Ukrainian President Calls for Regime Change in Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western nations to advocate for a regime change in Russia as a necessary measure to mitigate ongoing “Russian aggression.” This assertion was made during a conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Accords, an agreement focused on security and cooperation among states, reports 24brussels.
Zelensky emphasized the need for stronger actions from Western allies to counter Russia’s provocations. He warned that as long as the current Russian leadership remains, the country will continue to destabilize its neighbors. “If the world doesn’t aim to change the regime in Russia, then even if the war ends, Russia will still seek to undermine its neighbors,” he stated, urging for the seizure of Russian assets to fund military efforts against Russia.
In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the West for what he perceives as a betrayal of the principles of the Helsinki Accords, which he claims has contributed to the escalation of conflict. He dismissed accusations regarding Russia’s intentions towards NATO and the EU as “nonsense” and condemned the increasing militarization of the European Union, labeling it a descent into a “Fourth Reich.”
President Vladimir Putin has echoed these sentiments, accusing Western nations of misleading their citizens to justify excessive military expenditures amid economic struggles. Despite expressing a readiness for negotiation, Russia has criticized Ukraine and its Western allies for their lack of interest in reaching a lasting resolution, attributing this deadlock to Ukraine’s denial of the territorial realities surrounding the conflict.
The ongoing war in Ukraine has been characterized by significant regional instability, with various nations closely monitoring the situation as diplomatic efforts continue to falter.
Nafi Thiam Returns to Competition at Belgian Athletics Championships
Heptathlete Nafi Thiam will make her first appearance in a year this weekend at the Belgian Athletics Championships in Brussels. Alongside Thiam’s comeback, her teammates will be hoping to qualify for next month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, reports 24brussels.
Thiam will compete in the 100m hurdles and the long jump. She has not participated in any events since August 2024, after securing her third Olympic gold medal in Paris.
The World Championships, scheduled from September 13-21, represent Thiam’s primary focus. She aims to clinch her third heptathlon world title in Tokyo, having previously won in 2017 and 2022.
Seeking Qualification
So far, 17 Belgian athletes have qualified for the World Championships, with 12 of them set to participate in the meeting at the King Baudouin Stadium this weekend.
Elise Vanderelst and Jana Van Lent will compete in the 5,000m race. Vanderelst has already secured a spot in the 1,500m but favors the 5,000m distance. Paulien Couckuyt is scheduled to run the 400m hurdles while Naomi Van den Broeck will compete in the 400m.
In men???s events, Eliott Crestan and Ruben Verheyden will participate in the 800m. Alexander Doom is set to run the 200m, Daniel Segers the 400m, and Pieter Sisk the 1,500m. Ben Broeders will compete in the pole vault.
Injuries have sidelined heptathlete Noor Vidts and middle-distance runner Jochem Vermeulen, while Isaac Kimeli will also miss the event. Marathon runners Bashir Abdi and Koen Naert are not expected to compete either.
Additionally, 15 athletes still seeking World Championship qualifications through rankings will compete, aiming for strong performances to enhance their standings.
In the women’s events, Rani Rosius and Delphine Nkansa will compete in the 100m, Imke Vervaet in the 200m, and Helena Ponette in the 400m.
The men’s squad includes Michael Obasuyi and Elie Bacari in the 110m hurdles, Jonathan Sacoor in the 400m, and Thomas Carmoy and Jef Vermeiren in the high jump.
Thiam is also expected to take part in the high jump during the Memorial Van Damme at the same venue on August 22.
Former shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said ministers must be frank about ‘really big decisions’ in autumn budget
Good morning and welcome to the UK politics blog. My name is Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news lines throughout the day.
We start with news that the Treasury should consider a wealth tax to close the growing gap in the public finances, according to a Labour former shadow chancellor.
Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, defended the fact that the government’s plan for recognising Palestinian statehood does not involve firm “conditions” being placed on Hamas, saying the government could not make the decision conditional on what Hamas does because it does not negotiate with terrorist organisations.
Palestine Action Group Muloobinba accuses police of ‘bullying tactics’ after cancellation of the Make Some Noise charity event, the second such incident in a week
A pro-Palestine fundraising gig planned at a Newcastle pub on Friday night was cancelled after police warned a “credible threat” had been made against the venue – but organisers say they have been left in the dark.
The Palestine Action Group Muloobinba (PAGM) has accused police of “bullying tactics” after the cancellation of the Make Some Noise charity event at the Hamilton Station hotel, from which all proceeds were meant to go towards aid for Gaza.
A man has been charged with child abuse offences after allegedly inappropriate images were inadvertently displayed during a university lecture, Victoria police have said.
Police said in a statement that detectives from the Melbourne sexual offence and child abuse investigation team had charged a 70-year-old man after a lengthy investigation.
James Van Der Beek, 48, was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023. He’s spreading the word about the importance of early screenings.
Guardant Health
For years, James Van Der Beek was invested in optimizing his health.
“I was doing everything,” Van Der Beek, 48, told Business Insider. “I was doing sauna, cold plunge, weightlifting, Pilates. I would dance and also do football training.”
