Hard to believe it’s the 10th anniversary of the start of
#Euromaidan
,
#Ukraine
’s Revolution of Dignity. Proud to have been there & to have witnessed such immense acts of heroism from ordinary people. Russia doesn’t stand a chance. Ukraine will never give up its independence. 🇺🇦
Doctors in
#Ukraine
’s 2nd city,
#Kharkiv
: “We live in HELL. The Russians are destroying everything: residential neighbourhoods, kindergartens, hospitals, even a blood transfusion station. Without the support of the whole world, we will not be able to cope with the invasion”. 🤬😢
I’m disgusted. At 8am last Monday, Russia murdered 5 people in this house in Kyiv, including a woman who was 6 months pregnant. As a cold winter sets in, Russia wants the west to lose interest in and care for
#Ukraine
. Never. Now’s the time to redouble our efforts against evil.🇺🇦
The Erasmus scheme. Over the years, I’ve observed it was largely used by comfortably-off students to fund years abroad and did very little to help those lacking generous parental support. Let’s not claim it was some egalitarian wonder. Hopefully the Turing Scheme addresses this.
The utterly confected anger on Twitter about the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for International Trade spending £1,400 on a lunch for 10 people with her US equivalent, the US Trade Representative, is among the most absurd things I’ve ever seen.
It certainly sounds to me that Russia has moved beyond any pretence of targeted strikes and towards their evil tried and tested methods deployed in
#Chechnya
: levelling cities to the ground with zero regard for innocent life. The barbarism of Putin’s Russia knows no bounds.
Why are the British media continually using the term “Chinese Taipei”? In the last hour alone, I’ve heard this silly term on the BBC, ITV and Times Radio alone. Let’s call it what it is: Taiwan. 🇹🇼
Standing on Hazelbourne Road in Clapham - one side in Tory-run Wandsworth, the other in Labour Lambeth. In
@Wandsworth
, Band D council tax is £866 & services rated
#1
in London. On the other side of the road, Labour charges £1660. On May 5th, vote
@Conservatives
🌳✖️
The British people are not obsessed with the British Empire and indeed it’s rarely mentioned at all. I am, however, tired of the numerous overseas commentators that are obsessed with the idea the British are obsessed with the British Empire.
Lots of media speculation about “whether Russia will invade
#Ukraine
”. Let’s be very clear on this: Russia has *already* invaded Ukraine. For 7 years, Russia has occupied the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts - 7% of a sovereign country, in Europe, in the 21st century.
George Blake has died. His legacy should not be romanticised as that of a “secret agent that got away” but as a traitor who betrayed his country to the Soviet Union and exposed the identities of hundreds of British informers, resulting in widespread torture and multiple deaths.
The attacks Azerbaijan has launched on
#Armenia
today are nothing short of outrageous. To launch missile strikes on villages far from the Karabakh conflict zone is a war crime. A muted reaction from western powers won’t do; intl pressure to end hostilities must be forthcoming.
In
@Wandsworth
, the choice couldn’t be more stark.
This is a street Hazelbourne Road, SW12. One side of the road is in Tory Wandsworth, the other in Labour Lambeth.
✅ Under
@Conservatives
, residents pay a total of £866 in council tax.
🤬 In Labour-run Lambeth, it’s £1660.
Standing on Hazelbourne Road in Clapham South. On the right of the road, in Tory-run Wandsworth, Band D council tax is £866 👍🏻 & services rated
#1
in London. On the left, Labour Lambeth charges £1660 for less😱. On 5th, vote
@Conservatives
🌳✖️💙
Compare the two records below👇
This photo, c/o
@AFP
, is astonishing. Rockets being fired into Israel and being neutralised by the Iron Dome. Thousands of lives are likely being saved by this amazing technology.
🚲 I appreciate this is hardly the second coming of Bradley Wiggins but I rode a bike on the streets of London for the first time today. It was one of those Lime/Uber electric ones so, yes, I cheated but it was a genuinely fun and interesting experience. Some thoughts... (🧵)
The tax-free threshold is going to be
£12,500 from April 2019. It was £6475 under Labour. Who’s really on the side of workers? Easy. The
@Conservatives
.
Hong Kong: once a beacon of freedom, now on the fast-track to becoming an oppressed backwater. Communist China has no respect for self-expression, democracy or human rights.
Petr Pavel, the President-elect of Czechia and former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, has probably the coolest campaign logo I’ve ever seen. 🇨🇿
Georgian: “Would you like something for breakfast?”
Me: “Just something very small, please. Dinner last night night was delicious but I’m still quite full. Maybe some fruit?”
Georgian: “Ok, sure...”
Speaking
@GLOBSEC
conference in Bratislava, Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili blamed the war in Ukraine on
@NATO
Enlargement. NATO enlargement and Ukraine’s determination to become member was one of the reasons for the war. “Therefore, we see the consequence,” he said.
Boris Johnson is PM of the world’s sixth-largest economy and was on his way to exercise his role as president-in-office of the G7 group of major industrialised democracies - a highly sensitive and military-grade secure gathering. Greta Thunberg is a sixth-former.
