United Kingdom

LONDON, Mar 6 (NNN-XINHUA) – Several prominent U.S. cases, where Black people got harsher sentences, for unintentional voting errors than whites, who committed fraud, have shown that, there is a racial double standard in the country’s criminal justice system, The Guardian reported.

Bruce Bartman, white, was only sentenced to five years of probation, after he went to Pennsylvania’s voter registration website and signed up his mother and mother-in-law, both dead, to vote in the late summer of 2020, the report said.

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war and warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would lead to catastrophic consequences for the world.

Putin reiterated that his aims were to defend Russian- speaking communities through the "demilitarisation and de-Nazification" of the country so that Russia's former Soviet neighbour became neutral and no longer threatened Russia.

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday accused Ukrainian radicals for an incident on March 3 at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the Kremlin said.

French President Emmanuel Macron asked Putin by telephone about a fire at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant.

"Vladimir Putin informed [Macron] about the provocation by Ukrainian radicals in the area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant," the Kremlin said. "The radiation levels are normal."

Putin also accused Ukraine of preventing civilians from leaving Mariupol.

LONDON, Mar 4 (APP): Pakistan’s High Commissioner to UK Moazzam Ahmad Khan has lauded the role of British Pakistani community in advancing Pak-UK relations and making constructive contribution to the progress and development of both countries.

He particularly emphasized the significance of youth in shaping the contours of a futuristic relationship.

March 4 (Reuters) - The BBC said Friday it has temporarily suspended news operations within the Russian Federation while it assesses the implications of new legislation adopted by Russian authorities.

BBC News will continue its service in Russian from outside of Russia.

“The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs," BBC Director-General Tim Davie said in a statement. "I’d like to pay tribute to all of them, for their bravery, determination and professionalism."

03 March 2022; MEMO: More than 100 members of staff at the University of Manchester (UoM) have signed a letter opposing the attempt to force out the director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, Alistair Hudson. The signatories called the move a "grave violation of academic and artistic freedom of expression."

LONDON (AP) — Auto shipments stopped, beer stopped flowing, cargo ships dropped port calls and oil companies cut their pipelines.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown business plans into disarray and forced a growing number of the world’s best known brands — from Apple to Ford and BP — to pull out of a country that’s become a global outcast as companies seek to maintain their reputations and live up to corporate responsibility standards.

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has called on Russians to stage daily protests against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, depicting President Vladimir Putin as an "obviously insane tsar."

Navalny called for protests across the country and abroad to signal that not all Russians support the war and show solidarity with the thousands of people detained in anti-war protests in Russia since last week's invasion.

28 Feb 2022; MEMO: Qatar Airways has asked a UK court to reinstate an order for 50 Airbus A321neo passenger jets that the European planemaker revoked as part of a bitter dispute over the partial grounding of larger A350s, a court filing showed on Friday, reported Reuters.

LONDON (AP) — FIFA drew a swift backlash from European nations for not immediately expelling Russia from World Cup qualifying on Sunday and only ordering the country to play without its flag and anthem at neutral venues under the name of its federation — the Football Union of Russia.

Protesting against FIFA’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland said it would still refuse to play the country in a World Cup playoff semifinal, which is scheduled for March 24.