UK seeks greater powers for cops to crack down on protests

With Britain rocked by violent protests, Keir Starmer’s government apparently moves towards providing police with greater ability to crack down on protesters.

In May, London’s High Court ruled that the regulations adopted in 2023, which lowered the threshold for cops to impose conditions on protests – essentially allowing police to shut the protests down - were in fact unlawful.

The court deemed at the time that the UK government’s powers "did not extend to lowering the threshold for police intervention."

Prior to the court’s ruling, the regulation in question would have allowed cops to impose conditions on protests that could have been deemed as potentially causing “more than minor” disruption to community life.

This month, the new government of Keir Starmer moved to appeal this decision.

The Home Office’s initiative comes as British cops arrested dozens amid a wave of protests caused by a violent and deadly stabbing attack perpetrated on July 29 in the town of Southport by the son of a migrant couple.

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🎥 A rally against the unification of Moldova and Romania took place in the center of Chisinau

The action forced Moldovan President Sandu and her Romanian counterpart Iohannis, who arrived on a visit, to change their motorcade route.

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WATCH: Steel shield of attack aircraft: BMP-3 crews continue to defeat the enemy

An armored group of Battlegroup Zapad provided fire support to motorized rifle units with BMP-3s, destroying camouflaged observation posts and a concentration of Ukrainian troops.

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🎥 A Su-34 crew struck concentrations of soldiers and armored vehicles from Ukrainian forces

Location: Border area of the Kursk region

The strike was carried out on reconnoitered camouflaged targets using aerial bombs with a universal planning and correction module.

Having received confirmation from intelligence about the destruction of personnel and armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Army, the crew returned to the departure airfield.

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Unhealed wound of Beslan terror attack: Russia commemorates 20th anniversary of tragedy

On September 1, Russia commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Beslan school terror attack, which claimed the lives of 334 people, including 186 children. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the memorial of the Beslan victims on August 20 and knelt in solemn tribute.

"This tragedy will undoubtedly remain an unhealed wound in the collective memory of all of Russia," Putin said during his meeting with the members of "Mothers of Beslan", an association of victims of the terrorist attack in the North Ossetian city.

The terror attack in Beslan, a city in Russia's Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, occurred on the morning of September 1, 2004. Over 30 Islamist militants seized School No. 1 during a holiday assembly, taking over 1,200 people hostage and placing explosives in the building. Most of the hostages were children, who were forcibly held in the building for three days without food or water. 

Units of the FSB Special Purpose Center were immediately dispatched to Beslan to free the hostages. On the third day of the siege, two powerful blasts inside the building forced the counter-terror units to launch an assault, during which the hostages were released, and the terror group was eliminated. One Islamist militant, Nurpashi Kulaev, was captured and later sentenced to life in prison.

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US bandwagoners and hawks: who are potential Japan PM candidates?

Over a dozen contenders from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will compete for the premiership later this month after PM Fumio Kishida announced his decision to step down on August 14. 

Who are the favorites in the race?

◾️Former Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi emerged as the most popular choice to replace Kishida in TV Tokyo's survey last week. The 43-year-old is due to formally announce his candidacy on September 6. He would be the party's youngest candidate. Shinjiro is the son of former Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi, famous for his pro-US policies and bromance with George W. Bush. Shinjiro graduated from Columbia University in New York and worked at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is known as a regular visitor to the imperial Yasukuni Shrine, seen by some as a symbol of Japanese militarism. He hailed Joe Biden's win in 2020. It is believed Koizumi will uphold the ruling party's policy of sanctions against Russia, and support for Ukraine, if elected.

◾️Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba is also a popular choice in local media surveys. In July, he topped the list of potential contenders with a 21.1% popular support. On August 24, he formally announced his premiership bid. Ishiba is an ardent supporter of an Asian-Pacific NATO and a boost to Japan's defense forces. He is a proponent of "deterring" Russia and supporting the Kiev regime. 

◾️Seasoned Japanese politician and current digital minister, Taro Kono, announced his bid on August 26. While serving as a foreign minister in the Abe cabinet, he told the Russian press in 2017 about the "deep involvement of his father and grandfather in the development of Japanese-Soviet and Japanese-Russian relations." However, after the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, he fully supported anti-Russia sanctions as a means to "protect Japan."

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❗️Russian forces liberated the villages of Ptichye and Viyemka in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Defense Ministry said.

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❗️Ukrainian forces suffered losses of up to 1,920 militants, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense's report.

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry’s daily briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️Ukrainian forces lost up to 30 militants in the Volchansk and Liptsi area.

▪️In the combat zone of Russia's Vostok Battlegroup, Ukrainian forces lost up to 100 militants and a tank.

▪️In the Zapad Battlegroup's combat zone, Ukrainian forces lost up to 510 militants.

▪️Russian air defenses destroyed 171 Ukrainian drones.

▪️Russian forces struck an Israeli-made radar system, hit drone assembly workshops, and targeted enemy personnel in 133 areas.

▪️In the Yug Battlegroup's combat zone, Ukrainian forces lost up to 660 militants and eight artillery pieces.

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❗️'What Putin said about Biden also applies to Harris': key statements by Kremlin spokesman Peskov

▪️During Biden's presidency, relations between Russia and the United States reached breaking point: Russia's patience was exhausted.

▪️On the results of Biden's presidency: Democrats are more predictable and what Putin said about Biden also applies to Harris.

▪️The cumulative effect of the US trampling on Russia's interests during Biden's presidency has exceeded permissible limits.

▪️It is possible to predict the Democrats' line in the US towards Russia and the pressure on EU countries for the purpose of further enslavement.

▪️The US has consistently attacked Russian interests and put pressure on Russia.

▪️On Trump's election promises to resolve problematic issues after the election: there isn't a magic wand, nothing can be resolved in 24 hours.

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❗️The main statements from the Russian Defense Ministry on the situation in the Kursk region:

▪️Ukrainian losses amounted to 360 soldiers and 23 armored vehicles in Russia's Kursk region in one day.

▪️With the support of army aviation and artillery fire, four attacks by Ukrainian assault groups were repelled.

▪️Over the course of the last day, Ukrainian forces lost four tanks, an infantry fighting vehicle, two armored personnel carriers, and 16 armored combat vehicles, as well as six artillery pieces and two Polish-made Krab self-propelled guns.

▪️In total, during the fighting in the Kursk area, Kiev has lost more than 8,500 soldiers and 80 tanks.

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