crimeschneck

MOSCOW, June 11 (Reuters) - A court in western Russia said on Wednesday it had ruled that opposition politician Lev Shlosberg be placed under house arrest for two months and face unspecified restrictions on his activities at the request of state prosecutors.

Shlosberg was detained on Tuesday and charged with discrediting the Russian army after describing the war in Ukraine as a game of "bloody chess", his party said. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted in a trial.

The 61-year-old made the comment in a video debate in January in which he urged an end to the war. The liberal Yabloko party, of which Shlosberg is a senior member, said his arrest was linked to those remarks. He denies the charge, it said.

Shlosberg's lawyer declined to comment on Wednesday when contacted by Reuters.

The court service of the Pskov region, which borders Estonia, on Wednesday published an image of Shlosberg at a court hearing standing up inside a courtroom cage.

It noted that the authorities had already designated Shlosberg "a foreign agent," a label which carries negative Soviet-era connotations and complicates designees' lives.

Nikolai Rybakov, the head of Yabloko, said Shlosberg was innocent and being persecuted unfairly for speaking out against the Kremlin's actions.

"Lev is not inciting violence, is not spreading lies, is not breaking the law," Rybakov, who was in Pskov to support his colleague, said on Telegram.

"He speaks of peace because he is convinced that the life of every human being has the highest value."

Shlosberg is one of relatively few opposition politician remaining in the country. He faces a separate trial for failing to comply with the law on "foreign agents".

• Summary
• Takes total government investment to 17.8 billion pounds
• Project will supply 6 million homes with electricity
• Total expected cost of the project not revealed

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - Britain will invest a further 14.2 billion pounds ($19.25 billion) to build the Sizewell C nuclear plant in southeast England, the government said on Tuesday, as part of its wider spending review which will define its priorities over the next four years.

Britain is seeking to build new nuclear plants to replace its ageing fleet to boost its energy security, reach its climate targets and also create new jobs.

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The funding announced on Tuesday takes the total amount the government has committed to the project to 17.8 billion pounds, with 3.6 billion pounds invested prior to the spending review.

"This Labour Government is launching a new era of nuclear power here in Britain," Chancellor Rachel Reeves told a trade union conference on Tuesday, calling the investment the biggest rollout of nuclear power in a generation.

The Sizewell C plant in Suffolk is expected to create around 10,000 jobs during the peak of construction, and produce enough electricity to power around 6 million homes when built.

Britain has been seeking to bring new investors into the project but Tuesday's announcement did not mention any other parties.

The government has not said how much the project is expected to cost in total or given a date for when it is expected to be completed.

"With the continued secrecy about Sizewell C's total cost, how can voters decide whether the 18 billion pounds pledged to Sizewell C is a good use of their money?" said Alison Downes of campaign group Stop Sizewell C.

It would be only the second new nuclear plant built in Britain in more than two decades, after French state-owned EDF's Hinkley Point C which has had several delays and cost overruns and is currently expected to start operations in 2029, with an estimated cost of between 31 and 34 billion pounds at 2015 prices.

EDF initially said Sizewell C would be around 20% cheaper than Hinkley C.

Simone Rossi, CEO of EDF in the UK welcomed the British government's decision to go ahead with Sizewell C and said: "It is also a vote of confidence in Hinkley Point C, which has re-started the UK nuclear industry and built the experience and skills that will benefit Sizewell C."

Sizewell C was originally being developed by EDF and China's General Nuclear Power Group but the government bought out the Chinese firms stake in 2022 amid security concerns.

The UK government's stake was 83.8% and EDF's stake was 16.2% at the end of December, EDF financial results showed in February with EDF's stake expected to decrease following Tuesday's announcement.

The project's developer last December told Reuters there were five investors involved in a bidding process.

($1 = 0.7378 pounds)

PRAGUE (AP) — A court in the Czech capital sentenced a Colombian national to eight years in prison on Monday for an arson attack and planning another one, in a case which authorities believe may be linked to Russia.

Prague’s Municipal Court also ordered Andrés Alfonso de la Hoz de la Cruz to pay damages worth 115,000 koruna ($5,300).

The court approved a plea agreement between prosecutors and the defendant, who pleaded guilty.

The 26-year-old Colombian was arrested a year ago after setting ablaze three Prague public buses at a depot at night. The court said that he recorded what he did and left.

Local workers managed to extinguish the fire.

The court said the man received orders on the Telegram messaging app and was promised $3,000. He was also planning one more attack, possibly at a movie theater in Prague.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala previously said the failed arson attack was likely part of Russia’s hybrid war against his country.

Czechia, which is more widely known in English as the Czech Republic, is a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s full scale-invasion.

Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since Moscow launched all-out war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, according to data collected by The Associated Press.

They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine.