US formally accuses Russia of war crimes in Ukraine
The US has now formally accused Russian forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine and has said it will pursue accountability “using every tool available”. The announcement came as Joe Biden left for a trip to Europe to support western unity in the face of an increasingly brutal invasion. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said that the US had come to its conclusion using both public and intelligence sources.
UK living standards ‘to fall at fastest rate since mid-1950s’
Living standards in Britain are expected to fall at the fastest annual rate since the mid-1950s and it is predicted that it will take until at least 2024 to return to pre-Covid levels, according to the government’s independent economic forecaster. Despite the measures announced by Rishi Sunak in his spring statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility said real household disposable incomes per person would fall by 2.2% in 2022-23 as people’s earnings from work fail to keep pace with soaring inflation. It said that the fall would be the biggest in a single financial year since modern records began in 1956-57, and that it would take until 2024-25 for inflation-adjusted living standards to return to their pre-pandemic level.
World leaders meet over Russia’s invasion in Ukraine
World leaders are in Brussels for a round of emergency summits of NATO, the European Council and the G7 as they seek to align their responses to Russia’s invasion. Their leaders are expected to announce new sanctions and additional military assistance for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky told NATO in an address that his country needs just a fraction of the alliance’s combined firepower.
And if you need to hear something more positive to round off your week…
Beavers reintroduced to London
Beavers are now roaming riverbanks in London again after an absence of more than four centuries. Two of the animals – a male and a female – were released into a six-hectare enclosure in Enfield, north London, on Thursday. The pair are currently nameless, but Justin Beaver and Sigourney Beaver have been proposed as names. The public will be invited to vote for their preference.
