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☆ Boris Johnson battles to win support in shock U.K. PM comeback bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Hyder Abbasi | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON — Thousands tracked his flight back to the U.K. as he returned from a Caribbean vacation, and several lawmakers have tweeted “welcome back boss,” but on Sunday, Boris Johnson was fighting to get enough support to make a shock return as Britain’s prime minister. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a Cabinet meeting alongside Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in London in May. Former Conservative party leader William Hague said Friday that Johnson’s return would lead to a “death spiral” for the party. A selection of the front pages of British national newspapers showing the reaction to the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss in London on Friday. “A significant majority of the British people wanted him to resign as prime minister, and his approval ratings were historically low by the time he stopped being prime minister,” he said.

☆ Boris Johnson flies back to Britain to attempt rapid comeback
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Johnson was booed by some passengers on the plane to Britain, according to a Sky News journalist on the flight. For some Conservative lawmakers, Johnson is a vote winner, able to appeal across the country not only with his celebrity but also with his brand of energetic optimism. "DEATH SPIRAL"The former Conservative leader William Hague said on Friday Johnson's return was possibly the worst idea he had heard in almost half a century as a party member. Johnson is currently under investigation by parliament's Privileges Committee to establish whether he lied to the House of Commons over lockdown-breaking parties. The contest to become Britain's fourth prime minister in four years has been accelerated to take only a week.

A Reuters tally of Conservative lawmakers who have made public declarations of support put Sunak on 70 backers, Johnson on 37 and Mordaunt on 20. 1/6 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a statement at Downing Street in London, Britain, July 7, 2022. Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said leaving the European Union had brought instability to Britain. Opposition parties, some newspapers and even a few Conservative lawmakers have called for a general election to be held. Some Conservative lawmakers have urged colleagues to coalesce around one candidate to avoid a bruising battle.

Speaking to parliament, Scholz also said Germany had freed itself from dependence on Russian gas and was working to bring energy prices down, but warned that the EU imposing a gas price cap risked back-firing. "We will not let Moscow's latest escalation go unanswered ... Scorched earth tactics will not help Russia win the war. The 27 are expected to back an alternative price benchmark for liquefied natural gas and joint gas buying. But they remain split on whether and how to cap gas prices to stem high inflation and stave off recession, after Russia cut gas flows following its invasion of Ukraine. Scholz said that a politically imposed gas price gap risked driving producers to sell their gas elsewhere, meaning the EU could receive less gas as a result.

"The prime minister is not under a desk," Mordaunt said in parliament, keeping a straight-face despite the jeers and laughter from the opposition Labour Party facing her. Mordaunt now has her second chance to run for the top job, after just missing out on the final two in the contest to become the leader of the ruling Conservative Party earlier this year. She also promoted her patriotism, talking about her memories of the Falkland's conflict that helped to define former prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Her first post came as a local government minister in 2014, followed by armed forces minister and disabilities minister. Truss appointed Mordaunt as the leader of the House of Commons, charged with setting out the government business with her no-nonsense attitude gaining admirers.

☆ How to survive a nuclear bomb attack: Minute-by-minute steps to protect yourself
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Aria Bendix | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

If a nuclear bomb were headed toward the US, residents would have 30 minutes or less to shelter. Russian Presidential Press Service/APA nuclear attack remains highly unlikely, but it's not out of the question, experts say. Redlener said the best way to learn of an impending nuclear attack would probably be TV or radio. Survivors of a nuclear attack would have about 15 minutes before sandlike radioactive particles, known as nuclear fallout, reached the ground. The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends staying indoors for at least 24 hours after a nuclear explosion.

☆ Dutch crown princess Amalia under heightened security
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Dutch Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia is under heightened security due to concern that she could be targeted by criminals, Dutch news agency ANP reported on Thursday, citing her parents. "She can hardly leave the house," ANP quoted Queen Maxima as saying during a state visit to Sweden with her husband King Willem-Alexander. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLast month, several Dutch media outlets reported that the princess, whose formal title is Princess of Orange, was under heightened security due to fears that criminal gangs may target her for kidnapping or an attack. Dutch police and the country's secret service have declined to discuss security arrangements around the Royal House. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday evening said he could not specify the details of the threats.

☆ Zelenskyy urges G-7 to send more weapons and impose a price cap on Russian energy exports after Russian missile strikes rock Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded Tuesday for more military aid and stronger sanctions against Russia at an emergency meeting of the Group of Seven nations. Zelenskyy's virtual remarks to G-7 leaders followed intensified Russian missile strikes on major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv. Zelenskyy said the group of the world's largest economies should try to weaken the Kremlin's energy sector after Russian strikes hit at least 12 Ukrainian energy facilities. "When Russia attacks the energy sector and energy stability of our countries, we must block its energy sector with sanctions, break the stability of Russian revenues from oil and gas trade," he said. The Ukrainian leader also called for a "tough price cap" on Russian exports of oil and gas in order to weaken Moscow's revenue stream.

