Author: Daily Sabah With DPA

A Ukrainian national has become the third man to be charged over arson attacks at properties and a car linked to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Metropolitan Police said Petro Pochynok, 34, has been charged with conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday morning. Pochynok has been accused of conspiring with fellow Ukrainian Roman Lavrynovych and Ukrainian-born Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, who have both also been charged over the incident. He was arrested on Monday in the Chelsea area of west London. Two of the fires took place…

A bomb struck a bus carrying children to an army-run school in south-western Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five people, including three children, and injuring dozens more, officials said. The blast targeted the vehicle in the city of Khuzdar, in the restive province of Balochistan, as it took students to class, said local official Yasir Dashti. Three children and two adults were among the dead, an army statement said. Health officials feared the death toll could rise, as many of the 38 wounded children were in a critical condition. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a rebel group fighting for the independence…

Transport app company Uber said it has signed an agreement to “co-brand” trains running through the English Channel tunnel. It has formed a partnership with Gemini Trains, which is developing plans to launch international rail services from London St Pancras. Uber said: “Under the marketing agreement, Uber will co-brand the service, as well as offer passengers the opportunity to book tickets through the Uber app.” The deal echoes Uber’s collaboration with London’s Thames Clipper boats, which involves Uber branding the service but operations being the responsibility of Thames Clipper. Gemini Trains, chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley, is planning to…

Israel is sending its leading negotiators home from Qatar due to a lack of progress in negotiations with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza war, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday. “After approximately one week of intensive contacts in Doha, the senior members of the negotiating team will return to Israel for consultations; the working echelon will – at present – remain in Doha,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. The statement said that Israel had agreed to a proposal based on one made previously by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff,…

EU leaders and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer strongly criticized the Israeli government on Monday for its actions in the Gaza Strip, describing the situation as “unacceptable.” EU Council President António Costa demanded that Israel halt its military operations, while also calling on Hamas to release all remaining hostages immediately. He emphasized that only a two-state solution could bring lasting peace to the region. Echoing Costa’s remarks, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the bloc’s position: “We are convinced that the only solution is the two-state solution.” She also stressed that humanitarian aid for civilians must never be…

With this year’s Eurovision Song Contest now over, Russia has begun drumming up support for its counter-event, the Intervision Song Contest. The music competition, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia’s exclusion from Eurovision, will take place on September 20 at the Live Arena in Moscow, Russian state television reported on Monday. The venue can accommodate up to 11,000 spectators. Russia was excluded from Eurovision because of its war of aggression against Ukraine. However, because the spectacle has many fans in Russia, Putin ordered the revival of the Soviet era’s Intervision, which was held during the Cold War. State…

European leaders reacted with relief and support after the centrist, pro-EU mayor of Bucharest, Nicușor Dan, won Romania’s presidential election, defeating right-wing nationalist George Simion in a closely watched vote after months of political turmoil. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Moldovan President Maia Sandu were among those congratulating Dan, 55, on his win. Dan secured 53.6% of the run-off vote on Sunday, while Simion garnered 46.4%. Simion conceded late in the evening after initially hesitating. The presidential election was a re-run of last November’s vote,…

Pope Leo XIV called for greater global unity and denounced the harms of unchecked capitalism and power during his inaugural Mass in St Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of people, including state guests, on Sunday. “In our time, we still experience too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, fear of others, and an economic model that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest,” said the new pontiff at the Vatican. Pope Leo, the 69-year-old former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago, said he hoped the Catholic Church could become a force for healing and…

Severe storms have claimed the lives of at least 21 people in the US states of Missouri and Kentucky, authorities there said on Saturday. In Kentucky, there were at least 14 fatalities, Governor Andy Beshear announced on X. “Sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information,” the governor, a Democrat, wrote. In the St Louis metropolitan area and the more southern Scott County in Missouri, at least seven deaths were confirmed, according to reports from the New York Times and CNN, citing local authorities. Republican Governor Mike Kehoe stated on X that he and his wife…

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz defended his government’s new migration policy on Saturday, saying it remains in line with Germany’s responsibilities to its European neighbours. “Please don’t let anyone tell you that this is now, so to speak, against our European neighbours,” Merz said at a state party conference of his Christian Democrats (CDU) in the south-western city of Stuttgart. “I have spoken to everyone, and they all know what we mean: We want to solve this problem together, but we cannot accept that a large part of the unresolved problem ends up in the Federal Republic of Germany,” the new…