Tag: conflict

Israeli forces shoot 7 in West Bank raid after east Jerusalem shooting

by Rosie Scammell Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Seven Palestinians were injured in an Israeli army operation in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday, hours after two Israeli men were injured by gunfire near a Jewish site in annexed east Jerusalem. The shooting comes amid a period of deadly attacks and military raids across the West Bank, along with killings in Israel. The Palestinian ministry reported six people with “minor […]

‘Join forces’ against sanctions ‘blackmail’ urges Russia’s Lavrov

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Tuesday for like-minded countries to “join forces” against Western sanctions “blackmail,” as the longtime diplomat continued his tour of Latin America. Discussing Russia’s war on Ukraine with Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil in Caracas, Lavrov referred to allies Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua as countries “that choose their own path.” All are, like Russia, the subject of damaging economic sanctions, he pointed out. “It is necessary to […]

Israeli forces shoot 7 in West Bank raid: Palestinian ministry

Nablus, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Tuesday 4/18/2023 Israeli forces shot and wounded seven people in a raid Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said as the Israeli army confirmed an operation was underway. The ministry reported “six minor injuries from live fire” reached Jenin governmental hospital, while another person shot had been admitted to a nearby hospital following the raid in the northern West Bank city. A statement from the […]

US reporter denied bail at first public Russian court hearing

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Tuesday 4/18/2023 US reporter Evan Gershkovich appeared at a Moscow court on Tuesday, in the first partly open hearing since his arrest for alleged espionage, in a case that has drawn international condemnation. Wearing jeans and a blue checked shirt, Gershkovich crossed his arms and smiled before the start of the appeal hearing against his pre-trial detention. But, after a short hearing, his request for release on bail was turned […]

Moscow summons western envoys over ‘gross interference’

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Tuesday 4/18/2023 Moscow said on Tuesday it had summoned the US, British and Canadian ambassadors for “gross interference” in Russia’s domestic affairs. Russia’s foreign ministry did not say precisely why the envoys were called in, but Moscow already blasted them for their statement denouncing a 25-year sentence against Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza on Monday. The ambassadors were summoned for “gross interference in Russia’s internal affairs and activities that do not […]

Putin has visited Ukraine’s Kherson, Lugansk regions: Kremlin

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Ukraine’s Kherson and Lugansk regions to meet with military commanders, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. “The supreme commander of Russian Federation armed forces has visited the headquarters of the Dniepr military grouping” in the Kherson region in the south, as well as Russian national guard headquarters in the Lugansk region in the east, the Kremlin said in a statement. It did not say when the […]

The Russian ‘fortress’ where US journalist is held

by AFP Moscow bureau with Barbara Wojazer in Warsaw Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — US journalist Evan Gershkovich’s court appearance in Moscow on Tuesday will be a rare break from his isolation in Lefortovo prison — a symbol of repression since Soviet times. The detention facility, which has housed a long list of high-profile figures, is engineered by the FSB security service to keep detainees in near-total solitude. “It’s a frozen prison, they’re isolating […]

White House says Brazil ‘parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda’ on Ukraine

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The White House on Monday sharply criticized Brazil after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on a trip to China that the United States is encouraging war in Ukraine. “In this case, Brazil is parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without at all looking at the facts,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Lula said Saturday during a visit to Beijing, where he met Chinese leader Xi Jinping, […]

Almost 200 dead, 1,800 wounded in Sudan battles: UN

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — Fighting between the army and paramilitaries in Sudan has killed around 200 people and wounded 1,800, damaging hospitals and hampering aid on Monday after three days of urban warfare. A weeks-long power struggle exploded into deadly violence Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup, Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). […]

Russia jails Putin critic Kara-Murza for 25 years

Moscow, Russia | AFP | Monday 4/17/2023 Russia on Monday sentenced Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in a “strict regime” penal colony on treason and other charges for criticising the Ukraine offensive. International leaders and supporters immediately condemned the verdict, the longest against an opposition figure in recent years, and called for his release. A Moscow court found the 41-year-old guilty of treason, of spreading “false” information about the Russian army and of […]

Pres. Putin praises Pacific drills as China minister visits

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the “very high level” of military drills in the Pacific as Moscow seeks closer ties with China amid a stand-off with the West. The surprise drills announced last week come as Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu is in Russia on a visit which will last until Wednesday. Putin received Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Moscow for a summit showing the nations’ united front against the West. During […]

Russian Pres. Putin signs electronic military draft system into law

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a bill to create a digital draft system, greatly facilitating mobilising Russians into the army, more than a year into the Kremlin’s Ukraine offensive. The law creates a digital conscription notice system that could bar men from leaving the country and make dodging the draft nearly impossible. It has stirred fresh fears in Russia as Moscow’s Ukraine campaign drags on for a second year. Russia rushed it through […]