Briefly

RUSSIA

Cafe attack suspect charged with terrorism

Russian investigators on Tuesday charged Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old resident of St. Petersburg, with terrorist offenses over the killing of military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a bomb blast. Russian authorities described the bombing as an act of terrorism and blamed Ukrainian intelligence agencies for orchestrating it. Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, died on Sunday in a cafe where he was due to talk. The Investigative Committee said it had charged Trepova with committing "a terrorist act by an organized group that caused intentional death". The charges carry a maximum jail term of 20 years. Russia's Health Ministry said 42 others had been injured in the blast, and 24 were still in hospital as of late Tuesday.

NEW ZEALAND

Ex-PM Ardern to fight online extremism

Jacinda Ardern, who stepped down as New Zealand's prime minister in January, will begin an unpaid role this month combating online extremism. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced on Tuesday that he had appointed Ardern as Special Envoy for the Christchurch Call. Ardern has declined to receive any remuneration as special envoy, and will commence her role on April 17, Hipkins said. Ardern delivered her final speech to parliament before bowing out on Wednesday. Ardern launched the Christchurch Call with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019, two months after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

UNITED STATES

Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy

Virgin Orbit, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday after the satellite launching business struggled to secure long-term funding following a failed launch in January. The filing comes less than two years after Virgin Orbit went public at a valuation of roughly $3 billion. But the January mishap left the company scrambling for new funding and forced it to halt operations. The company, which was spun off from space tourism firm Virgin Galactic in 2017, sends satellites into orbit using rockets launched from a modified Boeing 747 plane.

UNITED KINGDOM

Environment workers to strike for 4 days

Thousands of workers employed by the British government's Environment Agency in England are set to strike for four days this month over a pay dispute, a union representing them said on Wednesday. In a statement, Unison, the public service union, said it was taking industrial action as ministers did not make any attempt to invite the unions for pay talks despite months of strikes. Teachers in England rejected the government's latest pay offer on Monday and the National Education Union has scheduled one-day strikes for April 27 and May 2.

Agencies - Xinhua