Month: June 2018

WASHINGTON — Russia was emboldened by the lack of a decisive response by President Barack Obama’s administration during the 2016 presidential election and will seek to interfere in future elections, a former top U.S. official said.  Victoria Nuland, whose portfolio at the State Department made her a leading Russia official under Obama, made the comments …

Read more “Weak Response To Russian Meddling Emboldened Moscow, Official Says”

Georgia’s parliament has approved acting Finance Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze as the country’s new prime minister. …

The chief of Europe’s top human rights body is urging Russia to release imprisoned Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov, who is currently on hunger strike while serving a 20-year sentence. …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will return to Pyongyang Wednesday after a two-day visit to China, the chief economic and diplomatic ally of his impoverished regime. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for supporting Kim’s historic summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore last week. …

Read more “N. Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Ends Two-Day Trip to China”

The United States said it was withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council, citing what it said was persistent bias against Israel and a need for reform. …

Dozens of Cambodian staff at the U.S. embassy in Cambodia staged a protest, claiming they were wrongfully fired for allegedly sharing child pornography. In April the U.S. embassy fired 32 staff who claim they were terminated because they were added to a private Facebook group in which one member shared child pornography. The embassy has …

Read more “US Embassy Staff Sacked Over Child Pornography Protest”

Iran has rejected a plan by Russia and Saudi Arabia to increase oil production at a meeting of the OPEC oil cartel this week in response to consumer disgruntlement with rising prices. …

Trapped inside “prison-like” tents in Bangladesh’s refugee camps because of fears they will be trafficked or sexually harassed, teenage Rohingya girls dream of going to school and playing outside, aid agencies said on Wednesday. Adolescent girls are confined to one-room bamboo and tarpaulin tents so as to avoid men, only venturing out in the early …

Read more “Hiding from Traffickers in ‘Prison-Like’ Tents, Rohingya Girls Dream of School”

Russian fans erupted in celebration on the streets of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other cities after their soccer team staged a second, unexpected win at the World Cup the country is hosting. …

Two UN rights experts have called on Iranian authorities to halt the planned execution of a man convicted of killing his teacher at the age of 15. …

An American student held in Vietnam for “causing public disorder” at violent protests this month has appeared on state television to say he regrets breaking the law and will stay away from future rallies. William Nguyen was detained on June 10 in Ho Chi Minh City after attending mass demonstrations against proposed special economic zones …

Read more “American Arrested in Vietnam ‘Regrets’ Breaking Law”

At a research facility in Gabon, one isolated building stands behind an electrified fence, under round-the-clock scrutiny by video cameras. The locked-down P4 lab is built to handle the world’s most dangerous viruses, including Ebola. “Only four people, three researchers and a technician, are authorized to go inside the P4,” said virologist Illich Mombo, who …

Read more “Ultra-Secure Lab in Gabon Equipped for Ebola Studies”

The World Cup in Russia is the most expensive ever – with the official price tag around $15 billion. The result: several huge new stadiums, railroads and upgraded airports, plus the chance to reboot Russia’s global image. So, will the tournament represent a good value for Russians? As Henry Ridgwell reports from Moscow, the government …

Read more “Russia’s Record-Breaking $15 Billion World Cup Price Tag: What Does It Buy?”

A Russian court in Crimea has convicted five Crimean Tatar activists of taking part in “mass disturbances” in February 2014 and handed them suspended prison sentences ranging from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years. …

Opposition politician Aleksei Navalny is urging Russians to protest on July 1 against the government’s plan to raise the retirement age, calling it “robbery” and a crime against the citizenry. …