SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “at an early date”, the North’s state media reported Wednesday, amid a rapid diplomatic thaw on the peninsula. Putin invited Kim and the South’s President Moon Jae-in in June to an economic forum in Vladivostok next month although it is not known whether the North Korean leader responded to the invitation. In a message to […]
Tag: Russia
Arms, investment and ‘instructors’: Russia boosts Africa role
by Maxime Popov with AFP bureaus in Africa © Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Touting military cooperation and “instructors,” arms deals and investment, Russia is making a comeback in Africa after years of inactivity and now aims to rival European countries and even China, analysts say. Moscow has worked hard over the last three years to strengthen its position in Africa, a pace that seems to have accelerated in recent months, they say. Its […]
S. Korea firms caught importing coal, iron from North: Seoul
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Three South Korean firms were caught importing coal and iron from the North last year, Seoul’s customs office said Friday, in an apparent violation of UN sanctions imposed in August 2017 on the nuclear-armed state. More than 35,000 tonnes of North Korean coal and iron were imported into the South via Russia between April and October last year, the Korea Customs Service said, warning that “any ships that are believed to […]
Russia, China block US bid to slap N.Korea sanctions
by Carole Landry Agence France Presse Russia and China on Thursday blocked a US request to add a Russian bank to a UN sanctions blacklist along with a North Korean official and two entities, diplomats said. The United States last week asked a UN sanctions committee to slap an assets freeze on Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank for allegedly helping North Korea evade UN-imposed restrictions on financial transactions. The request also targeted Ri Jong Won, the deputy […]
Trump admits son met with Russian to get information on opponent
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)–US President Donald Trump admitted Sunday that his son met with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower in 2016 “to get information on an opponent” but defended it as “totally legal.” It was Trump’s most direct acknowledgement that the motive for the June 2016 meeting was to get dirt on Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival for the presidency. As he has in the past, Trump insisted in a tweet that he did […]
Unsung heroes: Foreign service personnel doing their best to help overseas Filipinos
(Eagle News) — Living in a foreign land with the dedication of true public servants, the Philippines’ foreign service personnel who are assigned in various Philippine embassies and consulates around the world, do heroic deeds which — more often than not — are untold. They work behind the scenes doing their best to help Filipinos in need, something that they do selflessly. They do it without fanfare; it is part of their work, their […]
US says Russia still carrying out ‘pervasive’ election meddling
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government on Thursday accused Russia of carrying out a “pervasive” campaign to influence public opinion and elections, in a warning just months before crucial legislative polls. “We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign from Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States,” said Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence. A slew of top US officials including Coats, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security […]
Railway Franchise Technology mula sa Russia, isinusulong ng mga investor sa PHL
(Eagle News) — Aberya sa MRT at LRT, kakulangan ng iba pang pampublikong transportasyon at mabigat na daloy ng trapiko. Ilan lamang ito sa halos araw-araw na kinakaharap na problema nating mga Pilipino. Kaya naman ilang investor ang may panukalang magtayo ng skyway project sa buong Pilipinas na ang pagbabasehan ay ang Railway Franchise Technology ng Russia. Ang teknolohiya ay may iba’t ibang uri gaya ng recreational at urban type na maaaring maglulan ng 10,000 […]
Trump postpones Putin visit as Pompeo defends US stance on Russia
by Michael Mathes Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday delayed a second summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, while his top diplomat insisted there was no let up against Moscow following the two leaders’ controversial meeting in Helsinki. Facing mounting calls to release the details of Trump’s closed-door talks with Putin, the US administration stepped up its damage control operation, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo going […]
France, Russia to jointly deliver humanitarian aid to Syria
PARIS, France (AFP) — France and Russia will jointly deliver humanitarian aid to the former Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta, the French Presidency said in a statement with Russia on Friday. A Russian cargo plane arrived late Friday in Chateauroux in central France to load 50 tons of medical equipment and essential goods provided by France, said an AFP videographer at the scene, to be transported to the former rebel area which was […]
Pentagon to provide $200 mn to Ukraine in security funds
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Defense Department said Friday it would give $200 million to Ukraine to help the war-torn nation bolster its military’s defensive capabilities. The amount is part of a series of Pentagon payments now totaling more than $1 billion to Ukraine since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Ukraine is fighting a separatist insurgency in its Russian-speaking eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. All of the military aid, which comes from […]
Talks underway for Trump-Putin meet in Washington, says White House
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump has instructed his national security adviser to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Washington later this year, the White House said Thursday. “President Trump asked @AmbJohnBolton to invite President Putin to Washington in the fall and those discussions are already underway,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted, three days after the Finland summit between the US and Russian leaders. Earlier Thursday, Trump tweeted that he was […]





