Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | It had seemed impossible to find insults more scathing. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan of trading oil with Islamic State jihadists and making modern Turkey’s founder Ataturk “roll in his grave”. In a loud slanging match between two masters of …
Read More »There was no hack, says Trump and Putin
Trump rejects Russia hacking plot as Putin direct role reported Washington, United States | AFP | US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday again rejected the CIA’s conclusion that Russia manipulated the US election, as the hacking scandal expanded into a hefty foreign policy challenge just five weeks before he takes …
Read More »Putin is world’s most powerful man, Trump in second
New York, United States | AFP | Vladimir Putin was the world’s most powerful person for a fourth straight year in 2016, with US president-elect Donald Trump in second place, Forbes magazine said Wednesday in its annual rankings. “Russia’s president has exerted his country’s influence in nearly every corner of …
Read More »White House backs Congress probe of election hacking
Washington, United States | AFP | The White House on Monday threw its support behind a Congressional investigation into Russian meddling in the US election, saying lawmakers had a “special responsibility” to investigate such an explosive issue. “We have long supported the principle of congressional review of this matter,” said …
Read More »Non-OPEC oil states agree to cuts in ‘historic’ deal
Vienna, Austria | AFP | Eleven countries agreed on Saturday to cut their oil output, teaming up with the OPEC cartel in an exceptional bid to end the world’s glut of crude and reverse a dramatic fall in income. Russia and 10 other non-OPEC states will reduce their production by …
Read More »Obama orders ‘full review’ of 2016 election cyberattacks
Washington, United States | AFP | President Barack Obama has ordered a review of all cyberattacks that took place during the 2016 election cycle, the White House said Friday, amid allegations of Russian interference. “The president has directed the intelligence community to conduct a full review of what happened during …
Read More »Russia ‘hijacked’ sport with mass doping, says McLaren
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Russia hijacked international sport by using more than 1,000 athletes in an “institutional conspiracy” to win medals at the Sochi and London Olympics and other global events, a top investigator said Friday. Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren, who has previously accused Russia of “state-sponsored” cheating, …
Read More »Putin says ‘clever’ Trump will soon grasp weighty role
Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION | AFP | President Vladimir Putin in an interview aired Sunday called US President-elect Donald Trump intelligent and predicted he would quickly grasp his new level of responsibility and act accordingly. “Since he managed to achieve success in business, that shows he is a clever person,” the …
Read More »HIV toll tops one million in Russia and keeps climbing
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s HIV infection rate is growing 10 percent a year and over one million Russian have been diagnosed with the disease in nearly three decades, the country’s top AIDS expert said Tuesday. The number of registered cases reached 1,087,339 on September 30, Vadim Pokrovsky, head …
Read More »Russia detains top general in bribery probe
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia has detained a general who heads a branch of Russia’s federal guard service after he allegedly took a large bribe, Interfax news agency reported Friday. The Federal Guard Service (FSO) is Moscow’s version of the US Secret Service and is responsible for ensuring the …
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