Section: South Africa
Russia’s Lavrov to meet US’ Tillerson Thursday: foreign ministry
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov plans to meet his US counterpart Rex Tillerson for the first time Thursday in Germany, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday. “The meeting with Secretary of State Mr Tillerson has been planned and is being prepared” on February 16, when both diplomats will be in Bonn for the G20 ministerial...
White House struggles to insulate Trump from Russia scandal
The White House on Wednesday struggled to contain fallout from the resignation of the US national security advisor, as Moscow denied reports of contacts between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian officials. The New York Times reported that US intelligence agents intercepted calls showing that members of Trump’s 2016...
White House tries to insulate Trump from Russia scandal
The White House battled Tuesday to insulate Donald Trump from a scandal over his top aide’s contacts with Russia, as it emerged that the president was aware of the problem for weeks before acting. With calls for an independent investigation gathering pace, the White House admitted that Trump was told three weeks ago that national security...
Russia orders hunger-strike prisoner to pay medical bills
Russia has ordered a prisoner to pay his medical costs after he went on hunger strike over jail conditions, his lawyer said Monday, a move that could curb protests against poor treatment of convicts. The prison service is forcing Andrei Krekov, 36, a lawyer from the northwestern Arkhangelsk region, to cover costs of some 50,000 rubles ($870)...
UN Security Council to meet on N.Korea missile launch
The UN Security Council will hold an urgent meeting on Monday on North Korea’s missile launch, the first test since US President Donald Trump took office. The United States, Japan and South Korea requested the consultations after North Korea confirmed it had “successfully” tested a ballistic missile on Sunday. The council meeting is...
Germany to elect ‘anti-Trump’ Steinmeier as new president
Billed as Germany’s “anti-Trump”, centre-left former foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is set to be elected Sunday as the new ceremonial head of state. The 61-year-old, who regularly polls as Germany’s most popular politician, will represent the EU’s top economy abroad and act as a kind of moral arbiter for the nation....
Pirates kidnap 7 Russians, 1 Ukrainian in Nigerian waters
The embassy has asked Nigerian authorities to assist in locating the abducted people, it said late on Tuesday. …read more Source: Eyewitness...
Russia says ship’s crew taken hostage off Nigerian coast
A crew of seven Russians and a Ukrainian have been taken hostage off the coast of Nigeria after their ship was attacked, diplomats in Moscow and Kiev said Wednesday. …read more Source: Daily...
Merkel urges Putin to help end violence in eastern Ukraine
German leader Angela Merkel urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin in a telephone call on Tuesday to use his influence on separatists in eastern Ukraine to stop the violence there, and the two agreed on the need for new ceasefire efforts, a German government spokesman said. Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists have both blamed each other for...
Kremlin: Putin, Merkel call for immediate truce in east Ukraine
Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Germany’s Angela Merkel called for the immediate restoration of a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. …read more Source: Eyewitness...
