Displaying items by tag: accusations

Two alleged spies, dual German-Russian nationals, have been arrested in Bavaria for suspected espionage related to sabotaging German military aid for Ukraine. The main suspect, Dieter S, is accused of various offences, including maintaining contact with Russian intelligence, and fighting for a Russian proxy force in eastern Ukraine. Allegedly, he was planning sabotage operations such as explosive and arson attacks on military and industrial infrastructure, including US military facilities. Germany is the second-largest donor of military aid to Ukraine after the USA. The arrests mark another blow against Russian espionage efforts in Germany. Meanwhile, in what is being called Austria’s biggest espionage scandal in decades, Egisto Ott has been arrested on suspicion of spying. He is believed to have been recruited, along with other officials, by Jan Marsalek, who fled to Moscow in 2020. See

On 15 April Donald Trump became the first former president ever to face a criminal trial. He is accused of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to actress Stormy Daniels (who claims that he had sex with her) before the 2016 election. Prosecutors allege Trump reimbursed his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for the payments and falsely labelled it as a legal fee. Trump pleaded not guilty and called the case a ‘witch hunt.’ New York judge Juan Merchan has named over forty potential witnesses, including many former associates, including Cohen and Rudy Giuliani, as well as Trump's family members and former employees. Merchan has also warned Trump of potential jail time for disrupting or refusing to attend the trial without a valid reason. In jury selection, many potential jurors are being ruled out because they could not be impartial.  What is not clear is whether this trial will influence the result of November’s presidential election: see

Northern Ireland's first minister Michelle O’Neill is confident there is no threat to the region’s power-sharing structure following the resignation of Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Donaldson, who has been an MP since 1997, stepped down amid charges over alleged historical sexual offences, which he intends to 'strenuously contest’. This unexpected upheaval follows the power-sharing deal earlier this year, which was crucially dependent on Donaldson’s support. In response to the situation, O’Neill has proactively reached out to other party leaders (including Gavin Robinson, the interim DUP leader) and members of the ministerial executive, to ensure stability. Her priority is to keep the power-sharing government effective, focusing on day-to-day matters of public concern.Donaldson, who has led the DUP since 2021, is scheduled to appear in court on 24 April. Despite his suspension from the party, he reportedly retains his MP position.

Humanitarian groups have accused Israeli forces of intentionally targeting them in Gaza, after the airstrike on 1 April on a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy. Seven aid workers, including three Britons, were killed in the airstrike. WCK had coordinated with the IDF through deconfliction, a process where agencies inform military parties of their locations and movements to avoid being targeted. Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident unintentional, and the IDF claimed it was due to misidentification. However, 203 aid workers have been killed since the conflict began, which creates a lot of mistrust in the deconfliction system. WCK founder José Andrés has claimed that the IDF is targeting them ‘systematically, car by car’, and said that workers from other groups such as UNRWA and the Red Cross had also been affected. The recurring strikes raise doubts about the effectiveness and integrity of coordination efforts, exacerbating tensions in the conflict zone. See also the UK article entitled ‘Legal experts call for halt in British arms exports to Israel’. Breaking news: Israel has announced that it will open two new aid routes.

Bishop Christopher Saunders has been charged with rape and a string of sex offences - some against children. The 74-year-old was arrested on 21 February, after parallel investigations ordered by police and the Pope. Mr Saunders, who denies the allegations, was refused bail. He is one of the most senior Catholics to face charges of this nature. The offences he is alleged to have committed include two counts of rape, 14 of unlawful and indecent assault, and three of child abuse. For years, he has faced allegations of sexual abuse made by several Aboriginal men from communities in his parish. When the accusations were first aired in 2020, the initial police investigation was closed without charge. However after a historic inquiry was ordered by the Pope - and its 200-page report subsequently leaked to the media last year - police began a new investigation.

On 5 December Joe Biden called Donald Trump an ‘existential threat to the country’s system of government’, in response to Trump’s recent comments claiming it is Biden who is really the ‘destroyer of American democracy’. This exchange reflects how the issue of protecting democracy and Trump's baseless attacks on the 2020 election could be key in the 2024 presidential election. Biden, who looks increasingly likely to be headers for a rematch against Trump, has sought to define the election in terms of protecting not just democracy but personal liberty. He noted that Trump has said he would give presidential pardons to many of the people charged or convicted in connection with the January 2021 attack on the Capitol. He also attacked Trump for appointing three Supreme Court justices who joined an opinion in 2022 that reversed Roe v Wade, the national guarantee for abortion access, and added, ‘He's running again to get rid of the Affordable Care Act’ (popularly known as Obamacare). Later that day, Biden said, ‘We cannot let him win’.

The Sun newspaper reported that a well-known BBC presenter has paid over £35,000 to a 17-year-old to fund his drug habit in exchange for explicit images of himself. A week later the BBC suspended Huw Edwards. But the BBC's investigation will need to tread carefully as the presenter has severe mental health issues. The BBC has a duty of care towards him as an employee, and that must be respected. He is in an internal corporate BBC process. On 12 July the Sun reported him breaking lockdown rules in 2021 to meet someone from a dating site. Without having seen the evidence people can't judge the outcome. Pray for an end to unhelpful media speculation. It could be a reprimand. It could be dismissal. It could need reputational rehabilitation. See

While explosions rocked a Crimean ammunition depot, disrupting railway services and causing 2,000 people to be evacuated from a nearby village, the Russian defence minister claimed Ukrainian military operations were being planned by the Americans and British while NATO increased its troop deployment in eastern and central Europe ‘several times over’. Vladimir Putin also said the bloc of Australia, UK, and the USA had the potential to develop into ‘a political-military alliance’. Meanwhile Russia’s Black Sea fleet struggles to exercise effective sea control, with patrols generally limited to the waters within sight of the Crimean coast, according to British intelligence reports. The fleet continues to use long-range cruise missiles to support ground offensives, but is keeping a defensive posture. Britain is training 10,000 Ukrainian raw recruits in marksmanship, battlefield first aid, and urban warfare. Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Nordic nations are also providing training.

Parents Sally and Nigel Rowe were warned that if their six-year-old child expressed confusion about another pupil wearing a dress and used incorrect pronouns it would be unacceptable behaviour. A letter from the headteacher and governors said that pupils risked being viewed as transphobic if they showed an inability to believe a transgender person is actually a ‘real’ female or male. The parents have withdrawn both their sons from the school and been granted permission for a judicial challenge to the Department for Education’s (DfE) decision to provide the guidelines to state schools. A hearing is expected within six months, and the DfE is defending the claim. The parents withdrew their eldest son in 2015 after he became confused about another boy wearing girl's clothes. Two years later, they are raising the issue again after their second son was confused about another pupil who identified as ‘gender fluid’, alternating their appearance on various days of the week.

Russia declared Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (a member of the Pussy Riot band) and prominent satirist Viktor Shenderovich ‘foreign agents’ as authorities press ahead with a crackdown on dissent. The justice ministry also added to its list of ‘foreign agents’ journalist Taisiya Bekbulatova and art collector Marat Gelman. ‘These people systematically distribute materials to an indefinite circle of persons, while receiving foreign funds.’ the government said in a statement. Shenderovich is a prominent anti-Kremlin satirist and political observer. Anyone identified as a ‘foreign agent’ must disclose sources of funding and accompany all texts, videos and social media posts with a caption mentioning content from a ‘foreign agent’: this is reminiscent of the Soviet-era term ‘enemy of the people’. Independent media outlets including Rain TV and a popular Russian-language website have also been branded as foreign agents. Russia claims that there is increased interference from abroad, meddling in Russian affairs.