Page 110 - Russia

Russian-linked hackers claim cyberattack on mobile network, says Ukraine

Tuesday's attack on Kyivstar, which has 24.3 million mobile subscribers and more than 1.1 million home internet users, knocked out services, silenced air raid alert syst

At least 50 people injured in nighttime Russian missile attack on Ukraine

Ukraine's capital came under another missile attack early Wednesday, resulting in at least 45 injuries and several damaged buildings, the city's mayor said. A series of loud explosions could be heard in Kyiv at 3 a.m. as the city's air defences were activated for the second time this week. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Kitschko said on Telegram that debris from intercepted missiles fell in the eastern Dniprovskyi district, injuring at least 45 people. Eighteen people including two children were hospitalized while 27 people received medical treatment on the spot. An apartment building, a private house and several cars caught fire, while the windows of a children's hospital were shattered, Klitschko said. Falling rocket debris also damaged the water supply system in the district. On Monday, a Russian missile attack destroyed several homes on the outskirts of Kyiv and left more than 100 households temporarily without electricity. Wednesday's attack came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

N Korea, Russia discuss economic ties as Seoul raises labour export issue

Senior North Korean economic officials met with the governor of a Russian region along the Pacific coast for discussions on boosting economic cooperation between the countries, North Korean state media said on Wednesday. The meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, came as concerns have grown in South Korea that the North may be attempting to expand its labour exports to Russia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions to generate revenue for its struggling economy and help fund leader Kim Jong Un's nuclear weapons programme. The official Korean Central News Agency said North Korean officials led by the country's external economic relations minister, Yun Jong Ho, met with the delegation led by Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of the Primorye region in the Russian Far East, and discussed elevating economic cooperation between the countries to higher levels. The report did not specify the types of cooperation that were discussed. Kozhemyako told Russian media ahead of his visit th

India may buy more oil from UAE in the coming months after COP talks

Under pressure of russian crude, shipments from UAE has fallen 65 per cent in FY24 so far

Israeli tanks reach centre of Khan Younis in new storm of southern Gaza

Meanwhile, Russia on Sunday called for an international monitoring mission to go to Gaza to assess the humanitarian situation

For Putin, winning election could be easier than resolving many challenges

For President Vladimir Putin, winning reelection will probably be the easy part. His sweeping grip on Russia's political scene has virtually assured him another six-year term that would extend his two dozen years in power. More daunting will be the thorny challenges that lie ahead. The stalemated war in Ukraine, unyielding Western pressure that compounds Russia's economic problems, and intensifying infighting among the ruling elite will loom over Putin's next term and erode his pledges of stability. THE WAR IN UKRAINE What Putin expected to be a quick campaign in 2022 to establish Kremlin control over its neighbour has turned into a grinding war of attrition that has incurred massive personnel losses and drained Russia's resources. While Russia has prevented Ukraine's army from making any significant gains during its summer counteroffensive, the Kremlin doesn't have enough manpower and equipment to mount any major campaigns of its own. The resulting stalemate sets the stage for m

Ukraine condemns Russian presidential election bid in occupied territory

Ukraine on Saturday strongly condemned Russia's plans to hold presidential elections on occupied Ukrainian territory in the spring. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called the planned elections null and void and pledged that any international observers sent to monitor them would face criminal responsibility. Lawmakers in Russia on Thursday set the country's 2024 presidential election for March 17. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in the election. He is all but certain to win. Russian authorities plan to arrange voting in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson territories Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in September last year but does not fully control together with the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The announcement of the presidential election follows local elections for Russian-installed legislatures in occupied parts

With Putin's reelection all but assured, Russian Oppn vows to undermine him

Behind bars in penal colonies or in self-exile abroad, Russian opposition figures vow they will still put up a fight against President Vladimir Putin as he seeks yet another term in office in an election in March. Although they believe Putin will be declared the winner no matter how voters cast their ballots, they say they hope to undermine the widespread public support he enjoys, turn popular opinion against the devastating war he unleashed on Ukraine, and show those who oppose it already that they are not alone. No one but us will step into this battle for the hearts and the minds of our fellow citizens. So we need to do it and win, imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said in an online statement relayed from behind bars. Putin, 71, announced Friday that he will run for president again, to pile another six years onto his two dozen in power. He could even run again in 2030. The vote is scheduled for March 15-17, with his victory all but assured. The vast majority of

Russia launches cruise missile barrage on Ukraine after extended pause

The air raid in Kyiv lasted for nearly two hours, but air defences successfully intercepted all missiles heading towards the capital, said Serhii Popko

Russian athletes can compete at Paris Olympics with approved neutral status

Some Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the IOC said Friday, in a decision that removed the option of a blanket ban over the invasion of Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee's decision confirms moves it started one year ago to reintegrate Russia and its military ally Belarus into global sports, and nine months after it urged sports governing bodies to look at ways to let individual athletes compete. It is up to each Olympic sport's governing body to assess and enforce neutral status for individual athletes who have not actively supported the war and are not contracted to military or state security agencies. Those who are given neutral status must compete without national identity of flag, anthem or colours. Russia remains banned from team sports. The IOC said eight Russians and three from Belarus are among 4,600 athletes worldwide who have so far qualified for the Summer Games, which open in July. Russia sent 335 athletes to the Tokyo .

Vladimir Putin announces he'll run for 5th Russian presidential term

Vladimir Putin has moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for another six years. State media say he has announced his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election -- which he is all but certain to win. Putin still commands wide support after nearly a quarter-century in power, despite starting an immensely costly war in Ukraine that has taken thousands of his countrymen's lives, provoked repeated attacks inside Russia - including one on the Kremlin itself - and corroded its aura of invincibility. A short-lived rebellion in June by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised widespread speculation that Putin could be losing his grip, but he emerged from it with no permanent scars.

'The Archies' movie review: Vapid nostalgia that misses political nuances

Set in the mid-1960s, the film signals virtues through reference to corporate greed, gender politics, and global warming, but delivers solutions that are too easy

Armenia and Azerbaijan announce deal to exchange POWs, work toward peace

Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to exchange prisoners of war and work toward signing a peace treaty in what the European Union hailed as a major step toward peace in the long-troubled region. The two countries said in a joint statement on Thursday they share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace. They said they intend "to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign in September in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The offensive ended three decades of rule there by ethnic Armenians and resulted in the vast majority of the 120,000 residents fleeing the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Until Thursday's announcement, the two countries had bitterly argued on the outline of a peace process amid mutual distrust. As part of the deal, Armenia agreed to lift its objections t

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