LONDON (AP) — Michael Gove, who was a longtime U.K. Cabinet minister under successive Conservative Party governments, has been appointed the editor of The Spectator, one of the world’s oldest political magazines.
Wednesday's announcement came little more than two weeks after hedge fund manager Paul Marshall bought the magazine via his company Old Queen Street Ventures. The Spectator has a long-standing reputation of supporting the Conservative Party and providing intellectual ballast to its discussions both in and out of power.
Marshall, who was worth 875 million pounds ($1.2 billion) in the most recent Sunday Times Rich List of people resident in the U.K., is already the co-owner of GB News, which launched three years ago as a right-leaning, Fox News-style British alternative to mainstream news channels.
“Alongside his political and journalistic nous, Michael brings a love of books, philosophy, art, opera — and a mischievous sense of humor," said Freddie Sayers, chief executive of new owner OQS. “He is perfectly suited to this role, and I can’t wait to work together to bring The Spectator to new audiences.”
Gove, who served in the successive governments of Prime Ministers David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, will take up his new role at the start of October. Gove served in a variety of Cabinet positions from 2010 until July, when the Conservative Party suffered its worst election defeat for nearly two centuries. The Tories lost power after 14 years, with the Labour Party taking the reins.
Before he became a lawmaker after the 2005 general election, Gove had been a prominent journalist at The Times and was considered a close confidante of its owner Rupert Murdoch.
The Spectator is one of the world’s oldest politics and current affairs magazines, established in 1828 in London’s Old Queen Street, which has given its name to Marshall's OQS venture.
FILE - Then-Secretary of State Michael Gove arrives at the Conservative Party annual conference at Manchester Central convention complex in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukraine’s president urged global leaders Wednesday to stand with his country and not seek “an out” instead of a “real, just peace" more than two years into Russia's war.
At a time when he faces growing pressure from Western allies and some of his fellow Ukrainians to negotiate a cease-fire, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. General Assembly there's no alternative to the “peace formula” he presented two years ago. Among other things, it seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine and accountability for war crimes.
“Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve an out instead of an end to the war,” he said.
“Do not divide the world. Be united nations,” he implored. “And that will bring us peace.”
Russia hasn't yet had its turn to speak at the assembly's annual gathering of presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other high officials. Low-level Russian diplomats occupied the country's seats in the huge assembly hall during Zelenskyy's speech. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending this year's high-level meetings at the General Assembly.
The war in Ukraine was center stage the last two times that world leaders convened for the U.N.’s signature annual meeting. But this year, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the escalating developments along the Israeli-Lebanese border have gotten much of the spotlight.
Ukraine and Russia, with one of the world’s most potent armies, are locked in a grinding fight along a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.
The war began when Russia invaded in February 2022 and has killed tens of thousands of people. Russia has gained momentum in Ukraine’s east; Ukraine, meanwhile, startled Russia by sending troops across the border in a daring incursion last month.
Zelenskyy argued Tuesday at the U.N. Security Council that Russia needs to “ be forced into peace,” saying there’s no point in pursuing peace talks with Putin.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded Wednesday that the Ukrainian president’s call for compulsion was “a fatal mistake” and “a profound misconception, which, of course, will inevitably have consequences for the Kyiv regime.”
Zelenskyy is expected to present a victory plan this week to U.S. President President Joe Biden.
See more of AP’s coverage of the U.N. General Assembly at https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
