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by Femke COLBORNE Germany on Tuesday put on ice the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline in response to Moscow’s recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, finally halting the 10-billion-euro project that has long irked allies. Berlin had over the years doggedly pursued the pipeline which was set to double natural gas import capacity from Russia, despite opposition from the United States and Eastern Europe which fear it would leave the continent too dependent […]
Russian parliament’s upper house on Tuesday voted to allow President Vladimir Putin to use the Russian army outside the country to support separatists in Ukraine. A total of 153 Russian senators backed the decision, with no one voting against or abstaining. Putin earlier in the day asked the Federation Council to approve the army’s use outside the country to back separatists who have been fighting the Ukrainian army since 2014. “Negotiations have stalled. The Ukrainian […]
by Dmitry ZAKS Ukraine and its leader Volodymyr Zelensky are running out of options as they try to withstand Russian military advances that could shrink their country for the second time since 2014. Russia President Vladimir Putin defied Western warnings and approved sending troops into eastern Ukraine on Monday to support two rebel regions’ independence claims. World powers are still trying to decide whether Putin’s deployment of so-called “peacekeepers” constitutes the feared invasion they warned […]
The United States said Tuesday that Russia’s move into eastern Ukraine amounts to the “beginning of an invasion” and warned that “severe” sanctions would be announced shortly. The stern message followed an initially more hesitant response from the White House to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of two rebel-held enclaves in Ukraine as independent, along with reluctance to say that “invasion” was underway after Putin ordered troops there. For weeks, the United States and its […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that he does not plan to restore Russia’s empire, a day after he ordered Russian troops to be sent to eastern Ukraine and questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty. “We predicted speculation that Russia plans to restore (its) empire within imperial borders,” Putin said at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in the Kremlin, adding: “This absolutely does not correspond with reality”. On Monday, Putin recognized the […]
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The United Nations said Tuesday it was relocating some of its non-essential staff and their family members in Ukraine, amid growing fears of an all-out Russian invasion. “We are committed to stay and to continue delivering in Ukraine, especially in eastern Ukraine,” UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci told reporters in Geneva. “We continue to be fully operational.” She acknowledged though that “as a result of the evolving situation on the ground, we […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s population must undergo three rounds of compulsory coronavirus testing, the city’s leader said Tuesday, as she confirmed that mainland Chinese officials were now coordinating the response to the financial hub’s worst outbreak. The densely populated metropolis is in the throes of a record virus surge with thousands of confirmed cases every day as hospitals and isolation units run out of space. On Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam revealed […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines’ top diplomat in Hong Kong said Tuesday it was illegal and “immoral” for residents to fire and turf out domestic workers who test positive for the coronavirus, as the Chinese city endures its worst outbreak yet. Charities said last week that foreign domestic workers in the wealthy city were being “abandoned” amid the Covid-19 wave, with some forced to sleep outdoors or being denied treatment after testing positive. Residents […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Russia’s recognition of breakaway regions of Ukraine will “strongly increase” economic uncertainty for the EU, the bloc’s economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said on Tuesday. “Uncertainty remains around us. And the violation of international law through Russian recognition of two separatist territories in Ukraine will strongly increase this uncertainty,” Gentiloni told a Brussels conference. Gentiloni was speaking as EU ambassadors met to agree on sanctions against Russia for its recognition a […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Tuesday vowed to “hit Russia very hard” with targeted sanctions and promised tougher measures in the event of a full-scale invasion, after the Kremlin ordered troops into two Moscow-backed rebel regions of Ukraine. After an early morning meeting with security chiefs, Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to reveal a “first barrage of UK economic sanctions against Russia” in parliament later. “They will hit Russia very hard and there […]
by Sebastian Smith WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States said it will impose sanctions on Moscow Tuesday, following an initially cautious response to President Vladimir Putin’s order for Russian troops to deploy in two Kremlin-backed separatist areas of Ukraine. “We plan to announce new sanctions on Russia tomorrow in response to Moscow’s decisions and actions today. We are coordinating with allies and partners on that announcement,” a White House spokesperson told AFP on […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) – New Zealand anti-vaccine protesters pelted police with a “stinging substance” sending three to hospital with injuries Tuesday, as tensions spilled over in an angry weeks-long protest. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decried “absolutely disgraceful” scenes after the suspected acid attack, and a startling incident that saw one protester speed a car toward police lines before coming to a quick halt just centimetres away. The brief but intense confrontations erupted near New […]
