SWS News Center

CNN  —  British and German fighter jets intercepted a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace Friday, according to a statement from the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF). It was the second such encounter this week, as NATO carries out joint air policing efforts in the region. The two Typhoon jets intercepted “a Russian military Tu-134 passenger jet, known by the NATO name Crusty, that was being escorted by two Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter jets, and an AN-12 Cub military transport aircraft,” the RAF said. The news comes amid renewed public appeals by Ukrainian leaders for western fighter jets. They say the jets are needed urgently to defend against Russian missiles and drone attacks. But NATO allies are unlikely to send more advanced jets to Ukraine, defense experts have told CNN. An interception of this kind is not atypical for NATO aircraft, but the joint air policing mission is a…

William Hill: Gambling addict says bookmaker didn't help him stop - BBC News Source

London CNN  —  Next week could mark the beginning of the end of Boris Johnson’s political career. It’s a remarkable turnaround for the man who four years ago won the largest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher dominated UK politics in the 1980s. Johnson will give televised evidence to a parliamentary committee investigating whether he deliberately misled Parliament when he denied that any lockdown rules had been broken in 10 Downing Street, then his official residence and place of work as prime minister, during the Covid pandemic. Though he is no longer leader, Johnson still looms large over the governing Conservative party – and is still a headache for the current PM, Rishi Sunak.  His resignation as prime minister followed a seemingly endless cycle of scandals which, according to repeated polls, left him deeply unpopular in the country at large. Despite this, there are still some – albeit far fewer than a year ago – vocal Johnson supporters within the…

Mohammed Al-Khashali is the owner of the century-old Shabandar Café in Baghdad. A terrorist explosion in 2007 on the cafe's street killed five of his children. Their faces are shown in pictures hanging on the wall. Salam Karim/Daylight Updated 0444 GMT (1244 HKT) March 19, 2023 By Christina Zdanowicz, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Will Lanzoni and Brett Roegiers, CNNA shopkeeper squeezes fresh orange juice. A man sits while his cat sunbathes on a motorcycle. Two girls play with their new umbrellas.These street scenes paint a picture of how life has changed in Iraq in the 20 years since the United States invaded the country in 2003.A year after the start of the Iraq War, Michael Itkoff — an American studying photography at the time — had an idea. He sent 20 disposable cameras to a photojournalist working in Iraq and asked for the cameras to be distributed to citizens.He wanted to capture…

CNN  —  Millions of dead fish have washed up in a river near a small Australian town, in a phenomenon state officials say is related to the “heatwave conditions” that are sweeping the country. Video emerged this week showing masses of dead fish floating at the Menindee Weir pool near Broken Hill, CNN affiliate 9News Australia reported. “Significant volumes” of fish, including carp and bony herring, along with nutrients and organic matter from the flood plain, have been forced back up the river due to the hot weather, according to the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in New South Wales. “These fish deaths are related to low oxygen levels in the water (hypoxia) as flood waters recede,” it explained in a statement this week. “This event is ongoing as a heatwave… continues to put further stress on a system that has experienced extreme conditions from wide-scale flooding,” the DPI said.…

Six Nations: Ireland beat England 29-16 to win Grand Slam - highlightsWhen you break down the stars that aligned for Ireland's fourth Grand Slam success, it could easily be passed off as the end of a journey. St Patrick's Day weekend. In Dublin. Against England. Johnny Sexton's final Six Nations appearance. It played out like a Hollywood ending, but Ireland insist this is only just the beginning. "They're a great group, great management team and great bunch of players," said Sexton, who broke Ronan O'Gara's scoring record, went off injured and lifted the Six Nations trophy on an eventful day for the 37-year-old in Dublin. "I said in the dressing room that it's not the end. There's plenty more left in this team."It's hard to argue with Sexton. While he will draw the curtain on an illustrious career after the World Cup in the autumn, the players who shone brightest…

Rome, Italy CNN  —  Hundreds took to the streets of Milan on Saturday to protest against moves by Italy’s new right-wing government to restrict the rights of same-sex parents. The demonstration, called “Hands Off Our Sons and Daughters,” took place in the historical Piazza della Scala pedestrian square and was organized by LGBTQ+ groups across the country. “You explain to my son that I am not his mother,” read one protest sign. Others held up ballpoint pens, used to sign birth registrations, in protest. Also present at the protests was Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala, who had earlier tweeted his support of same-sex families. Organizers estimated around 10,000 people took part while Milan city officials gave more modest estimates of hundreds. In 2016 Italy became the last country in Europe to legalize same-sex unions but it still does not recognize “stepchildren adoption” or surrogacy, which rights groups say is because of…

Tokyo, Japan CNN  —  US strategic bombers took part in joint air drills with South Korean forces on Sunday, the same day as North Korea carried out a suspected ballistic missile test, according to the South Korean military. The exercise featured US B-1B strategic bombers, F-35A stealth fighters from the South Korean Air Force and F-16 fighters of the US Air Force, and was part of the Freedom Shield joint exercise, the military said in a press release. News of the exercise came on the same day as North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, shortly after 11 a.m. local time, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defense and the South Korean army. However, the South Korean Defense Ministry would not confirm if the air training drill with the US bombers took place before or after the missile launch. “The South Korea-US…

CNN  —  A farmers’ protest party in the Netherlands has caused a shock after winning provincial elections this week just four years after their founding. Could their rise have wider implications? The Farmer-Citizen Movement or BoerburgerBeweging (BBB) grew out of mass demonstrations against the Dutch government’s environmental policies, protests that saw farmers using their tractors to block public roads. The BBB is now set to become the largest party in the Dutch senate. The developments have thrown the Dutch government’s ambitious environmental plans into doubt and are being watched closely by the rest of Europe. The movement was powered by ordinary farmers but has become an unlikely front in the culture wars. Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen have voiced support, while some in the far right see the movement as embodying their ideas of elites using green policies to trample on the rights of individuals. On Wednesday, the Farmer-Citizen…

Ukraine war: Putin pays visit to occupied Mariupol, state media reports - BBC News Source