Year: 2022

To quell widespread protests, Kazakhstan sought military help from Russia. Why did it turn to Moscow? …

Russia is a sending an unspecified number of troops from the country’s far east to Belarus for major war games, officials said Tuesday, a deployment that will further beef up Russian military assets near Ukraine amid Western fears of a planned invasion.  Amid the soaring tensions, the White House warned that Russia could attack its …

Read more “Russia Moves More Troops Westward Amid Ukraine Tensions”

Observers say they see signs of progress in efforts to reopen Turkey’s borders with Armenia, following talks in Moscow on normalizing relations. Ties have been cut since 1993 and analysts say renewing them could re-shape the region. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, both sides still need to overcome some obstacles. …

Germany has said it is prepared to pay “a high economic price” to defend its values, as NATO members engage in another week of intense diplomacy amid a Russian troop buildup close to the Ukrainian border. Western nations have threatened Russia with crippling sanctions if it invades Ukraine. Russian troops Over 100,000 troops have been …

Read more “Germany Prepared to Pay ‘High Economic Price’ to Defend Ukraine”

Germany says it is prepared to pay “a high economic price” in order to defend its values. Tuesday’s remark by Germany’s foreign minister came as Western nations threaten Russia with crippling sanctions if it invades Ukraine. Henry Ridgwell reports. …

A Turkish court on Monday acquitted German journalist Mesale Tolu of terrorism charges, she said on Twitter, in a case that lasted nearly five years and added to strains between Ankara and Berlin at the time of her detention. Tolu was detained in April 2017 as part of a crackdown following a coup attempt in …

Read more “Turkish Court Acquits German Journalist Mesale Tolu”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Ukraine for talks with the country’s president, amid continued fears that Russia is planning to invade its neighbor.  The State Department said Tuesday the quicky arranged trip has Blinken scheduled to meet Wednesday in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.  It said …

Read more “Blinken to Visit Ukraine, Germany to Discuss Russian Military Buildup”

As winter bites, Europe is facing a gas shortage – with lower volumes of gas exports from Russia forcing a big spike in prices. But the volatility of Russia’s gas supply could be about to get worse – as Moscow plans to build a new pipeline to China, which could give Russia the power to …

Read more “‘Power of Siberia 2’ Pipeline Could See Europe, China Compete for Russian Gas”

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is due back in a Kyiv court Wednesday as a judge considers whether to grant him bail or order his arrest in a treason case he says is politically motivated. Poroshenko, who led Ukraine from 2014-19, returned to the country Monday to face the charges, and told supporters at the …

Read more “Ex-Ukrainian Leader Poroshenko Returns to Face Treason Charges”

Novak Djokovic risks being frozen out of tennis as he chases a record 21st Grand Slam title, with rules on travelers who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 tightening in the third year of the pandemic and some tournaments reconsidering exemptions.  The Serbian, who has not been vaccinated, was deported from Australia on Sunday ahead of the …

Read more “No Vaccine, No French Open for Djokovic as Rules Tighten”

A French court found far-right French presidential candidate and political commentator Éric Zemmour guilty Monday of inciting racial hatred and ordered him to pay more than $11,000 in fines. Zemmour told a group of foreign correspondents that he stood by his controversial words, insisting he could not have been inciting racial hatred “insofar as unaccompanied …

Read more “French Court Finds Far-Right Politician Guilty of Hate Speech”

Britain’s rebellious Prime Minister Boris Johnson has seldom come across a rule he hasn’t wanted to break — and in many ways his political ascendancy has been because of his flouting of ordinances with voters thrilling to his audacity and readiness to defy conventions and norms. His rule-breaking, though, is turning into a liability rather …

Read more “UK’s Johnson Fights to Salvage His Premiership From ‘Partygate’ “

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged international business leaders and economists on Monday to do their part to make post-COVID19 economic recovery equitable across the globe.  “At this critical moment, we are setting in stone a lopsided recovery,” he told the World Economic Forum, which normally meets in Davos, Switzerland, but is virtual this year due …