☆ Dutch right-to-die group fights to widen legal euthanasia boundaries
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Stephanie Van Den Berg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We believe it should be possible to provide the means to be able to humanely end your own life," Jos van Wijk of Cooperative Last Will said in court. A lawyer for the cooperative said the case is strategic litigation aimed at forcing the Netherlands to change the laws. Lawyers for the Dutch state argued that the euthanasia laws strike good balance between the duty of the state to protect citizens, even from themselves, and individual autonomy. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide under very strict conditions and when overseen by medical professionals. Assisting a suicide, or providing a means to commit suicide outside of the strict euthanasia criteria, is punishable with a jail term of up to three years.

☆ Dutch tulip park Keukenhof starts bulb planting season
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Flower bulbs are seen at Keukenhof Spring Park in Lisse, Netherlands October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de WouwTHE HAGUE, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Gardeners at one of the Netherlands top tourist attractions, the Keukenhof flower park, on Thursday started planting the first tulip and daffodil bulbs that will be part of its colourful display of blooms next spring. Over the coming months, the park's 40 gardeners will plant seven million bulbs by hand, the Keukenhof park said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Piroschka van de Wou, writing by Stephanie van den Berg. Editing by Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rwanda genocide: Félicien Kabuga's trial opens in The Hague
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The trial of one of the last fugitives accused of broadcasting hateful propaganda and arming militias in the 1994 Rwanda genocide has opened at a United Nations court in The Hague. Before opening statements, judges said 87-year-old Félicien Kabuga had refused to attend but ruled that the trial would go ahead. He is being tried before the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) for what prosecutors say is his “substantial” contributions to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. His lawyers have previously argued that he was too ill to be tried but judges and court-appointed doctors disagreed. His indictment says he is charged with “genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and persecution on political grounds, extermination, and murder as crimes against humanity, committed in Rwanda in 1994.”

A pressure gauge is seen at the landfall facility of the Baltic Sea gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 in Lubmin, Germany, September 19, 2022. "Overnight the Nord Stream 2 landfall dispatcher registered a rapid gas pressure drop on Line A of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline," Nord Stream 2's operator said in a statement. European countries have resisted Russian calls to allow the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to operate and accused Moscow of using energy as a weapon. Gazprom (GAZP.MM) referred questions about the incident to the Nord Stream 2 operator. Russia has cut off gas supplies to several countries and also halted flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, blaming Western sanctions for hindering operations.

☆ Europol data practices target of EU privacy watchdog lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Eva PlevierBRUSSELS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - EU data protection watchdog EDPS has asked Europe's top court to scrap amended rules allowing Europol to retroactively legalise its processing of personal data of people with no links to criminal activity, saying the rules undermine its authority. EDPS (European Data Protection Supervisor), which ensures that EU institutions and bodies comply with the bloc's privacy rules, took its grievance to the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on Sept. 16. At issue are two amendments to rules governing Europol agreed by EU countries and EU lawmakers which came into force on June 28. EDPS' request to the CJEU is "to make sure that the EU legislator cannot unduly 'move the goalposts' in the area of privacy and data protection," EDPS head Wojciech Wiewiorowski said in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Dutch town is suing Twitter in a bid to get tweets about a Satanic conspiracy theory taken down, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-17 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Dutch town is suing Twitter to get all tweets about a conspiracy theory involving it taken down. The tweets falsely claimed that Satan-worshipping pedophiles were active in the town in the 1980s. They falsely claimed that a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles was active in the town in the 1980s, according to Reuters. The town's lawyer, Cees van de Zanden, told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant: "If conspiracy theorists don't remove their messages, then the platforms involved need to act." In July, van de Zanden said Bodegraven asked Twitter to find and remove all messages relating to the pedophile claims but was still waiting for a response.

☆ Dutch town takes Twitter to court to remove conspiracy theories
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A promoted tweet on Twitter app is displayed on a mobile phone near a Twitter logo, in this illustration picture taken Sept. 8, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/IllustrationTHE HAGUE, Sept 16 (Reuters) - A small Dutch town took Twitter (TWTR.N) to court on Friday to demand the social media giant takes down all messages relating to a supposed ring of satan-worshipping paedophiles that were alleged to have been active in the town in the 1980s. Twitter's lawyer Jens van den Brink declined to comment before the hearing at The Hague District Court on Friday. But despite their conviction, stories about Bodegraven still circulate on social media as others have continued to echo their story, leading the town to take the matter up with Twitter itself. "If conspiracy theorists don't remove their messages, then the platforms involved need to act," the town of Bodegraven's lawyer Cees van de Zanden was quoted as saying by Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant on Friday.

☆ Cloud of colonialism hangs over Queen Elizabeth’s legacy in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-10 | by ( Stephanie Busari | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Lagos, Nigeria CNN —The death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted an outpouring of reflection and reaction online. Among the worst atrocities under British rule occurred during the Mau Mau uprising, which started in 1952 – the year Queen Elizabeth took the throne. Queen Elizabeth II on her way to the Kumasi Durbah with Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana, during her tour of Ghana, November 1961. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave to a crowd of schoolchildren at a rally held at a racecourse in Ibadan, Nigeria, February 15, 1956. Queen Elizabeth II dances with President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, during her visit to Accra, Ghana, in 1961.

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