LIZ TRUSS

A roundup of key developments and the latest in-depth coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia Sanctions Kirill FILE - Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill conducts the Easter service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, April 24, 2022. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has “repeatedly abused his position to justify the war" on Ukraine. Kirill is a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Others on Thursday's list include four colonels from a brigade known to have killed, raped and tortured civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Truss also said Britain's government is “taking all steps we can” regarding two British citizens sentenced to death for fighting Russian forces in Ukraine.

Britain has announced a new round of sanctions against Russia.

Migration Britain Rwanda FILE - A placard left outside the High Court where the ruling on Rwanda deportation flights is taking place, in London Monday, June 13, 2022. Britain paid Rwanda 120 million pounds ($150 million) up front for the deal. Some lawmakers from the governing Conservative Party nonetheless say Britain should withdraw from the Strasbourg-based European human rights court, which Britain helped to set up. A full trial of the legality of the Rwanda plan is due to be heard in the British courts by the end of July. Migration groups say the Rwanda plan is unlikely to deter desperate people making risky journeys to Britain.

Migration Britain Rwanda FILE - A placard left outside the High Court where the ruling on Rwanda deportation flights is taking place, in London Monday, June 13, 2022. The comments comes a day after two British courts refused to block the deportation flights, rejecting last-ditch appeals filed by immigration rights advocates and labor unions. Under a deal signed in April between Britain and Rwanda, the U.K. government plans to send some migrants who arrive in the U.K. as stowaways or in small boats to Rwanda, where their asylum claims will be processed. They have called the idea unworkable, inhumane and a waste of money — Britain paid Rwanda 120 million pounds ($150 million) up front for the deal. Migration groups say the Rwanda plan is unlikely to deter desperate people making risky journeys to Britain.

Brussels says altering the Northern Ireland Protocol breaks international law, but the UK disputes this.

Migration Britain Rwanda FILE - A placard left outside the High Court where the ruling on Rwanda deportation flights is taking place, in London Monday, June 13, 2022. The comments comes a day after two British courts refused to block the deportation flights, rejecting last-ditch appeals filed by immigration rights advocates and labor unions. Home Secretary Priti Patel said "preparation for the next flight begins now" despite legal rulings that none of the migrants earmarked for deportation could be sent to the East African country. Under a deal signed in April between Britain and Rwanda, the U.K. government plans to send some migrants who arrive in the U.K. as stowaways or in small boats to Rwanda, where their asylum claims will be processed. Human rights lawyer Frances Swaine, who represents one of the people due to be sent to Rwanda, urged the government to wait for that decision before organizing any more deportation flights.

The British government is vowing to organize more flights to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda after a last-minute court judgment grounded the first plane due to take off.

Britain canceled a flight that was scheduled to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda late Tuesday after the European Court of Human Rights intervened, saying the plan carried “a real risk of irreversible harm.”.

Brussels says altering the Northern Ireland Protocol breaks international law, but the UK disputes this.

The UK prime minister is betting he can get unionists back to work and the EU to the negotiating table. The costs of failure are great.

The move prompted pushback from European diplomats and stands to anger U.S. officials.

The UK publishes plans to ditch parts of Northern Ireland Protocol but the EU says the move would break international law.

Britain’s government has unveiled legislation that would unilaterally change post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.

President Joe Biden says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “didn’t want to hear it” when U.S. intelligence gathered information that Russia was preparing to invade.

When British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a no-confidence vote this week, at least one other world leader shared his relief.

A suspect opened fire at a business in western Maryland on Thursday, leaving three dead before the suspect and a state trooper were wounded in a shootout, authorities said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson managed to narrowly win a no-confidence vote from his own Conservative Party, but the result dealt a heavy blow to his authority.

Russia Ukraine War Women are evacuated by volunteers of Vostok SOS charitable organisation in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, May 26, 2022. ___KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s foreign minister is pleading with Western nations to provide Kyiv with heavy weapons to enable it to push Russian forces back. We need weapons. If you really care for Ukraine, weapons, weapons and weapons again,” the minister stressed. Cavoli told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his nomination hearing that “The center of gravity of NATO forces has shifted eastward."

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is in Bosnia’s capital to reaffirm the U.K.’s commitment to the ethnically divided Balkan country amid growing fears of malign influence from Russia.

The Uvalde, Tex., elementary school shooting is the latest in a U.S. epidemic, as gun violence in many other developed countries is far less common.

A British-Iranian charity worker who was detained in Tehran for almost six years says she was forced by Iranian officials to sign a false confession to spying before she was freed two months ago.

Pressures on the prime minister over the cost of living and talks on sending more weaponry to Moldova lead the papers

Tory leaders looking to bolster their political fortunes could be making a negotiated end to the war harder to reach.