A few thoughts about the horrifying developments in
#NagornoKarabakh
this morning. A far away place most know little about - but a flashpoint that drags in Russia and Turkey on opposing sides and has big implications for energy security. (🧵)
What nonsense,
@Peston
. You've clearly forgotten about Lord Adonis (Transport Sec. under Brown), Lord Mandelson (Business Sec. under Brown) and Baroness Amos (DFID under Blair). Will you issue a retraction?
.
@NickyMorgan01
becomes first life peer in cabinet (apart from Lords leader) for decades. This is very old school in terms of our unwritten constitution
Baltic states - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia - have many ingredients that make them vulnerable to Russian irredentism: sizeable ethnic Russian populations, history of Soviet occupation & land borders with Russia. But they’re secure/protected. Why? NATO. Collective security matters.
A small but vocal crowd come to the main square in
#Batumi
each evening to demand Russia get out of
#Georgia
and
#Ukraine
. Great to join them this evening.🇬🇪 🇺🇦
Good luck and God speed to my many friends in
#Georgia
who are protesting to protect the country’s democracy against Bidzina Ivanishvili and Vladimir Putin - two cheeks of the same backside.
I don't think I've ever seen so many people on the streets of Georgia before.
This comes after Georgian Dream’s mass, Russian-style terror against its people, threats and intimidation via phone calls, arbitrary detentions, severe physical assaults and targeted smear campaigns.
Delighted to be elected as a member of
@Wandsworth
Borough Council for
#Balham
. Can’t wait to get to work with my amazing Conservative colleague
@LynseyHedges
. We’re only sorry we won’t have our friend Az Chaudhry alongside us. *Thank you* so much to everyone to supported us.
The reason there are more bankers earning over £1 million a year in the UK than in Germany, France, Italy and Spain is that the City is a world leading financial centre. More £1m a year bankers = more tax. Odd to see Labour decry UK financial services prowess.
#voodooeconomics
Trying out the new
#Skopje
to
#Pristina
highway for the first time. A seriously important and impressive piece of infrastructure which slashes journey from the
#Macedonia
and
#Kosovo
capitals from 2h30+ to 90 mins. Great for regional connectivity, trade & x-border families. 🇲🇰 🇽🇰
A quick information point for journalists that keep referring to
#Georgia
as an “ex-Soviet state”: sure, it was forced to be part of the Soviet Union for 70 years but, prior to that, was an independent democracy with minority rights & freedom of speech. Russia has never had that.
Twitter is full of photos of supermarkets with empty shelves. Every independent shop I've been to - newsagent, butcher, bakery etc. - seems to be fully-stocked. Prioritise using them - down the line, they're going to need the business far more.
Utterly absurd exit poll from
#Belarus
state broadcaster:
Lukashenko 79.7%
Tikhanovskaya 6.8%
Even by Lukashenko's dictatorial standards, these numbers lack credibility.
At a pub in Cheadle that is, as the law requires, entirely outdoor. Brilliant staff who’ve followed every rule. A group of police just turned up with clipboards for 20 mins to thoroughly inspect the tables and interior of the pub. Is this really the best use of police time?
So what Aliyev is saying here is that he intends
#Azerbaijan
to launch an incursion onto
#Armenia
’s sovereign territory and occupy it by force? To issue such a threat is outrageous and should be forcefully condemned by the international community.
Want to upload your UK NHS Covid pass to an EU-accepted app?
1. Download "Covid Tracker Ireland"
2. Open the PDF of your UK certificate
3. Scan the QR code from your *second* vaccination into the app
4. It'll instantly provide you with an EU certificate. Enjoy your break!🌞
I appreciate much of the above are the naive ramblings of a novice - but that pretty short ride taught me a good deal about cycling, why it’s easy and fun and how it can be made a bit safer. I’ll give it a go again at some point!
The Srebrenica comparison being used by Russia is outrageous. There is no physical or public policy risk to ethnic Russians or Russian speakers (around a 1/3 of the population) in
#Ukraine
. The politics of ethnic divisions has only been played by Moscow.
Incredible ad from the
#Ukraine
military. The sacrifices so many ordinary people have made to protect the very existence of their country from Russia’s efforts to terrorise and dismember Ukraine are truly humbling. Slava Ukraini, heryoim slava! 🇺🇦
A nice tribute to John McCain in central Tbilisi. Great to see
#Georgia
remember a friend that did so much to promote and defend their freedom and independence.
#RIPJohnMcCain
10 years ago tonight, Russian-backed forces in the
#Georgia
province of South Ossetia began expelling 20,000+ innocent people from their homes. In days that followed, Putin waged a ruinous war that resulted in annexation of 20% of Georgian sovereign territory. Never forget. 🇬🇪
No matter how many times I take of from Congonhas in
#SaoPaulo
, the scale of the city still blows me away. 23,000,000 people, the largest city in the southern hemisphere,
#Brazil
’s undisputed economic powerhouse and the world's seventh largest city by population 🇧🇷🚀
I suspect David Lammy’s comments are more the consequence of a lack of understanding about the recent history of Nagorno Karabakh than an attempt to cause offence but he nevertheless owes
#Armenia
a big apology. So many have lost so much.
