Former Putin adviser had neck fracture at time of death in Washington hotel

New report raises questions about Mikhail Lesin, whose death was ruled an accident but has been shrouded in suspicion

Newly released documents show that a former adviser to Vladimir Putin sustained a complete fracture of his neck “at or near the time of his death” in a Washington hotel room in 2015.

The documents from the city’s medical examiner were released to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE) in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed nearly two years ago.

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Those responsible for Syria’s agony must be brought to book, starting at the top

Despite Russia blocking attempts to investigate Assad’s war crimes, there are glimmers of hope

The final unravelling of the Islamic State’s evil caliphate exerts a horrible fascination. The jihadis committed many appalling crimes in Syria and Iraq – exploiting the chaos caused by the Syrian civil war – and were responsible, directly or indirectly, for murderous attacks in Britain and several other European countries.

Most people expect a reckoning. It is only right that Isis fighters who have been captured alive, and those who gave them aid and succour, should face justice as soon as possible.

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Superyachts and private schools: Britain’s dirty money problem

Russian money – some legitimate, some the proceeds of fraud – was channeled through a Lithuanian bank into the UK, according to a major leak of banking documents. The Guardian’s Juliette Garside has been investigating for months and describes how Prince Charles and some of England’s most exclusive schools have benefited. Plus: Ben Beaumont-Thomas on the legacy of the Prodigy’s Keith Flint

The leak of more than 1m bank transactions has shown how an estimated $4.6bn (£3.5bn) was sent to Europe and the US from a Russian-operated network of 70 offshore companies with accounts in Lithuania.

The Guardian’s Juliette Garside has been investigating the network and where the money ended up. She tells India Rakusen that money linked to major Russian fraud cases was laundered with funds from legitimate enterprise, making it impossible to trace the original source. It could then be spent on luxury goods, private school fees and property.

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Banking leak exposes Russian network with link to Prince Charles

Exclusive: investigation reveals how Troika Dialog channelled $4.6bn to Europe and US

A charity run by Prince Charles received donations from an offshore company that was used to funnel vast amounts of cash from Russia in a scheme that is under investigation by prosecutors, the Guardian can reveal.

Money flowing through the network included cash that can be linked to some of the most notorious frauds committed during Vladimir Putin’s presidency.

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Russian state TV shows map of potential US nuclear targets

New hypersonic missiles could hit targets including Pentagon in under five minutes, it claims

Russian state television has broadcast a map of the US showing military facilities Moscow would target in the event of a nuclear strike, in a report that was unusual even by its own bellicose standards.

The targets included the Pentagon and the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. A hypersonic missile Russia is developing would be able to hit them in less than five minutes, it said.

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Italian MPs demand answers over claims Salvini’s League sought Kremlin funding

Salvini spokesman says claims of Moscow meeting to fund the party are ‘fantasies’

Italian opposition politicians have demanded an urgent explanation from the government after allegations surfaced accusing Matteo Salvini’s far-right League party of links to the Kremlin.

According to claims made in L’Espresso magazine, an arrangement was struck to sell 3m tonnes of diesel fuel to an Italian oil company by Russian representatives close to the government of Vladmir Putin, diverting profits to the League.

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‘I believe Putin’: Trump dismissed US advice on North Korea threat, says McCabe

Former FBI chief says president believed Russian leader over US security agencies and ‘a crime may have been committed’ over Comey firing

A former FBI acting director has alleged Donald Trump dismissed advice from his own security agencies on the threat posed by North Korea’s missiles, saying “I don’t care. I believe Putin.”

Andrew McCabe made the claims in an interview with 60 Minutes, in which he discussed his tenure at the FBI after James Comey was fired by the president in 2017.

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Russia follows US in suspending nuclear deal

Moscow announces move after US said on Friday it would withdraw from INF nuclear treaty

Vladimir Putin has said Russia will suspend its involvement in a cold war-era nuclear pact, following a similar decision by the US, and begin developing new nuclear-capable missiles banned by the treaty.

The move came a day after Donald Trump confirmed the US would exit the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty. The US had complained for several years that a Russian cruise missile violated the treaty, a claim that Russia has denied.

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Trump lifts sanctions on firms linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska

  • Democrats in Congress opposed move to lift restrictions
  • Deripaska is ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin

The Trump administration has lifted sanctions on three companies, including the aluminum giant Rusal, linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Democrats had led a push in Congress to continue the restrictions.

Related: 'Sex trainer' who said she could prove Russia meddled in US election freed

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Russian activists denied asylum in Sweden: ‘We can’t go back’

Alexey Knedlyakovsky and Lusine Djanyan say they fear being arrested and beaten if sent home

Two Russian opposition activists denied political asylum in Sweden say they fear being arrested and beaten up if they are forced to go home.

“You never know when something will happen,” say Alexey Knedlyakovsky and Lusine Djanyan, who fled their home city of Krasnodar in March 2017 after what they say was a campaign of persecution by the secret police. They flew to Sweden with their two-year-old son and claimed asylum.

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Putin says US wants to ‘assert dominance’ in Balkans as Macedonia changes name

Russian president claims alleged increase of western influence is ‘destablising’

Vladimir Putin has weighed into the row over Macedonia’s name-change, accusing the US and its allies of destabilising the Balkans by “asserting their dominant role” in the region.

The Russian president criticised what he described as deliberate efforts to increase western influence in a part of the world Moscow has long regarded as falling within its own orbit.

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Soldier, spy: more details of Vladimir Putin’s past revealed

Russian president, on a visit to a fortress, says he commanded a howitzer artillery battalion

Vladimir Putin has revealed that he commanded an artillery battalion during the Soviet period, a detail of his shadowy biography that was previously unknown.

Putin made the comment during a visit on Monday to St Petersburg’s Peter and Paul Fortress, where he pulled the lever on a cannon that fires a daily salute at noon over the Neva River.

“I received the rank of lieutenant as an artilleryman, as the commander of a howitzer artillery battalion… 122mm [calibre],” Putin said, according to video footage posted by the Kremlin. He gave no further details.

An official at the fortress congratulated the Russian president on a “wonderful” cannon shot.

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Senate report on Russian disinformation details scale, sweep

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin give a joint news conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018. less U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin give a joint news conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018.

Few Democrats campaigning on Russia investigation

This summer, with the midterm elections only months away, Democratic pollster Celinda Lake worried that her party was failing to capitalize politically on the investigation of Russian interference in the last presidential election. So she pitched liberal groups on a series of online surveys and focus groups.

Trump ‘con jobs’ endanger U.S. and world, Kerry tells Morristown book fest

The President who vowed to "Make America Great Again" has lost sight of the values and sacrifices that made America truly great, leaving a vacuum that is "dangerous for our country and is dangerous for the world," former Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday in Morristown. "Russia and China are extremely busy trying to attack our leadership status," said Kerry, in town to promote his book, Morristown Festival of Books.

Investigative reporter Craig Unger: “Trump has had contacts with the Russian mafia for 35 years”

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Putin ‘is planting troops and missiles in eastern Libya’ in anti-western stronghold

Putin 'is planting troops and missiles in eastern Libya in bid to seize control of the biggest illegal immigration route to Europe', UK intelligence fears Russian president Vladimir Putin is planting troops and weapons in Libya to establish a strategic stronghold against the west, intelligence chiefs say. Prime Minister Theresa May has been warned that the country will become Putin's 'new Syria ' by using it as a base for missiles.