Section: European Voice (EU)
US sidelined as Putin calls the shots on Syria cease-fire
President Barack Obama’s administration tried for months to broker a durable cease-fire in blood-soaked Syria, practically begging Russia to come to terms but ruling out the possibility of using U.S. military force against the Syrian regime to back up its diplomatic pressure. Early Friday, a truce was set to take hold in Syria, but...
Trump: It’s time ‘to move on’ from claims of Russian interference in election
Insisting it’s time “to move on,” President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he will nonetheless meet next week with leaders of the intelligence community “to be updated on the facts” of alleged Russian cyberattacks. “It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things,†he said in a statement....
Russia to close American school, warns of further actions, in wake of US sanctions
Russian authorities on Thursday announced the closure of the Anglo-American School of Moscow, hours after the Kremlin vowed to retaliate against recent U.S. sanctions. The nonprofit day school, which enrols international students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, will be closed along with the U.S. Embassy vacation dacha in Serebryany Bor...
US retaliates against Russia over election hack
In one of its final moves to keep Russia at bay and secure America from digital intruders, the Obama administration on Thursday slapped Moscow with a round of sanctions over its alleged election-season hacks. The punishments hits several Russian individuals and entities, including the country’s primary security services, known as the FSB,...
Putin’s army prepares for 2018 World Cup
MOSCOW — Alexander Shprygin, the 38-year-old head of Russia’s football supporters’ association, looked wary when I met him at his organization’s spacious offices in central Moscow. Dubbed a “Nazi-loving pal of Putin†and a “far-right fan leader†by...
McCain: US needs to hit Russia hard for election hacking
Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham called Wednesday for Congress to take a tougher stance against Russia for meddling in the U.S. presidential election. In an interview on Fox News from Latvia, where he and Graham were touring the Baltic states, McCain said legislators should “increase the sanctions on Russia for this...
Winners and losers of 2017
Ladies and gentlemen, a big drum roll — and a few honking raspberries — for your list of likely 2017 winners and losers: Winners Gold leaf dealers: Donald and Melania Trump are moving into the White House. Will there be an inch of the private apartments that has not been gilded by the time they leave? Theresa May:Â...
Moldovan MPs battle president over EU flag
Members of Moldova’s parliament have re-hung an EU flag over the entrance to the country’s presidential office after new pro-Russia President Igor Dodon had it removed over the Christmas period. Liberal Party MP Alina Zotea posted pictures on Facebook on Monday of the group of parliamentarians returning the EU banner to its...
Moscow: US defense policy ‘direct threat’ to Russia
Russia considers the U.S. decision to supply arms to anti-government rebels in Syria a “hostile” act, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement released Tuesday. Referring to the $600-plus billion National Defense Authorization Act that U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law earlier this month,Â...
Most powerful photographs of 2016
The world’s best photojournalists this year turned their lenses on glory and gore; on hope and despair; and more than in recent memory, on voters determined to enact change. What’s changed since this time last year? Britain is leaving the European Union, and no one is quite sure what comes next. U.S. President Barack Obama is leaving...
