International

G7, EU agree oil price cap to reduce Russia war funding

  Brussels, Belgium (AFP) by AFP correspondents, with Dave Clark in Brussels The G7 and EU on Friday agreed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil in an attempt to deny the Kremlin of war resources, as President Vladimir Putin said more strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure were “inevitable”. The price cap, previously negotiated on a political level between the G7 group of wealthy democracies and the European Union, will come into effect with an EU embargo […]

Ukraine says ‘animal eyes’ sent to its embassies

  Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) A number of Ukrainian diplomatic missions in the European Union have received packages containing animal eyes in what Kyiv described Friday as a “well-planned campaign of terror”. The Ukrainian foreign ministry announcement came after a security guard at the embassy in Madrid was lightly injured Wednesday  opening a letter bomb addressed to the ambassador through the mail, prompting Kyiv to boost security at its missions. The war-torn country’s embassies in Hungary, […]

Ukraine to limit Moscow-linked religious groups: Zelensky

Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Ukraine will move to impose limitations on religious organisations in the country which have links to Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Thursday. “The National Security and Defence Council has instructed the government to propose to (parliament) a bill on proscribing activities in Ukraine by religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence in Russia,” Zelensky said. “National security officials should intensify measures to identify and counteract the subversive […]

Concern rises as new Turkish media law squeezes dissent

Istanbul, Turkey (AFP) by Fulya OZERKAN A new law gives Turkey fresh ammunition to censor the media and silence dissent ahead of elections in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to prolong his two decades in office, journalists and activists say. Since 2014, when Erdogan became president, tens of thousands of people, from high-school teens to a former Miss Turkey have been prosecuted under a long-standing law that criminalises insulting the president. The law, passed […]

Guard shot in ‘assassination attempt’ at Pakistan’s Kabul embassy

  Kabul, Afghanistan (AFP) A security guard was wounded Friday by shots fired at Pakistan’s embassy in the Afghan capital in what Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called “an assassination attempt” on the head of the mission. “I demand immediate investigation & action against perpetrators of this heinous act,” Sharif tweeted. Although Pakistan does not officially recognise Afghanistan’s Taliban government, it kept its embassy open even as the hardline Islamists took over in August last year, […]

UPDATE: Pres. Putin says strikes on Ukraine infrastructure ‘inevitable’

  Moscow, Russia (AFP) President Vladimir Putin said on Friday  Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure were “inevitable” as the Kremlin rejected US President Joe Biden’s terms for talks and warned the assault would continue. After suffering humiliating military defeats during what has become the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, Russia began targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure in October, causing sweeping blackouts. Speaking with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the first time since […]

Musk kicks Kanye West off Twitter after swastika post

Los Angeles, United States (AFP) by Huw GRIFFITH Elon Musk kicked Kanye West off Twitter on Friday “for incitement to violence,” after the rapper posted a picture that appeared to show a swastika interlaced with a Star of David. The post came hours after an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, in which West sparked outrage by declaring his “love” of Nazis and admiration for Adolf Hitler. West had also shared a picture of a shirtless […]

Bombs target Italian embassy cars in Athens: police

Athens, Greece (AFP) Two explosive devices targeted cars belonging to the Italian embassy in Greece on Friday, one of which went off causing no injuries, Greek police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility and officers said they were investigating. A homemade bomb exploded at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT), damaging a vehicle parked at the home of an embassy officer in an Athens suburb, police said. The other device, placed near a second […]

Scholz urges Putin to withdraw troops for ‘diplomatic’ end to war

  Berlin, Germany (AFP) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday pressed Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to seek a diplomatic solution to end his war in Ukraine, including troop withdrawals, Berlin said following a call between the two. “The chancellor urged the Russian president to come as quickly as possible to a diplomatic solution including the withdrawal of Russian troops,” according to the German leader’s spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. During the one-hour call, Scholz “condemned in particular […]

Pres. Xi signalled to EU chief China may adopt more openness in Covid response

  Bruxelles, Belgium (AFP) China’s President Xi Jinping suggested in talks with EU chief Charles Michel that the spread of the less lethal Omicron strain of Covid-19 may allow Beijing to ease lockdown rules, European officials said Friday. Michel met the Chinese leader in Beijing on Thursday. According to an account of the meeting from a senior European official, Xi told Michel that Chinese “people were frustrated” after three years of the coronavirus epidemic. Anger […]

Kremlin rejects Biden terms for Ukraine talks

  Moscow, Russia (AFP) The Kremlin on Friday rejected US President Joe Biden’s terms for Ukraine talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying Moscow’s offensive will continue. “What did President Biden say in fact? He said that negotiations are possible only after Putin leaves Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding Moscow was “certainly” not ready to accept those conditions. “The special military operation is continuing,” Peskov said, using the Kremlin term for the […]

EU cap on Russian oil price on hold as Poland urges lower price

  Bruxelles, Belgium (AFP) by Daniel ARONSSOHN The West’s plan to starve Russia of resources to fight its war in Ukraine by imposing a price cap on its oil exports hit a diplomatic logjam in Brussels on Friday. Poland does not think the $60 a barrel ceiling is low enough and has refused to back the plan, preventing the European Union from adopting the measure. On Thursday evening several European diplomats said the other 26 […]