Latest News
- Russia authorises troop deployment abroad to protect citizens’ rights
- South Korea investigates Antarctic researcher for threatening colleague with knife
- Queen Margrethe admitted to hospital for angina, says royal house
- Queen Margrethe of Denmark remains in hospital for observation after heart attack
- Warsaw registers first same-sex marriage after court rulings on EU laws
- Ex-wife conspired to have father-of-two assassinated in acid attack | News UK
- Spain confirms 11 hantavirus cases linked to MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak
- NATO confirms US troop withdrawal from Germany does not affect defence plans
Hunt for Tube hero who gave blind man his shoes after he lost one through the gap The hunt is on find an ‘absolute hero’
Russia authorises troop deployment abroad to protect citizens’ rights
Troop Deployment Law
Russia’s lawmakers have passed a law allowing the Kremlin to deploy troops abroad to “protect Russian citizens,” effectively giving President Vladimir Putin the authority to invade other countries.
Russia’s lawmakers have passed a law allowing the Kremlin to deploy troops abroad to “protect Russian citizens,” effectively giving President Vladimir Putin the authority to invade other countries.
Legislative Authority
Russia’s new law permits military deployment to protect citizens abroad, reinforcing the Kremlin’s capacity to justify invasions, thus escalating geopolitical tensions in Europe.
Russia’s new law permits military deployment to protect citizens abroad, reinforcing the Kremlin’s capacity to justify invasions, thus escalating geopolitical tensions in Europe.
Official Reaction
“In these circumstances, it is important to do everything to ensure that our citizens abroad are protected,” stated Vyacheslav Volodin, chair of the Russian State Duma.
“In these circumstances, it is important to do everything to ensure that our citizens abroad are protected,” stated Vyacheslav Volodin, chair of the Russian State Duma.
Key developments
Russia’s State Duma has passed a law granting President Vladimir Putin authority to deploy troops abroad, justifying military intervention to “protect Russian citizens,” heightening concerns among European officials.
The legislation aims to safeguard the rights of Russians facing legal actions in foreign jurisdictions, a move seen as a means to counter growing “russophobia” abroad, according to Andrey Kartapolov.
In response to ongoing threats, various European nations, including Sweden, are reevaluating their defence strategies, sparking concerns over potential escalations in military tensions with Russia.
Russian parliament approves law allowing Putin to invade other countries
Published on
Russia’s lawmakers have passed a law formally authorising the Kremlin to deploy troops abroad to “protect Russian citizens,” giving Russian President Vladimir Putin the authority in practice to invade foreign countries.
According to the State Duma documents, the “bill was drafted to protect the rights of Russian citizens in the event of their arrest, detention, criminal or other prosecution pursuant to decisions of foreign courts vested with criminal jurisdiction by other foreign states without Russia’s participation.”
Vyacheslav Volodin, chair of the Russian State Duma, said that “Western ‘justice’ has turned into a repressive machine for dealing with those who disagree with the decisions imposed by European officials.”
“In these circumstances, it is important to do everything to ensure that our citizens abroad are protected.”
Putin used a false argument of “protecting Russian-speaking population and Russian citizens” for both his invasion of eastern Ukraine and the unilateral annexation of Crimea in 2014, and Moscow’s all-out war against Ukraine in early 2022.
Andrey Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defence Committee, claimed that the proposed legislation would “counter the campaign of rampant russophobia that continues abroad.”
The new bill adds fuel to European officials’ warnings that Russia poses a direct military threat to its neighbours.
Moscow’s continued missile and drone assaults on Ukraine have already seen Russian weapons breach NATO territory, driving European states to ramp up their defence capabilities in response.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested in April that Russia’s online crackdown and all the restrictive measures banning popular messengers may be a prelude to a mobilisation of conscripts and a new offensive, either against Ukraine or the Baltic countries.
Moscow itself issued numerous threats to the Baltics since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this week, the Swedish government said it would push forward with a plan to form a new spy agency targeting overseas threats, part of a wider rethink prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
October 12, 2024
6:18 am
‘Cheer up, you caught the bad guy,’ says killer Virginia McCullough as she is arrested for murdering her parents
A woman who murdered her parents “in cold blood” before hiding them in makeshift tombs for four years told officers to “cheer up, you caught the bad guy” as she was arrested in her home.
Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her father John McCullough, 70, with prescription medication and fatally stabbed her mother Lois McCullough, 71, shortly afterwards in 2019.
She ran up large debts on credit cards in her parents’ names and after their deaths, she continued to spend their pensions until she was finally caught in 2023.
In body-worn video footage released by police, a handcuffed – and eerily calm – McCullough told officers: “I did know that this would kind of come eventually.
“It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”
She said she had slipped something into her father’s drink then put his body under a bed on the ground floor, and put her mother’s body in an upstairs wardrobe.
McCullough, having been arrested on suspicion of double murder, told an officer: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
She added: “I know I don’t seem 100% evil.”
At the police station, she told officers where a kitchen knife was, which she described as a “murder weapon”, and a hammer which she said “will still have blood on it”.
McCullough, of Pump Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday with a minimum term of 36 years at Chelmsford Crown Court, after she admitted to their murders between 17 and 20 June 2019 at an earlier hearing at the same court.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how she hid their bodies in makeshift tombs at the family home in Great Baddow in Essex, then told persistent lies to cover her tracks.
The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and frequently told doctors and relatives her parents were unwell, on holiday or away on lengthy trips.
But concerns over Mr and Mrs McCullough’s welfare were raised in September 2023 by a GP at their registered practice, and Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred these to police.
The GP had not seen the couple for some time and said Mr McCullough had failed to collect medication and attend scheduled appointments. It was found McCullough had frequently cancelled appointments, using a range of excuses to explain her father’s absence.
Police said a missing persons investigation was initially launched and McCullough lied to officers, claiming her parents were travelling and would be returning in October.
It became a murder investigation, and when officers forced entry to the house in Pump Hill on September 15 2023, McCullough confessed that her parents’ bodies were in the house and that she had killed them.
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address.
“She spent the next four years manipulating and lying to family members, medical staff, financial institutions, and the police, spending her parents’ money and accruing large debts in their name.”
She added: “This was a truly disturbing case, which has left behind it a trail of devastation, and I can only hope that the sentence passed today will help those who loved and cared for Lois and John begin to heal.”
To downplay the genocide, the israelis claim there’s only 20,000 people left in north Gaza, says
@MahaGaza
: the real number exceeds 400,000
Man of the right wing Nigel Farage taking more second jobs and freebie helicopter rides
Gosh he’ll soon be a true blue Tory at this rate
Or far far worse
The cost-of-living crisis is far from over, yet the government’s 50% increase to the bus fare cap is a political choice, adding hundreds to annual costs.
To address hardship & the climate crisis, the government must keep the £2 cap & make public transport accessible for all.
G20 waters down support for Ukraine amid pressure for peace talks
The Tech Titan Who Led His Company From a 68-Square-Foot Jail Cell
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
Defense alliance NATO chief Mark Rutte has met US President-elect Donald Trump to discuss global security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson.
The meeting took place in Palm Beach, Florida.
During his first term as US president, 2017-2020, Trump pushed for European NATO countries to spend more on defense and described the alliance’s cost-sharing as unfair to the US.
Rutte took over as NATO chief from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg in November.
Before taking office in January, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth for the post of defense secretary, which has raised eyebrows among many allies.
Hegseth, 44, has served as an infantry captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has no senior military or government officer experience.
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
November 23, 2024
8:17 am
Multiple missiles were fired in an airstrike towards a densely populated part of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday.
The huge airstrike targeted Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood, and no prior warnings were given by the Israeli military. The largely residential area was struck last month.
At least one violent explosion was heard across the city, Reuters witnesses said, and plumes of smoke could be seen. Scenes of massive destruction at the site were shared online, including a massive crater in the ground.
“Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in Basta,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
The health ministry put the initial death toll at four, with 23 wounded. The number is expected to climb in the coming hours as search and rescue efforts continue.
It came after a long day of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been non-stop since last week.
The cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group escalated into a full-blown war in mid-September.
Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the eastern Beqaa region, and has sent ground troops across the border. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets deeper into Israel.
What to Watch
Amazon prime - TV & Netflix
We give you the best picks to binge on this week.
What to Watch
Love Sports
Get your pizza ordered with the latest Live Sports schedule.
- Good News
Add A Comment
© 2026 WTX News.