Page 108 - Russia

Russia becoming 'new global growth centre', says President Vladimir Putin

"The world has entered an era of radical changes and serious tests not only for specific companies and sectors, but also for whole countries and regions of the world," Putin said

Russian lawmakers set prez vote for Mar 17, 2024, clearing path for Putin

Russian lawmakers on Thursday set the date of the 2024 presidential election for March 17, moving Vladimir Putin closer to a fifth term in office. Putin, 71, hasn't yet announced his intention to run again, but he is widely expected to do so in the coming days now that the date has been set. Under constitutional reforms he orchestrated, he is eligible to seek two more six-year terms after his current one expires next year. Having established tight control over Russia's political system, Putin's victory is all but assured. Prominent critics who could challenge him on the ballot are either in jail or living abroad, and most independent media have been banned. Neither the costly, drawn-out military campaign in Ukraine, nor a failed rebellion last summer by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin appear to have affected his high approval ratings reported by independent pollsters. The March election clears the way for him to remain in power at least until 2030.

Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities, say UN officials

Intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities are worsening humanitarian conditions across the war-torn country, where heavy snow and freezing temperatures have already arrived, UN officials said Wednesday. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca told the UN Security Council that Russia's continuing daily attacks on Ukraine's critical civilian infrastructure have resulted in civilian casualties, and Moscow recently escalated its barrages in populated areas including the capital, Kyiv. All attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop immediately, he said. They are prohibited under international humanitarian law and are simply unacceptable. Jenca also raised the risks to all four of Ukraine's nuclear power plants. The Zaporizhzhia plant, which is Europe's largest, suffered its eighth complete off-site power outage since the invasion on Saturday, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Jenca said. And IAEA staff at the Khmelnitsky plant

12 people arrested for sending Nepalese nationals to join Russian army

A gang of 12 people, allegedly involved in illegally sending Nepalese nationals to Russia for recruitment in the Russian Army, has been arrested, police said here on Wednesday. The gang used to charge Rs 700,000 to Rs 1,100,000 per person for arranging visit visas and other documents to get them recruited in the Russian Army, the District Police Circle, Kathmandu said. After six Nepalese lost their lives in the Russia-Ukraine war, Nepal Police have taken precautionary measures against possible incidents of human trafficking, sources said. The youths have either been sent to Russia via Dubai or through land route via India, to their destination. It is illegal to send labourers on a visit visa to a foreign country. It is also illegal to send Nepalese nationals for recruitment in foreign army except in case of those joining British Gorkha and Indian Gorkha regiments under special agreement. After six Nepalese were killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, the Nepal government has requested ..

Four Russians charged with war crimes for torturing American in Ukraine

The Justice Department on Wednesday said it has filed war crime charges against four members of the Russian military accused of abducting and torturing an American during the invasion of Ukraine in a case that's the first of its kind. The four Russians are accused of kidnapping the American from his home in a Ukrainian village in 2022. The American was beaten and interrogated while being held for 10 days at a Russian military compound, before eventually being evacuated with his wife, who is Ukrainian, US authorities said. The American told federal agents who had travelled to Ukraine last year as part of an investigation that the Russian soldiers had abducted him, stripped him naked, pointed a gun at his head and badly beaten him, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. The evidence gathered by our agents speaks to the brutality, criminality, and depravity of Russia's invasion, Mayorkas said. The case marks the first time the US has filed war crime charges in the ...

G7 to ban Russian diamonds, announce measures on price cap, assets: Report

One source specified that the G7 was expected to announce a direct ban as of Jan. 1 and then an indirect ban with a phase in period from March 1 until Sept. 1

Under Putin, uber-wealthy Russians are still rich but far less powerful

When Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000, the outside world viewed those Russians known as oligarchs as men whose vast wealth, ruthlessly amassed, made them almost shadow rulers. A government of the few, in the word's etymology. The term has persisted well into Putin's rule, broadening in popular usage to refer to almost any Russian with a substantial fortune. How much political power any of Russia's uber-rich now wield, however, is doubtful. A few hours after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, a televised meeting he held in the Kremlin with top industrialists and entrepreneurs showed how the dynamics had changed: Putin simply told them he had no choice but to invade. Despite the harsh consequences to their wealth that the tycoons could expect from the war, they had to accept it; the power was his, not theirs. THE ORIGINAL OLIGARCHS After the collapse of the Soviet Union, astute businessmen who had already begun building operations as government controls loosened u