Britain Lawmaker Arrested FILE - A pedestrian passes Britain's Houses of Parliament on the bank of The River Thames in London, Aug. 29, 2019. A U.K. Conservative lawmaker has been released on bail while police investigate allegations of rape and sexual assault against him. The legislator was arrested Tuesday May 17, 2022, on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office. The legislator was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office. Conservative legislator Charlie Elphicke was jailed in 2020 for sexually assaulting two women, and earlier this month Imran Ahmad Khan resigned as Conservative lawmaker after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.

A U.K. Conservative lawmaker has been released on bail while police investigate allegations of rape and sexual assault against him.

Ministers have been talking about Northern Ireland taxation, trade and solar panels.

Northern Ireland Brexit Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a Mark 3 shoulder launch LML (Lightweight Multiple Launcher) missile system, at Thales weapons manufacturer in Belfast, Monday May 16, 2022, during a visit to Northern Ireland. “Unilateral actions contradicting an international agreement are not acceptable,” said EU Vice President Maroš Šefčovič, the bloc’s top Brexit official. Instead, to protect the EU’s single market, there are checks on some goods, such as meat and eggs, entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. While the DUP wants the Protocol scrapped, most other parties in Northern Ireland want to keep it, with tweaks to ease the burden on businesses. “What that actually involves is getting rid of some relatively minor barriers to trade,” Johnson said Tuesday.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss confirmed on Tuesday that the government intends to introduce legislation to make changes to the Northern Ireland protocol.

The British government says it will pass a law to scrap parts of the trade treaty it signed with the European Union less than two years ago.

They're among a dozen people added to the sanctions list. The U.K. says the twelve help the Russian president hide his ill-gotten riches in return for influential state positions.

Russia Ukraine War Russian army Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin, 21, arrives for a court hearing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (Efrem Lukatsky)Turkey's president says his country is “not favorable” to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, as they are considering doing. The Ukrainian military last month sank the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. —KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces on Thursday night struck the Chernihiv region and hit schools. He said since the invasion began on Feb. 24, the Russian military had damaged 570 medical facilities, fully destroying 101 hospitals.

Northern Ireland’s second-biggest political party has blocked the formation of a working Belfast legislature, deepening political deadlock over post-Brexit trade rules.

Germany Foreign Ministers G7 Exterior view of Weissenhaus Castle during the G7 Group of leading democratic economic powers in Weissenhaeuser Strand, Germany, Friday May 13, 2022. In addition to the United States and Germany, the G7 also includes Great Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Japan. The main topic of the meeting is the war in Ukraine. "We will provide a new tranche of 500 more millions to support the military of Ukraine," Borrell told reporters ahead of the G-7 meeting in Weissenhaus, on Germany's Baltic Sea coast. Top diplomats from Germany, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and the United States also are attending the meeting.

Ukraine’s foreign minister says his country is willing to engage in diplomatic talks with Russia to unblock grain supplies and achieve a political solution to the war in Ukraine but won’t accept ultimatums.

___KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military says that Russian forces staged assaults on multiple villages in eastern Ukraine as they try to expand control there, but not all were successful. In the Russian campaign in the east, villages were targeted near Donetsk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Kurakhiv, the Ukrainian military said. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and a strategic target near the Russian border, has faced heavy bombardment by Russian forces. —KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces on Thursday night struck the Chernihiv region and hit schools. He said since the invasion began on Feb. 24, the Russian military had damaged 570 medical facilities, fully destroying 101 hospitals.

In the Russian campaign in the east, villages were targeted near Donetsk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Kurakhiv, the Ukrainian military said. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and a strategic target near the Russian border, has faced heavy bombardment by Russian forces. The Ukrainian military last month sank the Moskva cruiser, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. —KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces on Thursday night struck the Chernihiv region and hit schools. He said since the invasion began on Feb. 24, the Russian military had damaged 570 medical facilities, fully destroying 101 hospitals.

Britain’s foreign secretary has warned the European Union that the U.K. will have “no choice but to act” to revoke parts of a Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland if the EU doesn't show flexibility.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the government would “not shy away from taking action” if it can't reach agreement with the bloc. Instead, there are checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. The Democratic Unionist Party, which came second in last week’s Northern Ireland Assembly election, is refusing to help form a government until the arrangements, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, are substantially changed or scrapped. Sinn Fein won the most seats last week, the first time a party that seeks to unite Northern Ireland with the republic has topped the voting. U.K.-EU talks on resolving differences over trade rules have reached an impasse.

Britain and the European Union are once again at loggerheads over Brexit

Britain and the European Union are once again at loggerheads over Brexit.

Opposition to direct rule from London has rippled across the region, posing a delicate challenge for Britain amid a growing reckoning over colonialism. The Caribbean Community cast the proposal as “retrograde.”

The premier of the British Virgin Islands appeared in federal court in Miami on Friday after his arrest on cocaine-smuggling charges.

APTOPIX Russia Ukraine War Clean-up crews prepare to work at the site of an explosion in Kyiv, Ukraine on Friday, April 29, 2022. Russia struck the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv shortly after a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday evening. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (Emilio Morenatti)LONDON — Britain is sending a team of experts to Ukraine to help local authorities investigate reports of war crimes, including sexual violence, committed by Russian troops. He said they had been operating on their own in the war zone and hadn’t been associated with any aid group. ___LVIV, Ukraine — The British Defense Ministry says Russia’s focus in its war on Ukraine remains the Donbas region.

Joe Biden’s lend-lease plan for Ukraine provides critical weapons and supplies. But deterring and defeating Putin will also require a new strategic vision.

It comes after more than 50 people were killed in shelling of a train station in eastern Ukraine.

If Russia were to have used chemical weapons, it would signal a major escalation of its botched invasion of Ukraine, which has stalled after more than a month.

LONDON — (AP) — Britain on Monday announced sanctions against Bosnian-Serb politicians Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic, censuring them for attempts to undermine the legitimacy and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans, are the first to be announced by the U.K. under the Bosnia and Herzegovina sanctions regime. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused the pair of being emboldened by Vladimir Putin's aggression in Ukraine. “These two politicians are deliberately undermining the hard won peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina,'' Truss said in a statement. Dodik is the Bosnian-Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s three-person state-level presidency.

Britain has announced sanctions against Bosnian-Serb politicians Milorad Dodik and Zeljka Cvijanovic, censuring them for attempts to undermine the legitimacy of Bosnia and Herzegovina

A selection of powerful images from all over the globe, taken in the past seven days.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to the biggest clash in decades between Moscow and the West. Both are competing to persuade China and India to take a side.

It was the only democracy to abstain from supporting condemnation of Russia. Now New Delhi is welcoming Lavrov.

The withdrawal could have sweeping implications for the businesses that set up base in Hong Kong for its predictable and trustworthy legal system.

LONDON — (AP) — Britain is withdraw its judges from Hong Kong’s top court, with the government saying Wednesday that remaining would “legitimize oppression.”British judges have sat on the court since the former British colony was returned to China in 1997. The government said it was “no longer tenable for serving U.K. judges” to sit on the Court of Final Appeal because of the increasingly oppressive laws enacted by China. The two British judges on the court submitted their resignations on Wednesday. ““The situation has reached a tipping point where it is no longer tenable for British judges to sit on Hong Kong’s leading court, and would risk legitimizing oppression,” Truss said. She said the decision to pull British judges out out after many years in Hong Kong was taken by the British government in consultation with the head of the U.K. Supreme Court.

Britain says it's withdrawing its judges from Hong Kong’s top court because keeping them there would legitimize oppression in the former British colony.

Russia Ukraine War Women walks inside a school damaged among other residential buildings following a bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, March 18, 2022. She also announced plans to deliver humanitarian aid to the city of Kherson, which is currently under control of the Russian forces. ___The Russian military says it used its latest hypersonic missile, Kinzhal, for the first time in combat during its offensive in Ukraine. The men were the first new arrivals on the space station since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine last month. ___LVIV, Ukraine -- Ukraine lost access to the Azov Sea during Russia's siege of the southern port city of Mariupol, the Ukrainian General Staff said late Friday.

Will it be round two for Rishi vs Boris? Boris Johnson: ‘Blindingly obvious’ now’s not the time for IndyRef2 David Cameron joins the Ukraine war effort by driving lorry to Poland Camilla Tominey: Nicola Sturgeon has turned Scotland into a banana republic Jacob Rees-Mogg: Ukraine war shows ‘partygate’ was ‘fluff’

Britain Iran Woman Detained FILE - Undated family handout file photo of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. (Zaghari-Ratcliffe Family via AP) (Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe)LONDON — (AP) — A plane carrying two British citizens jailed in Iran more than five years, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, landed on British soil early Thursday. The government-chartered aircraft carrying Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, and Ashoori, 67, arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in the early morning. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, and Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, landed in Oman following a two-hour flight from Tehran, and were expected to arrive in Britain late Wednesday. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was taken into custody at Tehran’s airport in April 2016 as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family in Iran.

The breakthrough came as world leaders try to negotiate​ the return of both Iran and the U.S. to an international agreement on Tehran's nuclear program.

Britain Iran Woman Detained FILE - Undated family handout file photo of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, and Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, landed in Oman following a two-hour flight from Tehran, and were expected to arrive in Britain late Wednesday. Family members and human rights activists accuse Iran of arresting the dual nationals on trumped up charges to use them as bargaining chips to squeeze concessions out of Western nations. Iran doesn’t recognize dual nationality, so detainees like Zaghari-Ratcliffe can’t receive consular assistance from their home countries. A U.N. panel has criticized what it describes as “an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals” in Iran.

