Section: San Francisco Chronicle (USA)
Records match some Ukraine ledger payments to ex-Trump aide
Ukrainian investigators called it evidence of off-the-books payments from a pro-Russian political party — and part of a larger pattern of corruption under the country’s former president. […] financial records newly obtained by The Associated Press confirm that at least $1.2 million in payments listed in the ledger next to...
Russia hopes Tillerson’s visit will lead to improved ties
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tillerson’s talks next Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will focus on the fight against terrorism, various regional conflicts including Syria and Ukraine, tensions around North Korea and nuclear arms control. The U.S. State Department said Tillerson will meet with Lavrov and other...
Ukraine gov’t pledges to cease fire in the east on Saturday
Fighting between government troops and the separatists has been raging in eastern Ukraine since 2014, killing more than 9,800 people. A 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany has helped reduce the scale of fighting, but violence has continued while attempts to broker a political settlement have failed. …read more Source: San...
EU court rules Russia sanctions over Ukraine are valid
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top court has ruled that the bloc’s economic sanctions on Russian companies over the crisis in Ukraine are valid. …read more Source: San Francisco...
News of the day from around the world, March 25
1 Refugee crisis: A Spanish aid organization said Friday it feared hundreds of refugees may have died off Libya’s coast, while Turkish media reported that 11 died after a boat sank in the Aegean Sea. The push toward the Tishrin Dam came three days after U.S. aircraft ferried Syrian Kurdish fighters and allies to spearhead a major ground...
A new face in Belarus’ anti-government protests: The poor
MALADZYECHNA, Belarus (AP) — The half-million Belarusians who can’t find work in their country’s stumbling Soviet-style economy face an array of hard choices: register with the state employment exchange, which will force them to take “public work” for a pittance; pay $250 for failure to register; or risk being jailed for...
Putin meets Le Pen, denies French election interference
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin held a surprise meeting Friday with France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, yet dismissed suggestions that Russia aims to influence the election in her favor. Putin’s meeting with Le Pen came amid rising controversy over whether Russia tried to influence the U.S. presidential...
A new face in Belarus’ anti-government protests: The poor
MALADZYECHNA, Belarus (AP) — The half-million Belarusians who can’t find work in their country’s stumbling Soviet-style economy face an array of hard choices: register with the state employment exchange, which will force them to “public work” for a pittance; pay $250 for failure to register; or risk being jailed for taking...
Ukraine: Russian agent killed Kremlin critic Voronenkov
MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Ukrainian official says the killer of Kremlin critic Denis Voronenkov, who was gunned down in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, was a Russian agent. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, identified the man who shot Voronenkov on Thursday as 28-year-old Pavel Parshov and said he had been trained...
Russia, Ukraine at odds over singer’s Eurovision performance
GENEVA (AP) — Eurovision song contest organizers say they have taken the unprecedented step of offering to let Russia’s contestant perform via satellite after authorities in host Ukraine banned her from entering the country — a proposal that was immediately rejected by a Russian state broadcaster. The European Broadcasting Union says...