US imposes new round of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a Belgian involved in procuring electronics for the Russian military, his companies and a group of Belarusian firms and people tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted a network led by Belgium-based Hans De Geetere, which included nine entities and five people across Russia, Belgium, Cyprus, Sweden, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. They are accused of being involved with procuring military-grade equipment for Russia. Also on Tuesday, the US Justice Department unsealed two indictments against Hans De Geetere and the Commerce Department added him and five firms to its entity list. US sanctions block access to US property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans. De Geetere did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment through email. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the US is committed to working with our allies a

Russian President Putin to visit Gulf countries for first time since 2019

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Russia are all members of OPEC+, the alliance between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major oil producers

Russia brings new charges against jailed opposition leader Navalny

Imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed new charges by Russian prosecutors. The 47-year-old is already serving more than 30 years in prison after being found guilty of crimes including extremism charges that his supporters characterise as politically motivated. In comments passed to his associates, Navalny said he had been charged under article 214 of Russia's penal code, which covers crimes of vandalism. I don't even know whether to describe my latest news as sad, funny or absurd, he wrote in comments on social media Friday via his team. I have no idea what Article 214 is, and there's nowhere to look. You'll know before I do. He said that the charges were part of the Kremlin's desire to initiate a new criminal case against me every three months. Never before has a convict in solitary confinement for more than a year had such a rich social and political life, he joked. Navalny is one of President Vladimir Putin's most ardent opponents, best known for campaignin

Moscow gay bars raided after Russian SC labels LGBTQ+ movement 'extremist'

Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow on Friday night, less than 48 hours after the country's top court banned what it called the global LGBTQ+ movement as an extremist organisation. Police searched venues across the Russian capital, including a nightclub, a male sauna, and a bar that hosted LGBTQ+ parties, under the pretext of a drug raid, local media reported. Eyewitnesses told journalists that clubgoers' documents were checked and photographed by the security services. They also said that managers had been able to warn patrons before police arrived. The raids follow a decision by Russia's Supreme Court to label the country's LGBTQ+ movement as an extremist organisation. The ruling, which was made in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry, is the latest step in a decadelong crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights under President Vladimir Putin, who has emphasised traditional family values during his 24 years in power. Activists have noted the lawsuit wa

Russian President Putin signs new decree to boost troop numbers by 170,000

It reported that as per the new decree signed by Putin, the total number of people serving in the Russian Armed Forces has been set at 2,209,130, including 1,320,000 servicemen

Russian oil turns dearer for Indian refiners after US enforces price cap

Moves by Washington to enforce the price cap strictly by opening investigations into five tankers transporting Russian oil has created concerns among refiners and traders

Henry Kissinger: Flawed genius who will be missed more in China than the US

Kissinger acknowledged India's civilisational impulse and remarkable assimilative power while retaining its identity, but he remained in thrall to China

Russia's Lavrov insists goals in Ukraine unchanged amid criticism

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday his government was not prepared to review its goals in Ukraine delivering a blunt and confrontational message to Western leaders on a rare trip to a NATO member state. We aren't seeing any signals from Kyiv or its masters about their readiness to seek any kind of political settlement, Lavrov told reporters while attending a security conference in North Macedonia. We see no reason to review our goals, he said. North Macedonia, which joined NATO in 2020, waived a flight ban on Russian officials so that Lavrov could attend the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, prompting the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to skip the meeting in protest. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a brief stop in North Macedonia's capital of Skopje before Lavrov arrived. Participants at the two-day conference accused Moscow of undermining the OSCE. The Vienna, Austria-based organisation originally created

Russia outlaws 'extremist' LGBT movement, bans all activities in country

The court ruling stated that "the international LGBT public movement and its subdivisions" were extremist, and issued a "ban on its activities on the territory of Russia"

Opec+ ministers meet to discuss additional oil output cuts for next year

The size of potential additional cuts have not been decided yet, but two delegates said they ranged from 1 million to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter of 2024

President Zelenskyy faces manpower dilemma in Ukraine's stalled offensive

Kostenko, 40, who is also fighting in southern Ukraine, said the military is struggling after long queues at recruitment centers last year have dwindled, with volunteer fighters long at the front line

Ukraine says Russian strikes hit coal mine, private homes; four killed

Three apartment buildings, two industrial enterprises, an administrative building, and vehicles were damaged. Power lines and a gas pipeline were also targeted

Center plans to increase coking coal shipments from Russia: Report

Russian coking coal cargoes are already cheaper than Australian supplies, and some Russian suppliers are willing to lower their prices, said sources