As Western leaders congratulate themselves for their speedy and severe responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they’re also scratching their heads with uncertainty about what their actions will accomplish.

Claims the Chelsea owner has "blood on his hands" and a plea to host refugees feature in the papers.

The head of the UK's armed forces also rejects Ukraine's call for a no-fly zone, saying it will not help.

The Russia shelling of the Ukrainian city Mariupol is among Sunday's lead stories.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor has launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide amid a rising civilian death toll and widespread destruction of property during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is embodying the Kremlin’s defiant posture during the invasion of Ukraine with a mixture of toughness and sarcasm.

Sanctions imposed by Western nations will cause major repercussions for Russia's financial system.

Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine that opened with air and missile strikes on Ukrainian military facilities before troops and tanks rolled across the borders from three sides.

The Russian president praises the military as the US warns an invasion of Ukraine is beginning.

The White House is calling Russia’s troop deployments in eastern Ukraine an “invasion” after initially hesitating to use the term.

Thursday's front pages focus on the Met Police's investigation into Prince Charles' charity.

The UK is considering sanctions against Russian interests, but what action can be taken?

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is ready for talks with the United States and NATO on military transparency, missile deployment limits and other security issues.

The Russian expression “tanks don’t fear mud” is common enough that it’s the title of a short-lived television Russian series and can be found stenciled on car windows.

Even if a Russian invasion of Ukraine doesn’t happen in the next few days, the crisis is reaching a critical inflection point.

The chill of a Cold War hangs over Eastern Europe again.

The Biden administration is escalating its warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it could take place at any time.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the Ukraine crisis has grown into “the most dangerous moment” for Europe in decades, while his top diplomat held icy talks with her Moscow counterpart who said the Kremlin won’t accept lectures from the West.

Britain’s top diplomat has arrived in Moscow to try to defuse tensions raised by Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine.

Northern Ireland’s first minister has resigned as tensions over Britain’s departure from the European Union trigger a fresh political crisis in the region.

The United States and NATO have made no concessions to the main Russian demands to resolve the crisis over Ukraine.

The Biden administration and NATO have told Russia there will be no U.S. or allied concessions on Moscow's main demands to resolve the crisis over Ukraine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is bracing for the conclusions of an investigation into allegations of lockdown-breaching parties.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has rejected a British claim that Russia is seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration and that former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate.

Some Conservative lawmakers in Britain are talking about ousting their leader, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, over allegations that he and his staff held lockdown-breaching parties during the coronavirus pandemic.

Britain’s foreign minister has expressed optimism that there is a “deal to be done” to resolve a Northern Ireland trade dispute that has soured the U.K.’s relations with the European Union.

Top negotiators from Britain and the European Union are meeting in hopes of resolving their a thorny dispute over Northern Ireland trade.

Senior British government ministers have expressed support for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson and rejected demands he resign for attending a garden party during the country’s first coronavirus lockdown.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the appointment of Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to become lead negotiator with the European Union.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is walking a political tightrope as he faces increasing attacks from both friends and enemies amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing questions about his future after almost 100 Conservative lawmakers defied him and opposed new restrictions to help slow the fast-spreading omicron variant.

The Group of Seven economic powers have told Russia to “de-escalate” its military buildup near the Ukrainian border, warning that an invasion would have “massive consequences” and inflict severe economic pain on Moscow.

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven nations were meeting in Liverpool for talks dominated by Russia’s military buildup near its border with Ukraine and what host country Britain called Moscow’s “malign behavior" around the world.

Britain’s top diplomat is warning that “free democratic nations” must wean themselves off Russian gas and Russian money to preserve their independence.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is warning that the U.S.-led military organization must prepare for the worst as concern mounts that Russia could be preparing to invade Ukraine.

The British government says it intends to ban the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a terrorist organization.

France’s president offered Britain extra time for negotiations to try to reach a compromise on a troubling post-Brexit fishing spat.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is travelling to the United States with senior Cabinet officials to urge world leaders attending the U.N. General Assembly to take urgent action on climate change ahead of this fall's COP26 climate summit in Scotland.

Scotch whisky makers are breathing a sigh of relief after the United States agreed to suspend tariffs on one of Scotland’s main exports.

The British government says the troubles are “teething problems,” but companies say they are causing serious pain. A post-Brexit U.K.-EU trade deal means goods can still move without tariffs or quotas, but businesses face new costs, paperwork and barriers. British, Irish and Northern Ireland politicians all expressed alarm at the plan, and the EU dropped the idea. Trade expert David Henig of the European Centre for International Political Economy said the British government was not levelling with people. “They are saying ‘teething problems’ when it is actually a permanent economic shift,” he said.