Tag: Russia

Russian media accuses May of ‘poisoning’ ties

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian media on Thursday accused British Prime Minister Theresa May of having “poisoned” relations with Moscow by announcing the expulsion of diplomats in response to the poisoning of a former double agent with a nerve agent. “Theresa May has poisoned relations between London and Moscow,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta headlined its front-page story. Kommersant business daily accused Britain of seeking “toxic responses.” “The crisis in relations between Moscow and London has reached a […]

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Britain expels Russian diplomats over spy poisoning

by Alice Ritchie Agence France Presse British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday expelled 23 diplomats and suspended high-level contacts with Russia including for the World Cup, saying her government found Moscow “culpable” of a nerve agent attack on a former spy. May said she would be pushing for a “robust international response” when the UN Security Council meets later Wednesday in New York to discuss the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter on […]

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Five key dates for post-Soviet Russia

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Here are five major dates in Russia since the disintegration of the USSR or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 1991: the Soviet Union dies December 8, Russian President Boris Yeltsin, elected six months earlier at the first multi-party election, agrees with his Belarussian and Ukrainian counterparts to replace their union, the USSR, with a commonwealth. As the Soviet Union disintegrates, leader Mikhail Gorbachev resigns. The USSR ceases to exist in […]

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UK deploys military in Russia spy attack probe

by James PHEBY Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom – British soldiers were deployed on Friday to help a counter-terrorism investigation into a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy as speculation mounted over how London could retaliate if the Russian state is found to be responsible. The defence ministry said 180 soldiers were being dispatched to the normally quiet city of Salisbury in southwestern England, initially to remove “a number of vehicles and objects from the scene”. […]

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Former Trump campaign aide rejects Russia probe subpoena

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A former aide to President Donald Trump’s election campaign said Monday he is rejecting a subpoena to provide information to the investigation into Russian meddling. Sam Nunberg, who worked on the campaign during 2015, said collecting emails and other communications he had with other key Trump advisers, particularly Steve Bannon and Roger Stone, was too much trouble and he would not do it. “They want me over at the grand […]

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US accuses Russia of breaching treaties with ‘invincible’ weapons

by Dave Clark  with Theo Merz in Moscow Agence France Agence WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Thursday accused Moscow of openly breaching Cold War-era treaties by developing what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a new generation of “invincible” hypersonic weapons and submarines. Putin unveiled the new arsenal earlier Thursday in a state of the nation address, challenging Washington to a new arms race ahead of a presidential election that will all […]

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Putin sets course for new US arms race with ‘invincible’ weapons

by Victoria Loguinova-Yakovleva and Theo Merz Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday launched what appeared to be the start of a new arms race with Washington, as he boasted of a new generation of “invincible” Russian weapons developed in response to the threat posed by the United States. Putin praised Russia’s new hypersonic missiles and cutting-edge submarines during a state of the nation address that also touched on economic […]

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Civilians stay put despite ‘pause’ in Syria Ghouta bloodshed

by Rim Haddad Agence France Presse WAFIDEEN CHECKPOINT, Syria (AFP) — Civilians in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta shunned Russia’s offer to quit the besieged enclave for a second day Wednesday, as rebels and Moscow blamed each other for the humanitarian deadlock. The bombardment that killed 600 civilians in 10 days has quietened since the Kremlin ordered a daily “humanitarian pause”, but not one of the battered region’s 400,000 residents left to board buses provided by the […]

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Fresh violence marks first day of Syria enclave ‘truce’

by Hasan Mohamed © Agence France-Presse DOUMA, Syria (AFP) — A “humanitarian pause” announced by Russia in Syria’s deadly bombardment of Eastern Ghouta failed to end violence Tuesday, with fresh bloodshed and no sign of aid deliveries or residents leaving the besieged enclave. Nine days after Russian-backed regime forces intensified their campaign against the rebel-held enclave, the deal offered some respite to civilians who had been hiding in their basements. But the first day of a five-hour […]

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Russia calls daily truce in battered Syria enclave

by Hasan Mohamed Agence France Presse DOUMA, Syria (AFP) — Russia called a daily “humanitarian pause” in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, bowing to pressure to halt the carnage in the rebel-held enclave where bombardments eased late Monday after hours of deadly raids. A UN Security Council resolution for a 30-day truce had remained a dead letter since it was passed on Saturday, and Moscow, the Damascus regime’s main backer, ended up setting its own terms to […]

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Duterte: PHL to receive 5000 firearms from “friendly country”

(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the Philippines would receive 5,000 firearms from a “friendly country.” In a speech during the inauguration of a shooting range in Davao, Duterte did not say which country this was, but said the firearms would be received “in the next few days.” “We will survive and we will win this pocket wars. And we will be a great nation someday,” the President said. In October, Russia […]

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Ex-Trump campaign aide Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy, lying

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump’s former campaign deputy Rick Gates pleaded guilty Friday to fraud and lying, pledging to assist special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s probe into alleged campaign collusion with Russian interference in the 2016 election. Gates was the third former Trump aide to agree to cooperate in exchange for reduced charges by Mueller, who is also examining whether the president illegally sought to obstruct the probe. The plea deal in […]

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