Russian Activist Writes Letters from Jail: Valimir Kara -Murza, who was sentenced to prison back in April for criticizing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, writes letters to BBC from jail. Valimir is an activist who has openly opposed President Putin and the atrocities committed by his military. Now, Valimir has been locked up and charged with treason. All the charges for him are for speaking out against the war and the President, yet his lawyer calculates he could face up to 24 years in jail. Originally, Valimir was arrested for disobeying a police officer, but once in custody, the charges started raining down. Valimir’s case is based on the speech he gave in Arizona where he said Russia was committing war crimes by bombing schools and hospitals. Russian investigators have declared that this was untrue and that “Ukraine’s civilization is not Russia’s target”. Last month, another charge was brought against Valimir for state treason. Following Valimir’s arrest, his wife and children moved to the US for their safety. His wife has taken over his activist work; speaking out about the war and her husband’s case.
Election Updates: The critics of the former president Trump have blamed him for not showing up much during this election. There has been strong indication that President Biden will run for re-election. Republicans are favored to win for the lower chamber of Congress as votes continued to be counted. History has shown that the party controlling the White House usually loses seats in a midterm election, and Democrats’ performance this year is considered the best for a sitting party in at least the last 20 years. A handful of party officials, including Nancy Pelosi, have declared their support for President Biden in the looming 2024 Presidential election.
War with Russia causing huge release of climate warming gas, claims Ukraine: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused a large amount of warming gases to be released in the atmosphere. This amount is equivalent to the addition of nearly 16 million cars to the UK’s roads for 2 years. In response to this, Ukraine is collecting evidence of environmental crimes to sue Russia. These claims also include the destruction of plant and animal life due to the emissions of 33 million tons of greenhouse gases that warms the Earth’s atmosphere. Ukraine’s environmental protection minister has made a statement saying, “Russia has turned our natural reserves into a military base. Because of the war, we will have to do even more to overcome the climate crisis”. Ukraine plans to find evidence to seek compensation for the damage Russia has caused. Ukraine says that Russia must bear all responsibility for their actions with the worsening climate crisis.