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JPMorgan had handled some Russian grain export payments for a few months with reassurances from Washington. However, that cooperation stopped in early August, said Russia's Foreign Ministry, after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain deal in July. UNDERMINING U.N. EFFORTSU.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday that Russia's bombardment was undermining U.N. efforts to help facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports. To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, U.N. officials agreed to help Russian exports reach global markets. "It has led many of those whose goodwill is needed, notably in the private sector, to question whether there is any real interest in re-joining the Black Sea Initiative."

Persons: Morgan, Sarah Meyssonnier, Moscow, James O'Brien, ”, O'Brien, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Michelle Nichols, Michael Perry Organizations: JPMorgan, REUTERS, Washington, State Department, Reuters, Wednesday, Foreign Ministry, State Department's Office, United Nations, Security, Black Sea Initiative, United, Russia's, Russian Foreign Ministry, Guterres, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, Moscow, Ukraine, Washington, Russia, New York, United Nations, Turkey, United

WASHINGTON (AP) — A contractor for the U.S. government has been arrested on espionage charges, accused of providing a foreign country classified information that he downloaded and printed from his work computer system, the Justice Department said Thursday. Abraham Teklu Lemma, who is originally from Ethiopia, had a top secret security clearance and access to classified information through contracting positions with the departments of State and Justice. Court papers do not identify the country Lemma is accused of spying for, and a Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. Lemma, 50, of Silver Spring, Maryland, is a naturalized U.S. citizen, the Justice Department said. The department said it would continue to implement recommendations from that review to improve its protection of classified information.

Persons: Abraham Teklu, “ Roger, Eric Tucker Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Justice Department, State, Justice, The New York Times, Prosecutors, State Department, Massachusetts Air National, Twitter Locations: Ethiopia, , Maryland, U.S

☆ State Dept. Contractor Is Accused of Stealing Satellite Imagery of Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Adam Goldman | More About Adam Goldman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While the complaint does not disclose what country Mr. Lemma was working for, U.S. officials identified it as Ethiopia and described the suspected spying as narrow in focus. In a statement, the State Department said it would work with intelligence agencies and conduct a review of the national security and foreign policy implications of the case. According to a court filing, Mr. Lemma had been employed by the State Department since at least 2021, working during the evenings at a secure facility in Washington. At the State Department, Mr. Lemma served as an information technology administrator in its intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, known as I.N.R., and had access to classified systems, the filing said. The intelligence arm handles some of the most sensitive American intelligence, which is used to better inform ambassadors and other senior diplomats.

Organizations: State Department, Justice Department, of Intelligence, Research Locations: Ethiopia, Washington, Eritrea

☆ Inside the crucial final hours as American diplomats tackled last minute obstacles to bring five Americans imprisoned in Iran home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Senior State Department officials spoke to CNN about what happened on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive details. The Iranians even threatened not to include all five of the Americans in the release unless the US did more, the officials told CNN. “We held our line and the Iranians backed down and we made it work,” a senior State Department official said. But the Qatari officials, in a smooth diplomatic maneuver, countered that they would be offended if everyone did not eat while on board the Qatari plane and an agonizing final delay was avoided. ET, the US plane carrying the seven Americans, Carstens, Paley and other US officials departed Doha en route to the US.

Persons: Iran Abram Paley, Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, “, ”, didn’t, “ They’re, “ We’ve, “ couldn’t, Morad, Emad Shargi, Effie, Vida, Siamak, Karim Jaafar, Carstens, Paley, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Joe Biden, ” Shargi Organizations: CNN, Senior State Department, Hostage Affairs, Qatari, Swiss, State Department, Central Bank, Doha International Airport, Getty, Defense, “ CNN Locations: United States, Iran, Tehran, Doha, South Korea, Qatar, Emad Sharqi, AFP, Washington, DC, Fort Belvoir , Virginia, PISA, Fort Belvoir

☆ A Cuban teenager was offered a job doing 'construction work' in Russia. Instead he was sent to fight on the front lines in Ukraine.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Cuban teenager accepted a job offer to do construction work for the Russian military. Instead, he was sent to fight on the front lines of the war in Ukraine, TIME reported. Alex Vegas Díaz, 19, and a friend were taken to a military base, outfitted with weapons, and then sent to fight, according to TIME, which reviewed social media footage posted by Vegas Díaz. In one of the videos, dated August 31, which went viral, Vegas Díaz can be seen in a Russian hospital recovering from an unspecified illness. TIME reported that Vegas Díaz became part of a large operation that openly recruited hundreds of Cubans to join the Russian army to fight in Ukraine.

