it by force. China has accused Truss of indulging in dangerous political antics and has condemned the visit. Taiwan, which has been self-ruled since a civil war with the Chinese mainland after World War II, remains highly vulnerable to Beijing's aggression and military might.
Director Steve McQueen has released his latest film, Occupied City, at the Cannes Film Festival. The four-hour documentary documents life in Amsterdam - how it stood during WWII and how it stands today. McQueen uses voiceover to describe how locations, from coffee shops to red light districts, were involved in the resistance effort, or, occupied by the Nazis. The film has a steady tone focusing on the atrocities experienced in Europe, with few lyrical interludes, including a mesmerising tram ride. The ending is full of hope and promise as it features the bar mitzvah of a young Dutch boy who is black and Jewish - a representation of four identities that were previously at odds with one another. The film is an adaptation of historian Bianca Stigter's Atlas of an Occupied City. The film is seen as an important reminder of the atrocities committed on the continent within living memory, at a time when far-right apologists attempting to whitewash fascism from European history.
Activist jailed for 7 years in Russia for "justifying terrorism"
Reuters
23-05-17 13:53
A Ukrainian-born activist, Mikhail Krieger, has been sentenced to seven years in prison by a Russian court. He was found guilty of "justifying terrorism" in social media posts made last year praising two men who attacked buildings of Russia's Federal Security Service. Prosecutors accused him of "inciting hatred" in statements on social media that President Vladimir Putin should be hanged. Krieger denied the charges and used the trial as an opportunity to speak out against the war in Ukraine. Russian rights groups have designated him a political prisoner.
Joe Biden's cancelled visit to Papua New Guinea due to the unfolding crisis over the US debt ceiling and his upcoming visit to Asia being shortened has led to analysts saying it is a "blow to US credibility in the region". Biden's trip was considered a chance to build support in the Pacific, where China has been attempting to build influence. PNG had declared next Monday a national holiday for the occasion and planned to sign significant US defence contracts, though critics believed the plans could anger China, one of PNG's major infrastructure donors.
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft, stretchy skin patch that can monitor blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and other vital signs with the potential to replace more bulky wearable devices. The device, which is less than half a centimetre thick, can be worn comfortably on the neck and chest and features a grid of tiny sensors that track the movement of skin as the heart beats or lungs respire, measuring blood pressure, glucose monitoring and other important health indicators. The patch is rechargeable via a specially designed watch and transmits data via Bluetooth to a smartphone or other wireless device for analysis. The researchers believe the device would be particularly useful for people who require continuous monitoring as a result of a serious illness, and could replace intrusive needles or cumbersome equipment. Teams are developing similar devices aimed at measuring blood sugar levels or tracking movement in people with Parkinson’s disease.
The G7 will meet in Japan and there are increasing expectations that the group will tighten economic sanctions against Russia. Despite the reality that sanctions have affected Russia with a heavy toll, it is widely believed they have not succeeded in their geopolitical aims. The sanctions have instead driven Russia deeper into the embrace of emerging-market nations such as China, India and Turkey, providing leverage for Russian foreign policy and making a nonsense of western compliance efforts. There is even wider concern related to the potential that sanctions could collapse an already weak global economy. The EU has also recently announced that it was considering penalties for EU firms that help Russia evade western sanctions, such as providing financing, investing in sanctioned sectors, or sharing technologies that could aid the energy sector.
Russian forces recently launched a missile attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, using Iranian Shahed loitering drones, Kalibr 'hypersonic' cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, as well as some other weaponry. Although Putin's attack intended to demonstrate force, it proved to expose Russia's weaknesses and military corruption. Moreover, after Ukraine defeated every missile, it showed how their ability to repel the military, resulting in more support from Western countries. Ukrainian forces' bravery is prevalent, but they need significant military aid from the West to continue fighting.
Papua New Guinea will sign a defence cooperation agreement and maritime surveillance pact with the US, said Prime Minister James Marape. The deal follows agreements signed between China and Papua New Guinea in April, which included a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative. The US plan would see American troops gain access to PNG ports and airports in return for access to satellite surveillance. Joe Biden's administration has recently been placing more importance on relations with the Pacific, over concerns about China’s increasing aggression in the region.
Russia's notorious private army, Wagner, charged with leading Moscow's campaign to take Ukraine's Zakarapattya region, is experiencing serious splits within its own ranks, according to Ukrainian sources. On Thursday, Moscow confirmed its forces were retreating on the outskirts of Bakhmut, where Ukraine has been pressing ahead with its biggest advance for six months ahead of a planned counteroffensive, causing growing concern within the Kremlin. Meanwhile the G7 group of big developed countries has been meeting in Japan where leaders are expected to tighten sanctions to close off Russia's opportunities to bypass financial restrictions.
Norfolk, just off the east coast of England, holds approximately 150 to 200 lost villages, having been abandoned usually due to gruelling, fruitless conditions as a result of clay soil, heavy rainfall or cold winters, with several also drowned by the North Sea. While most are nothing more than memories with no remains, a few, including the village of Godwick which was abandoned in the 15th century, still have ancient foundations visible. It is believed there are more deserted medieval villages in Norfolk than in any other English county, reflecting the population denseness in the region during the Middle Ages. Godwick’s current owner James Garner, whose grandfather bought the estate in 1959, has maintained the conditions in such a way that the foundations of the tofts - which are now grazed over by sheep - are still visible.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a threat to humanity but instead it is our lack of humanity that is threatened, according to this week’s City A.M. editorial. Although AI can provide good, relevant responses to queries, it only has the ability to reproduce humans at their most machine-like and cannot understand emotions in the way this article suggests. Rather than waiting for an almighty technological takeover, society can take control of AI in the same way it has been shaping technology before via some form of government regulation. One of the ways artificial intelligence could have a positive impact on humans is by enabling us to quickly tap into the knowledge base and wisdom of those done before us in a more efficient way. However, there is a significant downside to AI in that it seeds confusion and potential societal discord by enabling our worst impulses and by promoting human intolerance and misinformation.
Leon Comber, who served as a Special Branch officer in colonial Malayan Police during the Emergency, has died aged 101. Comber and his colleagues outsmarted and won over some of the mostly Chinese communist insurgents in Malaya. After the formation of Malaysia in 1963, Comber was among the few non-Muslim Europeans allowed to acquire Malaysian citizenship in recognition of his contribution to the battle against militant communism. He also wrote Malaya’s Secret Police 1945-60: the role of the Special Branch in the Malayan Emergency, which described how he drew on his experiences to write about the history of the Chinese in the Malay Peninsula and works of translation. In 1952, Comber married Rosalie Kuanghu Chou, a Eurasian doctor whom he had met at a hospital in Hong Kong. By the time they married, she was better known as Han Suyin, the author of the autobiographical novel A Many-Splendoured Thing, which would be adapted into the 1955 Hollywood weepie Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, starring William Holden and Jennifer Jones.
The gathering of the Group of Seven (G7) in Japan has been dubbed a farewell to the old world order, as the leaders meet in Hiroshima, a city devastated by an atomic bomb in 1945, but now, somewhat against the odds, thriving. G7 leaders are expected to discuss the economy, security, terrorism and the refugee crisis, although some have raised concerns about the group’s relevance. Furthermore, this year’s meeting of the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Canada, is more a reflection of the post-war era, rather than the ‘future-shaping task force’ it claims to be.