Read more “UN Chief: Global Economic Recovery Uneven”

Tennis star Novak Djokovic returned to his native Serbia on Monday after losing an appeal to stay in Australia, which deported him for being unvaccinated for COVID-19.  The world’s No. 1-ranked male tennis player arrived at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport where sources told the media he was escorted through a “technical exit.”  A small group …

Read more “Tennis Star Djokovic Returns to Serbia After Deportation From Australia”

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Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday returned to Ukraine to face court on treason charges he believes are politically motivated.  At the Kyiv airport, where he arrived on a flight from Warsaw on Monday morning, Poroshenko was greeted by several thousand cheering supporters. Some carried banners reading “We need democracy,” and “Stop repressions.”  From …

Read more “Ex-leader Poroshenko Returns to Ukraine to Appear in Court”

The North Macedonia’s parliament late Sunday elected Social Democrat technocrat Dimitar Kovacevski as prime minister after more than two months of political turmoil in the country. Kovacevski, a former deputy finance minister, succeeds Zoran Zaev, who stepped down last month following his party’s heavy defeat in municipal elections. The new coalition Cabinet, led by Kovacevski’s …

Read more “North Macedonia Gets New Prime Minister”

Greek artist Alekos Fassianos, whose work drew on his country’s mythology and folklore, died Sunday at the age of 86, his daughter Viktoria told AFP. Described by some admirers as a modern-day Matisse and by others as the Greek Picasso, his works, which included paintings, lithographs, ceramics and tapestries, have been shown around the world. …

Read more “Alekos Fassianos, Known as ‘Greek Picasso,’ Dies at Age 86”

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he is returning to Ukraine to fight treason charges — even though he views them as politically motivated — because he believes that fighting them is part of his defense of national unity. Poroshenko spoke Sunday at a news conference in Warsaw hours before he is to fly Monday …

Read more “Ex-President Poroshenko to Return to Ukraine to Face Treason Charges”

France’s parliament gave final approval on Sunday to the government’s latest measures to tackle COVID-19, including a vaccine pass contested by anti-vaccine protesters. Lawmakers in the lower house of parliament voted 215-58, paving the way for the measure to enter force in the coming days. The new law, which had a rough ride through parliament …

Read more “French Parliament Approves COVID Vaccine Pass”

Ukraine Sunday blamed Russia for the defacement of government websites, contending it was part of Moscow’s “hybrid war” against the former Soviet republic. With Russia already massing 100,000 military troops along Ukraine’s eastern flank, Ukrainian officials said, “All evidence indicates that Russia is behind the cyberattack.” “Moscow continues to wage a hybrid war and is …

Read more “Ukraine Blames Russia for Cyberattack”

Iranian authorities confirmed that they have re-incarcerated French-Iranian academic Fariba Adelkhah for breaking house arrest restrictions.  The judiciary news website Mizan.news on January 16 quoted the deputy head of the judiciary, Kazem Gharibabadi, as saying Adelkhah, who had been furloughed with an electronic-monitoring bracelet, violated judicial restrictions “dozens of times.”  The official claimed that Adelkhah, …

Read more “Iran Confirms Again Imprisoning French-Iranian Academic “

Microsoft said late Saturday that dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies have been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware, a disclosure suggesting an attention-grabbing defacement attack on official websites was a diversion. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear. The attack comes as the threat of …

Read more “Microsoft Discloses Malware Attack on Ukraine Government Networks”

A Roman villa housing the only mural by Caravaggio and at the center of a legal battle between a former Playboy model and the sons of her late husband, an Italian prince, will go up for auction Tuesday. The sprawling property, valued at 471 million euros (almost $540 million), is a Baroque jewel with gorgeous …

Read more “Roman Villa Housing Caravaggio up for Auction Amid Legal Dispute”