Category Archives: Russia

Sajid Javid announces overhaul of espionage and treason laws

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New bill needed to tackle hostile activity by Russia and others, says home secretary

Hostile state actors – spies, assassins or hackers directed by the government of another country – are to be targeted by refreshed espionage and treason laws, the home secretary has announced.

In a speech to security officials in central London, Sajid Javid revealed plans to publish a new espionage bill to tackle increased hostile state activity from countries including but not limited to Russia.

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Skripal poisoning suspects received mystery phone call following attack

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Detectives think pair may have been awaiting signal that operation had been successful before returning home

The Russian men suspected of poisoning Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury received a phone call after returning to London on the day of the alleged attack, raising the possibility that a backup team played a role in the operation.

One theory being considered by investigators is whether the call, which has not been disclosed before, was a signal to tip them off that the operation had been a success.

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Council of Europe votes to maintain Russia’s membership

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Human rights body had stripped Moscow of its voting rights over 2014 Crimea annexation

Russia will remain in the Council of Europe after ministers at the human rights organisation moved to end a bitter dispute following the annexation of Crimea.

Meeting in Helsinki, ministers of the 47-nation body voted overwhelmingly in favour of a declaration that said “all member states should be entitled to participate on an equal basis” in the council’s committee of ministers and parliamentary assembly.

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Merkel: Europe must unite to stand up to China, Russia and US

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German chancellor also shares views on Brexit and climate crisis in interview

Europe must reposition itself to stand up to the challenges posed by its three big global rivals, China, Russia and the US, Angela Merkel has said before her final European election as German chancellor.

Facing challenges that range from Russian interference in elections to China’s economic clout and the US’s monopoly over digital services, Europe needs to get better at putting up a united front, Merkel said in a wide-ranging interview shared with the Guardian.

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Trump Jr to testify before Senate committee after deal reached

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Agreement averts confrontation over subpoena of president’s son in Russia investigation

Donald Trump Jr will testify in a closed-door interview with the Senate intelligence committee next month, pulling the two sides back from a confrontation over a subpoena as part of the panel’s Russia investigation.

Under the terms of the deal between the president’s son and lawmakers, Trump Jr will talk to the committee in mid-June for up to four hours, according to two people familiar with the agreement. The people spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday to discuss the confidential terms.

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Pompeo to meet Putin in Russia amid fears over US-Iran clash

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Secretary of state’s visit will be first high-level meeting since redacted Mueller report release

Mike Pompeo is to meet Vladimir Putin in Russia at a time of heightened fears of a clash between the US and Iran, a Moscow ally.

A Kremlin spokesman, before the meeting on Tuesday, accused the US of applying a “maximum pressure policy” against Iran, a reference to a harsh US sanctions regime and military deployments to the Middle East.

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241m Europeans ‘may have received Russian-linked disinformation’

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Research says malign actors online tried to craft individual narrative for each EU state

Around half of all Europeans could have been exposed to disinformation promoted by social media accounts linked to Russia before the European elections, an analysis suggests.

Evidence of 6,700 so-called “bad actors” posting enough content to reach up to 241 million users was discovered by researchers examining the scale of the threat.

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Russia and Turkey landgrab ‘behind fresh Syria bombardment’

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Twelve healthcare centres destroyed in bombardment of Idlib province

Renewed bombardment in north-west Syria that has displaced 200,000 people and destroyed 12 healthcare centres could have been sparked by Russia and Turkish moves to entrench their zones of influence as the seven-year conflict winds down, according to regional diplomats.

The bombardment in Idlib province began two weeks ago and has intensified in recent days, prompting rescue workers to describe an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.

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Pompeo scraps Merkel talks due to ‘global security issues’

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Secretary of state abruptly pulls out of Berlin meeting and is silent on his next destination

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has abruptly cancelled a long-established plan to hold talks with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Berlin, citing unspecified “international security issues”.

The unusual last-minute schedule change follows brief talks between Pompeo and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of an Arctic Council meeting in Finland on Monday.

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Moscow airport plane fire: more than 40 die in Aeroflot emergency landing

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The Russian Sukhoi Superjet with 78 passengers on board bounced along tarmac before bursting in to flames

A Russian passenger jet burst into flames on Sunday while attempting an emergency landing at a Moscow airport, leaving as many as 41 passengers dead and more injured.

Video from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport shows the plane bouncing along the tarmac before it suddenly burst into flames. The tail section of the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 became engulfed by fire, discharging thick, black smoke as crew members evacuated passengers using emergency slides. Fire engines sped toward the blaze while some passengers were seen fleeing across the tarmac in tears. Some were carrying luggage.

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Venezuela: Russia urges US to abandon ‘irresponsible’ plan to topple Maduro

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Secretary of state meanwhile slammed Russian meddling in the country: ‘We don’t want anyone messing around with Venezuela’

Washington and Moscow traded barbs over Venezuela on Sunday with Russia’s foreign minister urging the United States to abandon its “irresponsible” plan to depose Nicolás Maduro and his US counterpart slamming Russian meddling in the South American country.

Sergey Lavrov made the comments during a visit to Moscow by Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza – an apparent bid to stress international support for Maduro following last week’s abortive uprising against him in Caracas.

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Jeremy Hunt: Russian TV station a ‘weapon of disinformation’

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Foreign secretary’s press freedom day speech ramps up British assault on RT

Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt will on Thursday declare the Russian government-owned TV station RT to be a “weapon of disinformation” in a speech to mark World Press Freedom Day.

The comments, to an audience in Ethiopia, mark an escalation of a British ministerial assault on the standards of the Russian broadcaster, originally known as Russia Today, which had faced repeated investigations into its output by the media regulator Ofcom.

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Clashes as May Day protesters march in cities across Europe

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Worst violence occurs in Paris but trouble also flares in Berlin, Gothenburg and St Petersburg

Police and protesters have clashed, sometimes violently, in cities across Europe as tens of thousands of trade unionists, anti-capitalists and other demonstrators marched in traditional May Day rallies.

The worst confrontations were in Paris, where riot police fired teargas and stingball grenades as a 40,000-strong crowd, included gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protesters and an estimated 2,000 masked and hooded “black bloc” activists, marched from Montparnasse station to Place d’Italie.

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May Day: teargas and arrests in protests across Europe – video report

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Police and protesters have clashed in cities across Europe as tens of thousands of trade unionists, anti-capitalists and other demonstrators march in traditional May Day rallies. The worst confrontations were in Paris, where riot police fired teargas and stingball grenades as a 40,000-strong crowd marched from Montparnasse station to Place d'Italie

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North Korea’s Kim Jong-un receives joyous welcome after returning from Russia – video

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The supreme leader was met by cheering crowds as he returned from his first Russia visit. Footage of Kim's arrival back in the country was broadcast on state-run television channel KRT. Waiting at the platform among the crowds were high-ranking officials and guards. During his first Russia visit, Kim told Vladimir Putin that peace and security on the Korean peninsula depended on the US, saying a state of hostility could easily return, KRT reported

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Whale with harness could be Russian weapon, say Norwegian experts

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Fisherman raised alarm after white whale sporting unusual strapping began harassing their boats

Marine experts in Norway believe they have stumbled upon a white whale that was trained by the Russian navy as part of a programme to use underwater mammals as a special ops force.

Fishermen in waters near the small Norwegian fishing village of Inga reported last week that a white beluga whale wearing a strange harness had begun to harass their fishing boats.

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Barr threatens to skip House hearing on Mueller report over format dispute

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Attorney general has expressed objections to House judiciary committee’s questioning format, according to Democratic aide

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has informed the powerful House of Representatives judiciary committee that attorney general William Barr may not attend a Thursday hearing to review special counsel Robert Mueller’s report of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Barr has expressed objections over the panel’s questioning format, according to a senior Democratic committee aide.

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Ukraine president offers Russians citizenship in snub to Putin

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Volodymyr Zelenskiy hits back at Russia’s offer of passports for Ukrainians

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the comedian who last week won Ukraine’s presidential election, has dismissed an offer by Vladimir Putin to provide passports to Ukrainians and pledged instead to grant citizenship to Russians who “suffer” under the Kremlin’s rule.

The Russian president on Saturday said Moscow was considering plans to make it easier for all Ukrainians to obtain Russian citizenship, after it earlier moved to grant passports in the country’s separatist east.

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‘It’s an outrage’: Putin attacks 18-month prison term for Maria Butina

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  • Russian president says sentence an attempt by US to ‘save face’
  • Butina guilty of conspiring to infiltrate US conservative circles

Vladimir Putin on Saturday described as “an outrage” the sentencing of Russian gun rights activist Maria Butina to 18 months in prison in the US, calling her treatment a travesty of justice.

Related: Trump withdraws from UN arms treaty as NRA crowd cheers in delight

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Trump tells NRA second amendment rights ‘under assault’ – live

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Trump speaks at gun group’s conference in Indianapolis on same day Maria Butina given 18 months for conspiring to infiltrate NRA

•Joe Biden stopped short of apologizing to Anita Hill, in his first interview since announcing his presidential campaign. Told he had an opportunity to “apologize, say you’re sorry” for the way he handled Hill’s testimony during Clarence Thomas’ supreme court confirmation hearing, Biden equivocated. “I’m sorry she was treated the way she was treated. I wish we could have figured out a better way [to handle her testimony],” Biden said.

•Donald Trump claimed the second amendment was “under assault” in a typically free form speech to the National Rifle Association. The president also suggested he was “draining the [DC} swamp”, despite having appointed more than 350 lobbyists to government positions. Trump addressed the NRA at a time when the organization is seriously ailing. Tax filings for the right-wing gun-lobbying organization show it lost nearly $64m in 2016 and 2017.

It seems someone lobbed a phone at/in the general direction of Donald Trump as he came out to address the NRA. The president was unharmed.

whoever threw that phone has terrible aim if he/she was aiming for Trump https://t.co/CsO0IjJJ2B

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