Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
The Latest: Putin deplores US sanctions on Russia
The Republican-led Senate voted Wednesday to punish Moscow for interfering in the 2016 election by approving a wide-ranging sanctions package that targets key sectors of Russia’s economy and individuals who carried out cyberattacks. Putin, speaking Thursday during a live call-in show televised nationwide, deplored the Senate’s move...
Putin: Russia has climbed out of recession
The Russian economy had plunged into recession under the impact of a drop in global oil prices and Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and support for pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Putin acknowledged that the Russian economy hasn’t yet shed its dependence on exports of raw...
Secretary of state says US-Russia relations deteriorating
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday the U.S. relationship with Russia is at an all-time low and deteriorating further, yet he cautioned against taking steps that might close off promising avenues of communication between the two former Cold War foes. Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tillerson...
Russian malware threatens power systems
Hackers allied with the Russian government have devised a cyberweapon that has the potential to be the most disruptive yet against electric systems that Americans depend on for daily life, according to U.S. researchers. […] with modifications, it could be deployed against U.S. electric transmission and distribution systems to devastating...
Explosive devices goes off at US embassy in Kiev
MOSCOW (AP) — Police in the Ukrainian capital Kiev say someone has hurled an explosive device onto the grounds of the U.S. embassy. Police said in a statement on Thursday no one was injured when the device detonated on the embassy’s lawn in the late hours on Wednesday. The U.S. embassy’s compound on the western outskirts of Kiev is...
NATO and partners hold land, sea exercises in eastern Europe
The training includes “tracking down and fighting submarines and sea mines, the use of air defense and landing troops as well as defense against navy vessels,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jacek Kwiatkowski, spokesman for the exercise. Poland, Romania and other countries on NATO’s eastern flank are concerned for their security and defense...
War crimes suspect in Ukraine conflict extradited to Austria
VIENNA (AP) — Poland has extradited to Austria a man suspected of war crimes after he allegedly killed civilians and enemy troops after they had surrendered while fighting for Ukrainian forces, authorities said Tuesday. The spokesman for the court in Lublin, in eastern Poland, Dariusz Abramowicz, said the man had been wanted on a European arrest...
Putin set to visit France in hope of mending strained ties
After Moscow lost its bets in the French vote, the visit offers the Russian leader a chance to turn the page and try to establish ties with Macron as the Kremlin has struggled to mend a bitter rift in relations with the West. The Kremlin has hailed the visit as a chance for Putin and Macron to get to know each other and better understand their...
Trump to decide soon on climate accord
TAORMINA, Sicily — Seven wealthy democracies ended their summit Saturday in Italy without unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris accord on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The other six nations in the Group of Seven agreed to stick with...
Estonia to expel 2 Russian diplomats, report says
Estonia’s security service has repeatedly said Russia’s intelligence services have strong interest in the Baltic NATO member. Ties also have been uneasy because of Moscow’s support for separatist rebels fighting in Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. …read more Source: San Francisco...
