Breaking News, Latest Philippines Headlines, World, Entertainment, Politics, Weather & Video News
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in the United States to operate the deadly Switchblade drones that Washington is supplying to Kyiv, a Pentagon official said Wednesday. Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said it was a “very small” number of Ukrainian troops who were already present in the US before Russia invaded their country. “We took the opportunity, having them still in the country, to give them a couple of days’ […]
The White House announced sanctions Wednesday targeting Russia’s top public and private banks and two daughters of Vladimir Putin, adding pressure on the country’s economy and its elite over the invasion of Ukraine. The new sanctions targeted Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, two adult daughters of Putin’s with his former wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva. Also hit with new sanctions were the wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and members of Russia’s Security […]
BRASÍLIA, Brazil | AFP Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have provided aid funds to artists and cultural programs hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, triggering an outcry from opposition lawmakers, who vowed to override him. Named for a widely beloved comedian and actor who died of Covid-19 last year, the Paulo Gustavo Bill aimed to provide 3.86 billion reais ($820 million) in federal funds to local and state governments to […]
CONAKRY, Guinea (AFP) — A former Guinean prime minister and three ex-ministers were detained on embezzlement charges Wednesday, one of their lawyers said, in the latest probe targeting prominent figures since last year’s military coup. Guinea’s military junta, led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, deposed elected president Alpha Conde at age 83 amid fierce protests over his successful bid for a third term. After seizing power last year, the junta promised to combat endemic corruption in […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch customs authorities have impounded 14 yachts in shipyards, including 12 still under construction, as part of Western sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the government said Wednesday. European and US authorities have seized several yachts with links to Russian tycoons under the unprecedented sanctions that followed the February 24 invasion. “Given the current measures, these vessels cannot be delivered, transferred or exported for the moment,” Foreign Minister […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A hardline former Hong Kong security chief sanctioned by the US for his role in China’s campaign against dissent resigned on Wednesday, kickstarting his expected bid to become the city’s next leader. John Lee, who oversaw the police response to huge democracy protests three years ago and a subsequent crackdown, will go on leave with immediate effect, according to a government press release. Lee, 64, has been widely tipped […]
by Joe STENSON with Philippe RATER at the United Nations Agence France Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — The United States was expected to announce tough new sanctions on Russia Wednesday, including a ban on new investments, a day after Ukraine’s president showed the UN Security Council harrowing images of violence and accused Moscow of widespread atrocities. The sanctions come after an outcry over the discovery of dozens of bodies in civilian clothing in areas […]
KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait (AFP) — Kuwait’s government resigned on Tuesday, three months after it was sworn in, state media reported, amid escalating disputes with parliament. The Gulf emirate’s prime minister, Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah, submitted the cabinet’s resignation to Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the official KUNA news agency said. The move comes a day ahead of a parliamentary vote on a letter of non-cooperation, which 10 lawmakers submitted against the premier after […]
Spain will expel around 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, following similar moves by Germany and France, Spain’s foreign minister said Tuesday. “The unbearable images we have seen of the massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha after the withdrawal of the Russian army deeply outrage us,” Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in a reference to a town outside Kyiv. The Russian diplomats and staff “represent a […]
by Femke COLBORNE Agence France Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — German police said Tuesday they have taken down Russian-language illegal darknet marketplace Hydra, the largest such network in the world, and seized bitcoins worth 23 million euros ($25 million). Founded in 2015, Hydra sold illegal drugs but also stolen credit card data, counterfeit currency and fake identity documents, masking the identities of those involved using the Tor encryption network. The marketplace had around 17 […]
Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday that Rome has expelled 30 Russian diplomats as part of a joint European action after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “We have expelled 30 Russian diplomats for national security reasons,” Di Miao told Italy’s Rai television in Berlin, in news confirmed by the ministry in Rome. Di Maio said Russia’s ambassador to Italy, Sergey Razov, had been summoned earlier Tuesday “to notify him of the Italian government’s decision […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China and Ukraine’s foreign ministers have spoken for the first time in over a month, with Beijing maintaining its push for peace talks even as allegations of Russian atrocities in towns around Kyiv grow. International condemnation of Moscow has intensified in recent days with the discovery of dozens of bodies in areas around the Ukrainian capital from which Russian troops have withdrawn, though they have denied involvement in the deaths. China […]
