Moscow, Russia | AFP | Tuesday 4/18/2023 Moscow said on Tuesday it had summoned the US, British and Canadian ambassadors for “gross interference” in Russia’s domestic affairs. Russia’s foreign ministry did not say precisely why the envoys were called in, but Moscow already blasted them for their statement denouncing a 25-year sentence against Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza on Monday. The ambassadors were summoned for “gross interference in Russia’s internal affairs and activities that do not […]
Europe
Putin has visited Ukraine’s Kherson, Lugansk regions: Kremlin
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Ukraine’s Kherson and Lugansk regions to meet with military commanders, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. “The supreme commander of Russian Federation armed forces has visited the headquarters of the Dniepr military grouping” in the Kherson region in the south, as well as Russian national guard headquarters in the Lugansk region in the east, the Kremlin said in a statement. It did not say when the […]
The Russian ‘fortress’ where US journalist is held
by AFP Moscow bureau with Barbara Wojazer in Warsaw Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — US journalist Evan Gershkovich’s court appearance in Moscow on Tuesday will be a rare break from his isolation in Lefortovo prison — a symbol of repression since Soviet times. The detention facility, which has housed a long list of high-profile figures, is engineered by the FSB security service to keep detainees in near-total solitude. “It’s a frozen prison, they’re isolating […]
Fit for a king… and queen: UK royals serve up ‘Coronation Quiche’ recipe
London (AFP) – Move over Coronation Chicken, there’s a new culinary concoction with UK royal approval for the crowning of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla — “Coronation Quiche”. Seven decades after the lightly curried chicken dish was created for Queen Elizabeth II’s crowning, her son on Monday unveiled the recipe for a baked savoury tart to mark his coronation next month. Chosen with his wife, Camilla, who will also be formally crowned on […]
Russia jails Putin critic Kara-Murza for 25 years
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Monday 4/17/2023 Russia on Monday sentenced Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in a “strict regime” penal colony on treason and other charges for criticising the Ukraine offensive. International leaders and supporters immediately condemned the verdict, the longest against an opposition figure in recent years, and called for his release. A Moscow court found the 41-year-old guilty of treason, of spreading “false” information about the Russian army and of […]
French court acquits Air France, Airbus over 2009 Rio-Paris crash
Paris, France | AFP | Monday 4/17/2023 by Anne LEC’HVIEN Air France and plane manufacturer Airbus were acquitted Monday over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight after a French court ruled their errors could not be proven as the disaster’s cause. While the ruling was expected after prosecutors recommended to the Paris court not to seek a conviction, it is still a huge blow for families of victims who have waged a 14-year campaign […]
Pres. Putin praises Pacific drills as China minister visits
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the “very high level” of military drills in the Pacific as Moscow seeks closer ties with China amid a stand-off with the West. The surprise drills announced last week come as Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu is in Russia on a visit which will last until Wednesday. Putin received Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Moscow for a summit showing the nations’ united front against the West. During […]
‘Burning all around’: Warsaw ghetto survivors recall uprising
by Bernard Osser with Michael Blum in Jerusalem Agence France-Presse WARSAW, Poland (AFP) — Death, terror, hunger… Eighty years after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a couple of civilian survivors speak out about what the Nazi Germans put their community through. The two women were among the 50,000 people still hiding in cellars and bunkers in the Jewish district when the doomed revolt broke out against the occupiers. “I sensed burning all around me,” said Krystyna […]
Russian Pres. Putin signs electronic military draft system into law
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a bill to create a digital draft system, greatly facilitating mobilising Russians into the army, more than a year into the Kremlin’s Ukraine offensive. The law creates a digital conscription notice system that could bar men from leaving the country and make dodging the draft nearly impossible. It has stirred fresh fears in Russia as Moscow’s Ukraine campaign drags on for a second year. Russia rushed it through […]
Russia claims gains north and south of Ukraine’s Bakhmut
Russia on Saturday claimed advances on the northern and southern outskirts of Ukraine’s embattled city of Bakhmut, the scene of the longest and bloodiest battle of Moscow’s military campaign. Russian troops have been battling since last summer to capture the town in eastern Ukraine, which has taken on huge symbolic importance even though analysts say it has little strategic value. Kyiv has said the battle for the town is key to holding back Russian forces […]
Europe’s JUICE mission blasts off towards Jupiter’s icy moons
by Juliette COLLEN The European Space Agency’s JUICE space probe successfully took off on Friday for a mission to discover whether Jupiter’s icy moons are capable of hosting extra-terrestrial life in their vast, hidden oceans. The launch on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, came after a previous attempt on Thursday was called off due to the risk of lightning. Despite cloudy skies, the rocket lifted off as planned at […]
How to decommission a nuclear power plant
Frankfurt, Germany | AFP | Saturday 4/15/2023 by Jean-Philippe LACOUR Germany’s last three nuclear power plants will stop generating electricity from Saturday but the arduous and decades-long process of decommissioning the sites is only just beginning. Here’s a look at what happens after the plants are taken offline. – Gradual shutdown – On the day of the shutdown, plant operators will gradually decrease electricity output. From 10:00 pm (2000 GMT), “we will lower the facility’s […]
