Moscow, Russia | AFP | From Donald Trump’s election to Brexit and the Catalan crisis, accusations that the Kremlin is meddling in Western domestic affairs have heightened fears over Russian hackers, trolls and state-controlled media. While the first accusations against Moscow came following a 2016 hack attack on the US Democratic …
Read More »UN gives green light on Russia arms to C. Africa
United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia has been authorized to provide the Central African Republic’s armed forces with light arms, under an exemption to an arms embargo on the country granted by the UN, diplomatic sources said Friday. “It’s clear,” an official said on condition of anonymity. London, Paris …
Read More »Trump criticizes FBI and says no pardon for Flynn ‘yet’
Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Friday lashed out at the FBI inquiry into possible collusion between Moscow and his campaign, and refused to rule out pardoning former aide Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Russia. Trump said it was …
Read More »Trump: Russia not helping on North Korea
Washington, UNITED STATES | AFP | US President Donald Trump criticized Russia Friday for not doing enough to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear weapons program. “China is helping, Russia is not helping. We would like to have Russia’s help,” he told reporters outside the White House. Trump said …
Read More »Putin’s ex-minister gets eight years over $2 mn bribe
Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION | AFP | A Russian court on Friday sentenced former economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev to eight years in a penal colony on charges of taking a $2 million bribe from an ally of President Vladimir Putin. Ulyukayev is the highest-ranking official arrested in Putin’s 18 years in …
Read More »Putin, Trump discuss N Korea in phone call
Washington, United States | AFP | Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program in a phone call Thursday, in which the US president took the unusual step of thanking his Russian counterpart for praising America’s economy. The two heads of state discussed “the situation in …
Read More »Putin’s ex-minister risks decade in jail over $2 mn ‘bribe’
Moscow, Russia | AFP | A Russian court is set to rule Friday in the high-profile trial of former economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev, who is accused of taking a bribe from an oil boss close to President Vladimir Putin. Prosecutors have asked the Moscow court to find the 61-year-old guilty on …
Read More »EU leaders agree to roll over Russia sanctions: Tusk
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | EU leaders on Thursday agreed to extend tough economic sanctions against Russia over its meddling in Ukraine for six months, EU President Donald Tusk said. “EU united on roll-over of economic sanctions on Russia,” Tusk tweeted after leaders discussed the issue at a summit in …
Read More »Russian athletes ‘want to compete in Olympics’: official
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Most Russian athletes want to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang despite a ban on the country’s team, the head of the athletes’ commission at the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said Monday. “We have talked to all the athletes in all the …
Read More »Putin calls for Mideast talks to resume, including on Jerusalem
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin called Monday for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume, including on Jerusalem, following the controversial US decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital. Speaking on state television during a visit to Egypt, Putin stressed the importance of “the immediate resumption of …
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