The “Dawson’s Creek” actor balanced strength training with cardio and ate mostly organic food, “doing all the biohacking things” to stay fit, he said.
“It didn’t feel like a real symptom of anything,” he said. “It wasn’t anything that made me rush off to go get screened.”
Van Der Beek kept an active lifestyle leading up to his diagnosis.
Guardant Health
When it persisted, he got a colonoscopy. At 46, he was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. He waited over a year into treatment before sharing the news publicly in late 2024.
While he wishes he’d gotten screened sooner, he said that even in 2023, his options were more limited. It wasn’t until 2024 that the Shield blood test, one of a growing number of tests that can spot colon cancer signs from a simple blood draw, was FDA-approved.
Van Der Beek, who said he will likely be dealing with cancer for the rest of his life, is now promoting the test to encourage people to get screened earlier, especially as colon cancer cases are rising in patients under the age of 50. He also hopes to raise awareness around symptoms and urge people to get screened as soon as they hit 45, the recommended screening age.
“The ‘could-have, should-have’ train is a black hole,” Van Der Beek said. “But don’t let my ‘could-haves’ become yours. That’s my biggest message.”
A shocking start to a new life
In 2020, Van Der Beek and his family moved from Los Angeles to Austin. He took a break from acting for a few years and kept busy raising six children alongside his wife, Kimberly.
It took time to get settled. While Van Der Beek qualified for an annual colon cancer screening at 45, he said he didn’t get a colonoscopy at that point because he was still sorting out his new healthcare situation. He also didn’t know that the screening guidelines had changed in 2021, lowering the recommended age from 50 to 45.
Getting diagnosed with late-stage cancer in 2023 was a shock, Van Der Beek said, one he’s still processing two years later. “It really took a while to set in,” he said. “The reality still sets in stages; there are so many unknowns.”
“All these beautiful things that I love, and I used to define myself as — a father, a provider, a husband — all that got taken away, or at least paused.”
Van Der Beek said his “lowest point” in treatment was feeling like he was losing core parts of his identity.
“All these beautiful things that I love, and I used to define myself as — a father, a provider, a husband — all that got taken away, or at least paused,” he said. “I had to sit there and say, ‘Well, what am I?’ And it was, ‘I’m still worthy of love.'”
Van Der Beek said in addition to dealing with the treatment itself, he also had to take on “the full-time job of medical portals and appointments and medication, supplements, tests — trying to organize all that.”
The actor said that asking for help was hard for him, even though he really needed it.
“I don’t know how anyone does this alone,” he said. “It’s been amazing to really see my friends come through in ways that I just never allowed them to before.”
Van Der Beek appearing on “The Masked Singer” with his family in 2024.
FOX/FOX Image Collection via Getty Images
A month after he publicly announced his colon cancer diagnosis in 2024, Van Der Beek appeared in “The Real Full Monty,” a televised special in which he and five other male celebrities stripped to raise cancer awareness. He said that filming the special was the first time he shared the news with anyone outside his inner circle.
“It was so life-affirming to see the immediate support and the empathy and just the energy that I got back from it,” he said. “I think anytime you push past what’s uncomfortable and you get to the other side of fear, there’s always some kind of reward.”
While he used to have a “very tricky relationship” with fame, he looks at it very differently now.
“It’s been a real blessing, actually, because now I get people telling me they’re praying for me all over the place, and I really feel like it helps and I need it, and I am grateful for it,” he said. “It connects me to so many people I otherwise would never get to connect with.”
He wants younger people to get screened
Colon cancer cases are rising worldwide, particularly among people around or below the recommended screening age, which the US has dropped to meet the growing rate among younger patients.
In addition to wanting to raise general awareness about when to get screened or what symptoms to look for, Van Der Beek is passionate about alternative screening options.
While colonoscopies are considered the gold standard in testing because doctors can remove precancerous polyps, they can be expensive, time-consuming, and uncomfortable, involving laxatives and anesthesia.
“I did not find a colonoscopy to be all that pleasant,” Van Der Beek said. “For people who are in a job where they can’t take that kind of time off of work, it can be a challenge.”
Increasingly, there are less invasive at-home tests that can provide answers. For example, Cologuard and FIT are widely used at-home tests that detect the presence of cancer in stool samples.
The Shield test is a blood test performed on people of average risk who are 45 and older. If the result is positive, a colonoscopy is the next step. Shield’s research found that when their blood draw was offered to patients, colon cancer screening rates more than doubled.
Van Der Beek promoting Guardant Health’s Shield blood test for colon cancer detection.
Guardant Health
Caught in its earlier stages, colon cancer is very treatable. It’s why Van Der Beek hopes more people get screened, however they choose to do it.
He still remembers one of his first reactions when he got diagnosed. He wondered about the best thing that could come of his situation.
“What’s the thing that I’m going to look back on this in 20 years and say, ‘Thank God that happened?” he said. “So what can I do to make that the case?”
So far, raising awareness has given him a lot of purpose throughout his ongoing treatment. “I’ve learned a lot. If I can save anyone from having to go through this, that’s magic,” he said.
