Section: Egypt
Russia dismisses EU criticism of travel blacklist
Russia criticised the European Union on Monday for allowing the publication of a list of European officials barred from entering the country in the diplomatic fallout over the Ukraine crisis. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow, which drew up the list in response to a similar ban on Russian officials by the EU, had handed over the list to...
Special Report: Russian fighters, caught in Ukraine, cast adrift by Moscow
From his hospital bed in the Ukrainian capital, Russian fighter Alexander Alexandrov feels abandoned by his country, its leaders and even the local Russian consul.Alexandrov, 28, says he’s a Russian soldier who was captured in east Ukraine after being sent there on active duty with Russian special forces to help separatists fighting Kiev....
Putin makes troop deaths in peacetime operations a state secret
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree making military losses in “special operations” during peacetime a state secret, as the Kremlin continues to rebuff accusations its troops are fighting in Ukraine. The amendment adds to the list of what Russia classifies as “state secrets” any “information...
Russia’s new ‘undesirables’ law draws Western ire
The United States led criticism of Russia’s new law targeting “undesirable” NGOs, which activists fear will stifle critical voices at international rights groups working in the country. Under the law signed by President Vladimir Putin on Saturday evening, Russian prosecutors will be able to target foreign groups whose...
Minister: Ukraine wants roadmap to EU accession at Riga summit
Ukraine’s foreign minister said his country wants assurances at a summit with the European Union this week that it is a suitable candidate for EU membership and its citizens will gain visa-free travel to the bloc next year.Officials from the EU and its member states meet six of the bloc’s eastern neighbours, including Ukraine, in the...
Merkel – can’t imagine Russia back in G8 until common values met
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that there would not be any Group of 8 meetings with Russia as long as it fails to comply with basic common values of democracy and states based on rules of law.”The developments in Ukraine are the reason that we will meet in Elmau as Group of 7 and not a Group of 8,” she said in a...
Anti-government rally in Macedonia over wire-tap revelations
Thousands of protesters rallied in Macedonia on Sunday, demanding Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski resign over wire-tap revelations that have plunged the Balkan country into its worst political crisis since flirting with civil war in 2001. Crowds, including members of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanian minority, thronged the central avenue in front...
Macedonia protesters say to occupy streets until leader quits
Anti-government protesters in Macedonia, due to gather on Sunday, say they will occupy downtown Skopje until embattled conservative Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski resigns over a flood of damaging wire-tap disclosures.Gruevski’s political opponents hope to rally tens of thousands in front of the prime minister’s office from 2 p.m....
Ukrainian military: Three Ukrainian servicemen killed, 17 wounded in past 24 hours in east
Three Ukrainian serviceman have been killed and 17 wounded in fresh separatist attacks in eastern Ukraine in violation of a ceasefire agreement, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Sunday.Two of the deaths were a result of a mortar attack near the town of Svitlodarsk, northeast of separatist-controlled Donetsk, spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in...
Britain scrambles Typhoon jets to escort Russian bombers
British Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian long-range bombers near UK airspace north of Scotland, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday. Intercepts of Russian aircraft by NATO have increased over the last year amid heightened tensions between the West and Moscow over the Ukraine...
