West Virginia's Bob Huggins arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Pittsburgh
West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving
2023-06-17 23:52
Peruvian rainforest defender from embattled Kichwa tribe shot dead in river attack
A Kichwa tribal leader has been shot to death in an area of the Peruvian rainforest that’s seen high tension between Indigenous people and illegal loggers
2023-12-01 10:27
Poland stops sending arms to Ukraine as row over grain imports escalates
Poland has said it will stop exporting weapons to Ukraine as a week of escalating tensions between the two countries reached boiling point over a ban on grain imports. Prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he would instead invest the money in arming Poland, which has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies since Russia invaded last year, with the most “modern weapons”. The row between the neighbouring countries began last week when Poland imposed an import ban on Ukrainian grain, including wheat and maize, after an EU-brokered deal expired. The deal, which ended on 15 September, allowed Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia to ban the sale of Ukrainian grain, which they claim has flooded the European market and undercut domestic grain prices since Putin’s invasion, damaging their economies. But Ukraine launched a legal challenge at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Monday after Poland reinstated the ban, claiming the country had failed to meet its “international obligations”. Days after, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told the United Nations General Assembly that “some friends in Europe” were feigning solidarity by indirectly supporting Russia by banning the sale of its grain. Poland then summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to its foreign ministry to protest against Mr Zelensky’s comments. Hours later, Warsaw announced it would no longer be supplying weapons to Ukraine. “We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons,” the prime minister said. While the country claimed Ukrainian authorities “do not understand” the extent to which Poland’s farming industry has been “destabilised”, one expert claimed Poland was “losing its nerve”. “Poland is losing its nerve. It seems people are starting to get tired of the war, because there has been no breakthrough, there are corruption scandals, and Ukrainian grain imports are damaging the economy,” Dr Marina Miron, post-doctoral researcher at King’s College London war studies department, told The Independent. She explained that Poland’s general election on 15 October was crucial in explaining the ban. In recent weeks, Poland’s Law and Justice party has stepped up its rhetoric supporting farmers in recent weeks. “Poland is in its pre-election stage and needs to ensure domestic support,” Dr Miron added. However, Poland’s state assets minister Jacek Sasin claimed the row over grain imports did not mean Poland had ceased to back Ukraine against Russia. “At the moment it is as the prime minister said, in the future, we will see. In this case, Polish interests come first,” he said. “We cannot disarm the Polish army, we cannot get rid of the weapons that are necessary for our security.” “Where we could arrange for the transfer of weapons, we did it and we were very generous in this matter. Here we have absolutely nothing to reproach ourselves with.” Poland has previously sent 320 Soviet-era tanks and 14 MiG-29 fighter jets to the war-torn country. Mr Morawiecki also issued a warning to Kyiv, saying that if they “escalate the conflict”, additional products will be added to the list of banned imports. He said: “I am warning Ukraine’s authorities. Because if they are to escalate the conflict like that, we will add additional products to the ban on imports into Poland.” Poland’s decision has been criticised around the world. Donald Tusk, former president of the European Council, accused Morawiecki and other ruling authorities of a “moral and geopolitical scandal of stabbing Ukraine in the back politically when they decide to fight on the Ukrainian front, just because it will be profitable for their campaign.” Michal Baranowski, a security and defence expert, added: “The message is very bad, both for Poland’s reputation but also because Poland has been one of the chief advocates of military aid to Ukraine. Saying Poland will not be sending more weapons means that Poland can no longer play this role.” Read More Ukraine-Russia war - live: Biden’s $325m package for Zelensky as Pentagon says Abram tanks ‘on schedule’ Why has Poland stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine? Zelensky visits Capitol Hill amid Republican infighting over Ukraine support
2023-09-22 13:58
Ukraine's EU membership bid to be assessed in report due on Nov. 8
By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS The European Union's executive is set to present on Nov.8 an assessment of progress
2023-10-24 18:17
Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s latest assault weakens as Moscow denies accepting North Korea weapons
Russia has lost 127 tanks, 239 armoured personnel vehicles (APVs) and 161 artillery systems in a week, Kyiv has said as Vladimir Putin launches a sustained assault in the east of Ukraine. Moscow’s forces lost eight tanks, 25 APVs and 33 artillery systems in the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Sunday. The Independent cannot independently confirm Kyiv’s numbers which come after Putin claimed Ukraine‘s counteroffensive “completely failed”. “As for the counteroffensive, which is allegedly stalling, it has failed completely,” Putin said in video remarks posted to social media by a Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin. Russia currently controls about 17.5% of Ukrainian territory and a four-month-old Ukrainian counteroffensive this year has resulted in almost no net territorial gains. Read More Russian attacks kill six in Ukraine as Kyiv ramps up drone counter strikes Russian governor reported to police for speaking out over Putin’s ‘unnecessary’ war against Ukraine Ukrainian forces release video of downed Russian Mi-8 helicopter: ‘It burns beautifully’
2023-10-17 16:21
Court appointee proposes Alabama congressional districts to provide representation to Black voters
A court-appointed special master on Monday submitted three proposals for new congressional districts in Alabama after federal judges ruled the state must provide greater representation for Black voters
2023-09-26 10:18
Shelters for migrants are filling up across Germany as attitudes toward the newcomers harden
Officials across Germany are sounding the alarm that they are no longer able to accommodate migrants who are applying for asylum
2023-09-28 14:23
CNN head Chris Licht out at news network after brief, tumultuous tenure
Chris Licht is out after a year as chief executive at CNN, following a series of missteps and plunging ratings
2023-06-07 21:27
A Maine state trooper shot at a truck approaching the US-Canada border with a sign indicating there was an explosive on board, police say
A Maine state trooper shot at a man's truck as he drove toward the Canadian border and refused to stop after the trooper observed a sign on the vehicle indicating the driver had an explosive inside, police say.
2023-05-30 08:19
India Allots $142 Billion for Free Grains to 800 Million People
Sign up for the India Edition newsletter by Menaka Doshi – an insider's guide to the emerging economic
2023-11-29 18:48
With the expulsion of Santos and ouster of McCarthy, the House is making unexpected history
The House is making history this year — it's just coming in ways that Republicans could hardly have envisioned when the party took control
2023-12-02 13:19
Australia says it cannot cancel existing PwC contracts given legal constraints
SYDNEY Australia said on Thursday it cannot cancel existing contracts with auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which is embroiled in
2023-05-25 09:52
You Might Like...
Google argues quality kept its search on top, defends billions paid
Maine mass shooting: Internet slams slew of fake videos of alleged killer being arrested
Xi says China, Central Asia must 'fully unleash' potential
Armenia receives first influx of Karabakh refugees
France moves to ban smoking in woodlands to combat growing climate-related risk of mega fires
Netanyahu: Israel to work to prevent any collapse of Palestinian Authority
Who was Qutub Singh Negi? Father of two is one of 8 victims killed in Louisiana's horrific 168-vehicle pileup
Star gymnast Biles poised for August return to competition
