Section: Time (USA)
The Trump Administration Allowed a Sanctioned Russian Spy Chief to Meet With Intelligence Officials in the U.S.
(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration let a top Russian spy official visit the United States last week for meetings with U.S. intelligence officials even though there are sanctions against him that typically prohibit such visits, officials said Tuesday. The Russian ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, said on Russian state TV that Sergei...
The 5 Most Wanted Geopolitical Fugitives of 2018
It’s not always nice to be wanted. In a time of heightened geopolitical drama, here’s a look at a handful of the “most wanted” characters that have captivated the world’s attention, and what their specific stories tell us about the state of the globe in 2018: Carles Puigdemont When Spain emerged from the Franco years, it held a...
Vladimir Putin’s Challenger Says He Would Win if Russia’s Elections Were Fair
(MOSCOW) — As the most serious challenger during Vladimir Putin’s 18 years in power, Alexei Navalny has endured arrests, show trials and facefuls of green antiseptic that damaged his vision. But in an interview Monday with The Associated Press, he said the biggest thing keeping him from becoming Russia’s next president is a political...
4 Winter Solstice Rituals From Around the World
Thousands of people around the globe will herald the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, with centuries-old rituals like soaking in fruit-filled baths and dressing up as a devilish folklore legend that punishes naughty children around Christmas. The solstice, which falls on Dec. 21 this year, marks the first...
British Prime Minister Theresa May Accuses Russia of Sowing Discord in the West
British Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the Kremlin of destabilizing eastern Ukraine, mounting a campaign of cyber espionage in Europe, and “planting fake stories” to “sow discord in the West.” Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s banquet in London Monday, May’s unequivocal rebuke of Putin stands in marked contrast to U.S. President...
Donald Trump: Vladimir Putin ‘Absolutely Did Not Meddle in Our Election’
(HANOI) — President Donald Trump said Russia’s Vladimir Putin once again vehemently denied interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections during their discussions on the sidelines of an economic summit Saturday. Trump declined to say whether he believed Putin, but made clear he’s not interested in dwelling on the issue. “He said he absolutely...
What to Know About the ‘Paradise Papers’ Leak
A leak of more than 13 million documents pertaining to wealth stored in offshore tax havens has revealed information on tens of thousands of the world’s wealthiest companies and people, including high-profile figures from U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, to the Queen of England. The documents — tagged as “Paradise Papers” — were...
Trump Official Wilbur Ross Involved With Business Tied to Vladimir Putin
(NEW YORK) — Newly leaked documents show that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the Trump administration’s point man on trade and manufacturing policy, has a stake in a company that does business with a gas producer partly owned by the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to records obtained by the International...
How Paul Manafort Helped Elect Russia’s Man in Ukraine
By the account of his lawyer, Paul Manafort went to work in Ukraine in 2005 with the most spotless of intentions. “[He] represented pro-European Union campaigns for the Ukrainians,” the attorney, Kevin Downing, said in a statement. “And in the course of that representation he was seeking to further democracy and to help the Ukrainians come closer...
Q&A: Kyrgyzstan’s President on Democracy, Islam, and Being Friends with Putin
You don’t read much about Kyrgyzstan in the international press, but it’s a fascinating part of a fascinating region. A predominantly Muslim former Soviet state of 6 million that borders China along its eastern border, it contends with competing currents created by Russia, China, the United States, and the Muslim world. And it’s...
