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Ukraine

RUSSIA is facing mounting accusations of war crimes in Ukraine, including forcing thousands of people into interrogation camps, while Britain urged more weapons for Kyiv to sustain pressure on Moscow.

Throughout the 11-week conflict, Russian forces have been accused of committing atrocities – including the killing of unarmed civilians.

CNN and the BBC have released what they said was security camera footage showing Russian soldiers with assault rifles shooting two Ukrainian civilians in the back.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Friday the bloc would provide another €500 million (about R8 billion) in military support to Ukraine.

The Russian invasion has also led to a seismic policy change by Finland, whose leaders said on Thursday that the neutral nation must apply to join Nato “without delay”, triggering a blunt warning of retaliation from the Kremlin. | AFP and Reuters

Twitter

ELON Musk said his $44 billion (about R710bn) acquisition of Twitter Inc was temporarily on hold.

“Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users,” he tweeted on Friday.

Twitter also confirmed that two senior executives were leaving and that it has pausing all hiring except for businesscritical roles ahead of the acquisition.

Musk’s deal to buy Twitter was announced last month but still needs the backing of shareholders and regulators. |

China

CHINA’S immigration authority is still providing services for necessary trips outside the country, denying “foreign media reports” that the issuing of passports were halted and that residency cards for those living in foreign countries were being invalidated.

Officials have promptly processed certificates for people who need to travel abroad for necessary and urgent matters such as study, scientific research, trade and businesses and medical issues, the National Immigration Administration said on Friday. | Reuters

United Kingdom

TENS of thousands of UK civil servants are set to lose their jobs under new costcutting measures, senior minister Jacob Rees-mogg said on Friday.

He did not deny media reports that 91 000 Whitehall jobs were to go when asked about the cutback by Sky News.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the Daily Mail that “we have got to cut the cost of government to reduce the cost of living”, adding it had become “swollen” during the pandemic. | AFP