One thing we certainly don’t need to see are tweets or articles talking of “Christian
#Armenia
” & “Muslim
#Azerbaijan
”. Conflict in
#NagornoKarabakh
is, yes, steeped in nationalism but has never, for either side, been a crusade or a jihad. Religion would further toxify debate.
80% of my journey (Tooting to Clapham, return) was in protected lanes, mostly coned off from normal traffic. 20% was with cars. There’s no prizes for guessing which felt safer. What seemed like a bit of a middle/class decadence to me before, I now see as crucial on busy roads.
It’s always been a mystery to me why Brussels has a reputation as a boring city and bad night out. It’s a great place - nice bars in pretty squares, good beer, hidden gems of restaurants dotted all around the city and lots of places open through to dawn. Give it a try! 🇧🇪
The sun just emerged on Brussels’ Parvis St Gilles and the whole square spontaneously applauded. That’s what a shitty spring and the end of six months of lockdown do to you I guess.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev today, at a newly opened exhibition displaying the helmets of Armenian soldiers killed in last year's Second Karabakh War
A short while ago, I crossed the border from Poland into
#Ukraine
. I’ll be here for the next few days and will post occasional videos. All countries have a duty to defend Ukraine in its hour of need & I hope I can raise some awareness of what things are like on the ground. 🇺🇦
I’ve now had a chance to go through the “economic normalisation” agreement between
#Serbia
🇷🇸 &
#Kosovo
🇽🇰 in detail and it’s fairly underwhelming. Lots of rehashed/reheated announcements. The White House 🇺🇸 has called this agreement “historic” - it isn’t. Some thoughts... (🧵)
After all the vile anti-Semitism their act has experienced, I felt it was only right I signed up to cast a
#Eurovision2024
vote - my first ever - for
#Israel
. Mazel tov, haters! 🇮🇱
I was amazed at the speed of getting from place to place. That shouldn’t be a revelation but it was. 5 tube stops in about ~15 minutes! Urban areas are actually pretty small as the crow flies and I can now see the attraction of biking over the car, bus or train. And it’s healthy!
One positive to come from this situation? The whole is world is finally learning what proud, resourceful, decent, indomitable and courageous people Ukrainians are. 🇺🇦
#Tbilisi
,
#Georgia
. It’s weird that a city you have zero connection with on paper or genetically can feel so totally like home. It’s brilliant to be back. If you haven’t been yet, why? 🇬🇪😎
No lack of passion from the Bolsonaro supporters outside the London polling station for the Brazilian presidential election in Hammersmith. 🇧🇷
#Eleicoes2022
Joint highest figure among current EU members. Rather puts to bed the tired narrative that the UK is somehow insular or innately opposes to immigration. 🇬🇧 🌐
Interesting stat I just heard: every single Republican gain in the House of Representatives this time was made by either female or minority (often both) candidates - among them Latinos, a Brazilian and Koreans. Picking the right candidate for the right district really paid off.
Gilocavt am shesanishnav dgesascauls to all my friends in
#Georgia
as you celebrate Independence Day. A remarkable country, culture and people that have endured such deprivations but always comes out stronger. Looking forward to being back in a few weeks! 🇬🇪
I’m thinking of starting a semi-regular newsletter (monthly or so) with interesting updates on what’s going on in the world - trends, must-read articles, upcoming elections, people to watch, great photos etc. Who’d be interested? 🌍
And we did! Hundreds of missiles and armed drones on their way to
#Ukraine
, on top of the Storm Shadow cruise missiles sent last week. I’ve rarely felt better about paying tax.
The people of the UK couldn’t be prouder to back Ukraine. 🇬🇧 🇺🇦
Slava Ukraini, heroyim slava! 🇺🇦 💪
My very best wishes to my friends in Ukraine in their hour of need. The UK will always stand with you in the face of Russian aggression.
Please RT to show 🇬🇧 support for Ukraine!
Not that it would ever happen but if Ireland did “prohibit the English language”, I’m fairly certain the UK wouldn’t launch rocket strikes on Dublin, shell villages in Dundalk, blow up key infrastructure in Galway or send special forces in to try and kill Michael D. Higgins.
'For example if in Ireland they prohibited the English language, what would the UK think about it? I can't imagine that a law like that would last for more than a couple of days..'
Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov attempting to justify invading Ukraine.. wha?
Why is
@GBNEWS
giving a platform to Calvin Robinson? From his description of the country as “The Ukraine” (a Russian anachronism) to advocating conspiracy theories about Orthodox Christians being persecuted, it’s clear he knows nothing about
#Ukraine
.
'One can see the wrong in Russia invading Ukraine, whilst also seeing that the Ukraine is far from perfect itself.'
Calvin Robinson calls for a prayer for peace to ’put an end to the bloodshed’ in Ukraine.
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