Europe

Pres. Putin will not hold annual year-end press conference: Kremlin

Moscow, Russia (AFP) Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold his annual end-of-year press conference this year, which has been dominated by Moscow’s Ukraine offensive, the Kremlin said on Monday. “There will not be (a press conference) before the New Year,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He added that Putin “regularly speaks to the press, including on foreign visits”. Peskov gave no reason for the break with tradition. Putin, who has been in power since […]

Three boys die after falling into frozen lake in UK: police

London, United Kingdom (AFP) Three boys aged eight, 10 and 11 have died and another boy remains in critical condition after they fell into an icy lake near Birmingham, central England, police said Monday. “Three boys have tragically died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull yesterday afternoon,” West Midlands Police said in a statement. The boys suffered cardiac arrest and were rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water. […]

Qatar EU bribery allegations ‘worrisome’: Borrell

Brussels, Belgium (AFP) The EU’s foreign policy chief said on Monday that allegations of bribery by World Cup host Qatar to burnish its image at the European Parliament were “worrisome”, after Belgian prosecutors charged four suspects with corruption. One of the European Parliament’s vice presidents, Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili, was the highest-profile target remanded in custody on Sunday after investigators found “bags of cash” at her home. The bribery claims have rocked the EU’s […]

Athens freezes assets of corruption-accused Greek MEP

  Athens, Greece (AFP) Greek authorities froze assets of European Parliament vice president Eva Kaili on Monday, after the Greek MEP was arrested on corruption charges over her alleged involvement in a graft scandal linked to Qatar. The measure, which also applies to her relatives, includes “bank accounts, safes, companies and other financial assets”, said the Greek anti-money laundering authority president Haralambos Vourliotis. Greek banks and state services have already been informed of the decision, […]

Striking UK nurses say walkouts over pay ‘last resort’

by Helen ROWE Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — UK nurses are set to walk out on strike for the first time in their union’s 106-year history this week, insisting they are taking action as a “last resort”. Up to 100,000 members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will hold a one-day stoppage on Thursday after rejecting a government pay offer. Chemotherapy, dialysis, intensive care and high-dependency […]

Japan, UK, Italy to develop next-generation fighter jet

London, United Kingdom (AFP) by Jitendra JOSHI with Tomohiro OSAKI and Katie FORSTER in Tokyo Britain, Italy and Japan said Friday they will jointly develop a future fighter jet in a project that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said would guarantee national security and safeguard thousands of jobs. The three nations held out the prospect of cooperation with European and US allies, which are developing their own “sixth-generation” planes, vowing to maintain “interoperability” among all the […]

Freed arms dealer Bout says West wants to ‘destroy’ Russia

Moscow, Russia (AFP) Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was freed in a prisoner swap with US basketball star Brittney Griner, told Kremlin-run media on Friday that Western countries are seeking to “destroy” and “divide” Russia. “The West believes that they did not finish us off in 1990, when the Soviet Union began to disintegrate… They think that they can just destroy us again and divide Russia,” he told state-run channel RT, known previously as […]

‘Merchant of death’ Bout arrives in Russia after swap

Moscow, Russia (AFP)  Viktor Bout, a notorious arms dealer who was released as a result of a US prisoner swap, arrived in Russia on Thursday, state television said. “Don’t worry, everything is OK, I love you very much,” he told his mother Raisa in comments broadcast by state television. He spoke to his family when his plane made a refuelling stop in Russia. In footage broadcast on state television, Bout was shown boarding a plane […]

Russia says ties with US still in ‘crisis’ despite prisoner swap

Moscow, Russia (AFP) Russia said Friday that its ties with the United States were still in “crisis” despite a prisoner swap involving US basketball star Brittney Griner and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Tensions between Moscow and Washington have soared in recent months over a range of issues, peaking after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into pro-Western Ukraine.   “It is probably wrong to draw any hypothetical conclusions that this could be a step towards […]

Russia confirms Griner prisoner swap for arms dealer Bout

Moscow, Russia (AFP) Moscow confirmed Thursday it had exchanged US basketball star Brittney Griner, who had been jailed in Russia, for notorious arms trafficker Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the United States. “On December 8, 2022, at the Abu Dhabi airport, the exchange of Russian citizen Viktor Bout for US citizen Brittney Griner… was successfully completed,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. Moscow said it had been negotiating with Washington […]

US basketball star Griner freed in Russian prisoner swap

Washington, United States (AFP) President Joe Biden said Thursday that US women’s basketball star Brittney Griner is “on her way home” after Moscow reported she had been exchanged in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Victor Bout. The US athlete, who was being held in a remote Russian penal colony, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February and handed nine years in prison in August for possessing vape cartridges with a small quantity of […]

Zelensky’s Time award ‘Russophobic,’ says Kremlin

Moscow, Russia (AFP) The Kremlin on Thursday said Time magazine’s decision to name Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as “Person of the Year” reflected “Russophobic” trends in Western countries. The comments came after Zelensky was ranked “Person of the Year” by the magazine on Wednesday and the “Most Influential” person in Europe by Politico on Thursday. Time noted its choice to nominate Zelensky was the “the most clear-cut in memory”, hailing the leader’s decision to remain […]