Section: KXAN (USA)
EU leaders seek to ramp up pressure on Belarus president
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are putting on a show of support Wednesday for people protesting in Belarus. Emergency talks will aim to highlight their concern about the contested presidential election and ratchet up pressure on officials linked to the security crackdown that followed. The EU believes that the results of the Aug. 9 polls,...
Germany’s Maas calls Pompeo over pipeline sanctions threat
BERLIN (AP) — German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday he personally reached out to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to express “dismay” over a warning by three Republican senators who threatened sanctions against a German port operator for its part in a pipeline project with Russia. The U.S. has long opposed the project, which has been...
German far-right leader welcomes US troop withdrawal
BERLIN (AP) — The leader of Germany’s biggest far-right party has welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw thousands of American troops from the European Union country. Tino Chrupalla, the co-chairman of Alternative for Germany, told public broadcaster ZDF the move was in line with his party’s program, which...
Captain astonished that his ship delivered Beirut explosive
MOSCOW (AP) — When Boris Prokoshev, a former sea captain spending his retirement years in a Russian village, woke up and found an email saying a ship he once commanded had carried the ammonium nitrate that blew up swathes of Beirut, he was astonished. “I didn’t understand anything,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday from Verkhnee...
Ukrainian police detain man with explosives at Kyiv bank
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian police on Monday detained a man who threatened to blow up an explosive device at a bank in the nation’s capital. The man, identified as Sukhrob Karimov, a 32-year-old citizen of the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan, entered a bank office in Kyiv and said he had explosives in his backpack. He let bank clerks...
Kremlin sternly urges Belarus to free detained Russians
MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin on Friday demanded that Belarus quickly release 33 Russian private security contractors detained on terrorism charges, dismissing the accusations as bogus. Belarusian officials said the employees of private Russian military contractor Wagner are facing a criminal probe on charges of plotting terror attacks in Belarus...
Belarus says Russians plotted attacks, Kremlin rolls eyes
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Belarusian authorities on Thursday accused more than 30 detained Russians of plotting terror attacks amid a presidential election campaign, allegations that Russian officials angrily rejected. The grave accusations mark an unprecedented spike in tensions between Russia and Belarus, which are neighbors and traditionally...
EU, in first-ever cyber sanctions, hits Russian intelligence
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday slapped sanctions on six people and three organizations, including Russia’s military intelligence agency, accusing them of responsibility for several cyber-attacks that threatened EU interests. EU headquarters said in a statement that those targeted include people considered to be involved in...
Ceasefire in war-torn eastern Ukraine to begin at midnight
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian and rebel forces in war-torn eastern Ukraine have started preparing for a “full and comprehensive” ceasefire scheduled to begin at midnight on Monday. Rebel officials said Sunday they have instructed their troops about the ceasefire and issued a decree banning weapon use. Ukraine’s military said their forces...
Putin attends naval parade, promises new ships to navy
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin said the Russian navy will get 40 new ships and vessels this year, as he attended a naval parade in St. Petersburg on Sunday marking the Navy Day in Russia. The parade in St. Petersburg and the nearby town of Kronshtadt featured 46 ships and vessels and over 4,000 troops and aimed to “demonstrate the growing...
