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MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian lawmakers on Tuesday approved legislation imposing jail terms of up to 15 years for publishing false information about Russia’s actions abroad, as Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine approaches one month. The bill, adopted after a third reading by the lower house State Duma, sets out jail terms and fines for people who publish “knowingly false information” about actions abroad by Russian government agencies. If the false information “caused serious […]
by Matthew Walsh WUZHOU, China (AFP) — Chinese recovery teams on Tuesday picked through the debris of a crashed China Eastern jet after it inexplicably plummeted from the sky into a mountainside with 132 people on board. Hopes of finding any survivors had all but vanished a day after the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet nosedived into the mountain — likely making it China’s deadliest air crash in nearly three decades. Questions mounted over the cause […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s government warned on Tuesday of possible widespread electricity outages for Tokyo and its surrounding regions as power plants hit by last week’s powerful earthquake struggled to meet surging demand caused by a cold snap. Overnight, the government issued its first-ever electricity crunch warning for the capital and other regions, with supply dented because several thermal power plants remain offline after the quake. The industry ministry called on people to conserve […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden said Monday that it’s “clear” Russia is considering the use of chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine and warned of a “severe” Western response if it chose to do so. “His back is against the wall,” said Biden of Russian President Vladimir Putin, noting that Russia has recently accused the United States of holding chemical and biological weapons in Europe. “Simply not true. I guarantee you,” […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China locked down an industrial city of nine million people overnight and reported more than 4,000 virus cases on Tuesday, as the nation’s “zero-Covid” strategy is confronted by an Omicron wave. Health authorities reported 4,770 new infections across the country, the bulk in the northeastern province of Jilin, as the city of Shenyang in neighboring Liaoning province was ordered to lockdown late Monday. China has moved fast in recent weeks to […]
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) – President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday insisted that a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “in any format” is needed to end the war in Ukraine. “I believe that without this meeting it is impossible to fully understand what they are ready for in order to stop the war,” Zelensky said in an interview with the Ukraine regional media outlet Suspilne. Zelensky has previously said that “without negotiations we cannot end […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – EU nations remained split Monday over banning Russian energy imports, as a top official from the bloc decried “a massive war crime” being carried out by Moscow in Ukrainian city Mariupol. But foreign and defence ministers meeting in Brussels did give the green light to doubling a financial package for arms to Ukraine to 1 billion euros. The EU and Western allies have unleashed a barrage of sanctions that have battered […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan said Tuesday it “strongly protests” Russia’s decision to abandon talks on a World War II peace treaty because of Tokyo’s strong response to the invasion of Ukraine. “The latest situation occurred as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and Russia’s attempt to shift the issue to Japan-Russia relations is extremely unjustified and absolutely unacceptable,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in parliament. Japan “strongly protests,” he added, condemning Russia for […]
by Matthew WALSH with Laurie CHEN in Beijing Agence France-Presse GUANGZHOU, China (AFP) – A China Eastern passenger jet carrying 132 people crashed into a remote mountainside in southern China on Monday after dropping more than 20,000 feet in just over a minute, sparking a massive fire on impact. The airline acknowledged that some aboard the Boeing 737-800 travelling from the city of Kunming to the southern hub of Guangzhou had died, but did not […]
TUNIS, Tunisia (AFP) — A head-on collision between two passenger trains injured 95 people on Monday morning in the south of the Tunisian capital, emergency services said. “The injured were taken to hospitals and there were no deaths,” civil defense spokesman Moez Triaa told AFP, adding that only one of the trains was carrying passengers. Most of the injured were suffering from fractures and bruises, none of them life-threatening, he said. Many were in shock, […]
WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – A deal to restore the pact limiting Iran’s nuclear program is not imminent, but Washington is prepared to take “difficult decisions” to make it happen, State Department Spokesman Ned Price said Monday. Price told journalists he could not discuss the specifics of the final remaining issues in the 11 month-old negotiations over restoring the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which aims at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) – A Russian court on Monday banned Facebook and Instagram as “extremist”, part of sweeping efforts by Moscow to crack down on social media during the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian authorities have accused US tech giant Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — of tolerating “Russophobia” since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. Facebook and Twitter have been inaccessible in Russia since early […]
