WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US Treasury has released a long awaited list of Russian officials and business leaders eligible for sanctions under a law designed to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling in the election that brought Donald Trump to power. The list published shortly before midnight Monday features the names of most of the senior members in President Vladimir Putin’s administration — 114 politicians altogether — and 96 business people the US considers ‘oligarchs’ […]
Tag: Sanctions
UN bars four N.Korean ships from international ports
by Philippe RATER Agence France-Presse UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council on Thursday denied international port access to four North Korean ships suspected of carrying or having transported goods banned by international sanctions targeting Pyongyang, diplomats told AFP. The ban of the four vessels — the Ul Ji Bong 6, Rung Ra 2, Sam Jong 2 and Rye Song Gang 1 — brings the UN’s total number of blocked ships to […]
US turns sanctions screw on Russia, blacklists Chechnya’s Kadyrov
by Dave Clark and Douglas Gillison Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States slapped sanctions on Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov on Wednesday, accusing Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s key regional ally of personal involvement in repression, torture and murder. Kadyrov was added to the US Treasury’s blacklist along with Chechen security official Ayub Kataev and three Russians linked to the corruption case uncovered by deceased whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. The sanctions were authorized under the 2012 Magnitsky Act, […]
US lawmakers seek to slap new sanctions on Myanmar military
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US lawmakers proposed sanctions Friday against Myanmar’s military, in some of the strongest efforts yet by Washington to pressure the Southeast Asian nation to end abusive treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority. House Republicans and Democrats introduced legislation that would curtail assistance or cooperation with Myanmar’s military and require the White House to identify senior military officials who would have US visa bans imposed or reimposed against them. A bipartisan group […]
Defense Secretary Lorenzana: Sanctions on N. Korea strengthen Kim
CLARK, Philippines (AFP) — International sanctions on North Korea are not working and serve only to strengthen the regime of Kim Jong-Un, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Tuesday. The United States, which has a longstanding defense pact with the Philippines, has led a drive at the United Nations Security Council to impose tough sanctions against the North for its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The threat from Pyongyang’s program was a major topic at a […]
North Korea quake not a nuclear test, say China experts
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A shallow 3.5-magnitude earthquake which hit North Korea near the country’s nuclear test site on Saturday was not the result of a fresh nuclear test, China’s seismic service said, after initially reporting a “suspected explosion.” The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said in a statement late Saturday that study of infrasonic data determined “the incident is not a nuclear explosion, but had the nature of a natural earthquake.” The Chinese Academy […]
Trump orders new sanctions against North Korea; Kim calls him ‘deranged’
by Shaun Tandon and Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse The United States ramped up sanctions aimed at curtailing North Korea’s nuclear weapons drive Thursday, as Kim Jong-Un vowed that Donald Trump’s “deranged” threats would only toughen his resolve. The US president unveiled the new measures as he met with the leaders of allies Japan and South Korea, even as key international players China and Russia voiced unease with his more aggressive approach. Two days after […]
N. Korea vows to boost weapons programs after sanctions
by Hwang Sunghee Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea vowed Wednesday to accelerate its weapons programs in response to the “evil” sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council following its latest and most powerful nuclear test. The respected 38 North website in the US raised its estimate for the yield from the explosion, which Pyongyang says was a hydrogen bomb small enough to fit onto a missile, to around 250 […]
Germany, France, Italy seek tougher EU sanctions on N. Korea
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany, Italy and France on Sunday urged tougher European Union sanctions against North Korea, after Pyongyang “reached a new dimension of provocation” with its latest nuclear test. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed during a phone call “that North Korea has trampled on international law and that the international community must therefore react with determination against this new escalation,” the chancellery said in a statement. Both leaders […]
North Korea ‘explosion’ points to 6th nuclear test; USGS record 6.3 magnitude tremor in test site
by Sebastien Berger Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea appeared to carry out a sixth nuclear test Sunday, with seismic monitors measuring an “explosion” of 6.3 magnitude near its main test site, sending tensions over its weapons ambitions to new heights. The apparent test came just hours after it claimed to have developed a hydrogen bomb that could be loaded into the country’s new intercontinental ballistic missile. The South’s Joint […]
UPDATED: US says N. Korea fired three ‘short-range’ ballistic missiles
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles Saturday, the United States military said, following weeks of heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. The missile launches come as tens of thousands of South Korean and US troops take part in joint military drills in the South, which Pyongyang views as a highly provocative rehearsal for an invasion of its own territory. Two of the missiles failed in flight and the third blew […]
JUST IN: US says N. Korea fired three ‘short-range’ ballistic missiles
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States military said that North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles on Saturday, with two of them failing in flight and the third blowing up “almost immediately.” A spokesman for the US Pacific Command said none of the missiles, which it said were launched near Kittaeryong, had posed a threat to either North America or the US Pacific territory of Guam. “The first and third missiles… failed […]





