International

Russia Receives New Sanctions From UK Over On-going War in Ukraine

Published

3 years ago

May 19, 2023

491 Views

The United Kingdom has issued fresh sanction against Russia on Friday, targeting imports of diamonds and other minerals in a bid to choke Moscow’s ability to fund the war in Ukraine.

Before a G7 summit in Japan began, London said it would introduce “a ban on Russian diamonds”, copper, aluminium and nickel, and sanction more entities involved in Moscow’s “military industrial complex”.

Russia’s diamond trade is estimated to be worth $4-5 billion a year, netting the Kremlin much-needed tax revenues.

Later in the day, the UK foreign office said the new sanctions would freeze the assets of 86 people and organisations.

These include “companies connected to theft of Ukrainian grain, and those involved in shipment of Russian energy”, it said.

The new sanctions will also target “advanced military technology and remaining revenue sources”.

The summit in Hiroshima is expected to bring a series of new sanctions on Russia — including US measures that will put 70 more Russian and foreign entities on a trade blacklist.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Sky News on Friday that his “straightforward” message for Russian President Vladimir Putin was: “We’re not going away”.

“One of the topics of conversation I’ll be having and have been having with my fellow leaders is about the longer term security agreements… for Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression,” he added.

The G7 as a whole is expected to work to tighten existing sanctions, close loopholes, squeeze Moscow’s access to the international financial system and commit to keeping Russian assets frozen until the end of the war in Ukraine.

On Friday, European Council President Charles Michel said the bloc would target the lucrative trade in Russian diamonds, which he joked “are not forever”.

EU member Belgium is among the largest wholesale buyers of Russian diamonds, along with India and the United Arab Emirates.

The United States is a major end-market for the finished product.

AFP

International

Man jailed for keeping dead mother in freezer to claim £78,000 in benefits

Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Phillips repeatedly deceived medical professionals to hide the fact that his mother had died.

Published

1 day ago

August 4, 2026

OCHEFA

14 Views

•Christopher Phillips

A 60-year-old man has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison after keeping his late mother’s body in a chest freezer for nearly three years while fraudulently collecting more than £78,000 in her pension and benefits.

Christopher Phillips was jailed by Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court after admitting to preventing the lawful and decent burial of his 89-year-old mother, Silvia Phillips, and pleading guilty to two counts of fraud.

The court heard that Phillips concealed his mother’s death after she died on March 8, 2023, by storing her body in a chest freezer in the living room of their home in Porthcawl, Wales.

Prosecutors said he failed to notify the Department for Work and Pensions and Bridgend County Borough Council of her death, allowing her pension and benefits to continue being paid into bank accounts he could access.

Passing sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke said Phillips repeatedly deceived medical professionals to hide the fact that his mother had died.

“You continued to collect her prescriptions and misled medical professionals about her whereabouts, lying when enquiries were made about your mother, repeatedly telling medical staff that she did not wish to attend appointments or undergo tests,” the judge said.

(Source: Tribune)

International

Russia Issues International Wanted on Telegram Founder Durov

Russian-born Durov — a serial tech founder who has lived outside Russia for years and holds French and United Arab Emirates passports — has frequently clashed with the Russian authorities as Moscow has tightened its grip on the internet.

Published

1 week ago

July 29, 2026

OCHEFA

69 Views

•Telegram founder Pavel Durov

Russia announced on Wednesday that it was seeking the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov over accusations of “complicity in terrorism”, alleging he had let the platform be used for recruitment by Ukraine’s security services.

His Telegram messenger is one of the country’s main communications platforms and officials have repeatedly tried to block access or thwart its success in a bid to pressure Durov to hand over user data or push Russians to use an unencrypted state-backed alternative.

The FSB security service said it had launched international search proceedings for Durov, who is also Telegram’s CEO.

“An international wanted notice has been issued… for the head of the Telegram administration, P. Durov,” it said in a statement.

International

Just In: People trapped in Japanese mall hit by earthquake, with others missing after factory chimney collapse

Reports in Japan say 20 to 30 shopping centre staff may be missing – but the figure has not been confirmed.

Published

1 week ago

July 28, 2026

OCHEFA

86 Views

Image credit : BBC

Many people are trapped inside a Japanese shopping centre after an earthquake, the fire service says.

One witness reported the second floor of the mall in Kumamoto collapsing – BBC Verify has looked at some of the images from the site.

Reports in Japan say 20 to 30 shopping centre staff may be missing – but the figure has not been confirmed

Elsewhere in the Kumamoto prefecture, people are reported missing at a paper factory after a chimney collapsed

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit inland on Kyushu island at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT), causing power cuts, damaged roads, a collapsed castle wall, and a destroyed footbridge.