24 days ago
By Vladimir Soldatkin
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was a chance of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while Kyiv said it expected a "new dynamic" in peace efforts.
Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Russia's far east, said a number of countries including the U.S. and China were ready to support a peace settlement.
"Ultimately, however, the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict — Russia and Ukraine," he said.
"We are grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement. Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is."
#Russia #ukraine #chance
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was a chance of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while Kyiv said it expected a "new dynamic" in peace efforts.
Putin, speaking at an economic forum in Russia's far east, said a number of countries including the U.S. and China were ready to support a peace settlement.
"Ultimately, however, the problem must be resolved by the countries involved in the conflict — Russia and Ukraine," he said.
"We are grateful to everyone attempting to contribute to a settlement. Is there a chance? In my view, yes, there is."
#Russia #ukraine #chance
2 months ago
CEUTA, Spain, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Hundreds of migrants set up camp on a beach in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on Monday as local authorities struggled to cope with the thousands still in the tiny territory after a massive border rush last week.
Spain estimates that about 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco over the past four days, exceeding initial estimates of around 50,000 arrivals in Ceuta on Thursday. The official death toll on the Spanish side of the border stands at 72, with 11 deaths on the Moroccan side.
Many said they left as shop closures had left them without food, they encountered hostility from locals and they were unable to travel on to the Spanish mainland.
Ceuta and Spain's other North African enclave, Melilla, sit on Morocco's Mediterranean coast and periodically face attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Reuters video showed scores of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa, lying on the sand of El Trampolin beach. Many were wrapped in towels to shield from the wind, while army and police vehicles patrolled the road behind them.
#migrants #beach
Spain estimates that about 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco over the past four days, exceeding initial estimates of around 50,000 arrivals in Ceuta on Thursday. The official death toll on the Spanish side of the border stands at 72, with 11 deaths on the Moroccan side.
Many said they left as shop closures had left them without food, they encountered hostility from locals and they were unable to travel on to the Spanish mainland.
Ceuta and Spain's other North African enclave, Melilla, sit on Morocco's Mediterranean coast and periodically face attempted crossings by migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Reuters video showed scores of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa, lying on the sand of El Trampolin beach. Many were wrapped in towels to shield from the wind, while army and police vehicles patrolled the road behind them.
#migrants #beach
2 months ago
The "ding" of the tram bell as services arrived at Constitution Street in Leith used to be an early warning to the area's bar owners that possible customers were en route.
But businesses in Edinburgh's port are reporting a dramatic drop in footfall after the line was suspended in the wake of a building fire on Princes Street earlier this month.
The blaze at the former Debenhams store means trams are only operating to and from Shandwick Place, while buses have been diverted away from the thoroughfare.
City of Edinburgh Council said they expected work on the site to continue for at least another three weeks.
Building fire closes Edinburgh's main street during festival season
#FIRE #leith #princes #debenhams
But businesses in Edinburgh's port are reporting a dramatic drop in footfall after the line was suspended in the wake of a building fire on Princes Street earlier this month.
The blaze at the former Debenhams store means trams are only operating to and from Shandwick Place, while buses have been diverted away from the thoroughfare.
City of Edinburgh Council said they expected work on the site to continue for at least another three weeks.
Building fire closes Edinburgh's main street during festival season
#FIRE #leith #princes #debenhams
2 months ago
Construction of a city's new film studio could start in the autumn.
The final details of Studio One at Crown Works in Sunderland have been set out in a planning application submitted to the city's planning authority.
The facility, on the banks of the Wear, will have three sound stages, production accommodation, backlot ***** e and a car park. The WH Foster Printworks building will also be refurbished as part of the plans.
Officials behind the scheme said the site had already been prepared and building work was expected to begin in the autumn if planning permission was secured.
Sunderland City Council leader Councillor Chris Eynon said it was an "exciting step forward".
#sunderland #construction #works
The final details of Studio One at Crown Works in Sunderland have been set out in a planning application submitted to the city's planning authority.
The facility, on the banks of the Wear, will have three sound stages, production accommodation, backlot ***** e and a car park. The WH Foster Printworks building will also be refurbished as part of the plans.
Officials behind the scheme said the site had already been prepared and building work was expected to begin in the autumn if planning permission was secured.
Sunderland City Council leader Councillor Chris Eynon said it was an "exciting step forward".
#sunderland #construction #works
3 months ago
A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Illinois ban on semiautomatic weapons, keeping in place a law passed largely in response to a deadly Independence Day parade shooting.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturns a lower court decision that found the ban unconstitutional. The 2-1 appellate decision found that the Illinois law does not violate the Second Amendment, and its restrictions are "consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation's tradition of firearm regulation."
"Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse," the appeals court said.
The majority opinion also pushes back on claims made by the plaintiffs that semiautomatic weapons are not at fault for mass shootings.
"The undisputed record evidence undercuts that claim, showing that the presence of ******* ault weapons and large-capacity magazines is strongly correlated with the severity of the societal problem," the opinion states.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturns a lower court decision that found the ban unconstitutional. The 2-1 appellate decision found that the Illinois law does not violate the Second Amendment, and its restrictions are "consistent with the principles that underpin our Nation's tradition of firearm regulation."
"Whether to adopt them is thus a decision reposed in our elected representatives, and we reverse," the appeals court said.
The majority opinion also pushes back on claims made by the plaintiffs that semiautomatic weapons are not at fault for mass shootings.
"The undisputed record evidence undercuts that claim, showing that the presence of ******* ault weapons and large-capacity magazines is strongly correlated with the severity of the societal problem," the opinion states.