MOSCOW: Russia said Monday it was expelling two British “diplomats” on suspicion of carrying out espionage activities.
Announcing the expulsion of the embassy’s second secretary and husband of the first secretary, Russia’s FSB security service said “counterintelligence work had revealed an undeclared British intelligence presence under the cover of the national embassy.”
It said the two “deliberately provided false information when obtaining a permit to enter our country, thus violating Russian legislation.”
The UK did not immediately respond to the allegation.
The Russian foreign ministry has revoked their accreditations and ordered them to leave Russia within two weeks, the FSB said.
The ministry also summoned an embassy representative in connection with the allegations, it said in a post on Telegram.
Relations between Moscow and London have been strained by intelligence scandals throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin’s quarter-century in power.
The UK accused Moscow of being behind the 2006 assassination of former Russian agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in a London poisoning attack.
And in 2018, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian embassy officials they said were spies over the attempted poisoning of former double agent, Sergei Skripal, with Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
Monday’s announcement came as Russia shifts blame for the Ukraine conflict away from the United States to Europe, as US President Donald Trump’s administration seeks closer ties with the Kremlin.
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Russia says expelling two British ‘diplomats’ on spying charges
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Russia says expelling two British ‘diplomats’ on spying charges
- Foreign ministry has revoked their accreditations and ordered them to leave Russia within two weeks
- The ministry also summoned an embassy representative in connection with the allegations
Fire burning in southwestern Japan damages 170 homes and forces evacuations
TOKYO: Firefighters and army helicopters were battling a fire Wednesday that has burned through a neighborhood in southwestern Japan and forced more than 170 people to evacuate.
At least 170 homes have been damaged or burned down and a man in his 70s was unaccounted for, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
The fire started during strong winds Tuesday evening near a fishing port in the city of Oita and spread to a forest. Oita is on the southern main island of Kyushu.
Japanese television footage by midday showed smoke still rising from swaths of land filled with burned-down and damaged houses, though orange flames were no longer visible.
One resident told Kyodo News Agency she quickly fled without many of her belongings because the fire “spread in the blink of an eye.”
Dozens of fire engines and more than 200 firefighters were mobilized to battle the fire, which still was not fully under control nearly 20 hours after it started.
The Ground Self-Defense Force dispatched two UH1 army helicopters to join the firefighting effort.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in a statement she posted on X, offered her sympathy for those affected by the fire and pledged to “provide maximum support” for them.
At least 170 homes have been damaged or burned down and a man in his 70s was unaccounted for, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
The fire started during strong winds Tuesday evening near a fishing port in the city of Oita and spread to a forest. Oita is on the southern main island of Kyushu.
Japanese television footage by midday showed smoke still rising from swaths of land filled with burned-down and damaged houses, though orange flames were no longer visible.
One resident told Kyodo News Agency she quickly fled without many of her belongings because the fire “spread in the blink of an eye.”
Dozens of fire engines and more than 200 firefighters were mobilized to battle the fire, which still was not fully under control nearly 20 hours after it started.
The Ground Self-Defense Force dispatched two UH1 army helicopters to join the firefighting effort.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, in a statement she posted on X, offered her sympathy for those affected by the fire and pledged to “provide maximum support” for them.
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