Persons: Alex Vegas Díaz, Vegas Díaz Organizations: TIME, US State Department, Service, Vegas, Ministry of Defence, Cuban Facebook, Cuban, State Department, Russia Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Cuba, Vegas, Russian, Russia, Cuban

A lawsuit filed Monday by an Islamic civil rights group on behalf of Khairullah and other plaintiffs says his exclusion from the White House event demonstrates that Muslims face negative repercussions even after they are able to clear their name from the list. The Secret Service declined to comment on the lawsuit. The FBI's Terrorist Screening Center plays a primary role in the watchlist, though many government agencies are involved in the secretive process. CAIR contends that its lawsuits have uncovered the breadth of government agencies that use the list, from local law enforcement to the State Department to the Secret Service. That's because in most cases, the government refuses to tell people if they've been placed on the list or if they've been removed.

Persons: — Mohamed Khairullah, Khairullah, Bashar Assad, Assad, ”, Hannah Mullen, Justin Sadowsky, ” Mullen, Mullen, they've, ” Khairullah Organizations: WASHINGTON, White, Islamic Relations, CAIR, State Department, Secret Locations: U.S, Prospect Park , New Jersey, Newark , New Jersey, Syria, Boston, ”, Canada

The Americans took off in a plane from Tehran just before 9 a.m. Eastern time and were expected to fly to Doha, the capital of Qatar. Officials said that they would be given brief medical checkups before flying to Washington on a U.S. government plane. Several of the Iranian American prisoners, who hold dual citizenship, had been moved from the notorious Evin prison to a hotel last month, according to officials at the State Department and the National Security Council. The U.S. government had deemed the five wrongfully detained. Their release comes after more than two years of quiet negotiations between Washington and Tehran.

Organizations: Iranian, White House, Officials, State Department, National Security Council Locations: Iran, Tehran, Doha, Qatar, Washington, U.S

CNN —The Iranian government now has access to $6 billion of their funds to be used for humanitarian purposes as a part of a wider deal that allowed five Americans who had been imprisoned in Iran to go free. Sources told CNN the funds came from oil sales that were allowed and placed into accounts set up under the Trump administration. The money is now available to the Iranian government for purchase of non-sanctionable items such as food and medicine. Kirby said that statement was “flat out wrong.”“This is not a payment of any kind, it’s not ransom, these aren’t US taxpayer dollars, and we haven’t lifted a single one of our sanctions on Iran – Iran will be getting no sanctions relief,” Kirby said. “The money will then go to qualified vendors to purchase and deliver the food, the medical supplies, into Iran.

Persons: Biden, John Kirby, Trump, Antony Blinken, Ebrahim Raisi, Kirby, ” Kirby, “, ”, Trita, Republican Sen, Tom Cotton of, Mike Pence –, Pence, Sen, Tim Scott, Blinken, Janet Yellen Organizations: CNN, Qatar, Republicans, State Department, Ukraine, Biden, US Treasury Department, Qatari National Bank, Quincy Institute, Republican, House, Tehran – Locations: Iran, South Korea, Qatar, Europe, White, Doha, Washington ,, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Tehran, China, United States

Mexican Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreCHICAGO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Ovidio Guzman, one of the sons of incarcerated Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, pleaded not guilty to U.S. fentanyl trafficking charges on Monday in federal court in Chicago, prosecutors said, three days after his extradition from Mexico. Guzman, 33, is one of El Chapo's four sons, known as "Los Chapitos," who inherited their father's trafficking empire after his conviction on U.S. murder and drug charges in 2019. "El Chapo" Guzman is serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison in Colorado. Guzman was briefly arrested in Culiacan in the northern state of Sinaloa in 2019. "El Chapo" Guzman rose to prominence at the helm of the Sinaloa Cartel and added to his infamy by escaping Mexican prisons not once but twice.

Persons: Ovidio Guzman, Joaquin, El, Guzman, El Chapo's, Ovidio, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Biden, Eric Cox, Joseph Ax, Kanishka Singh, Grant McCool Organizations: Biden, Chicago Tribune, U.S, Tribune, State Department, Thomson Locations: Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, CHICAGO, Chicago, Colorado . U.S, The U.S, U.S, Brooklyn

☆ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet with senators at the U.S. Capitol
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Julie Tsirkin | Summer Concepcion | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to visit the Capitol and meet with senators on Thursday, a Senate leadership aide told NBC News. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will host an all-senators meeting with Zelenskyy on Thursday at 10 a.m. More from NBC News:Zelenskyy is also expected to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, a person familiar with the plans previously told NBC News. "I hope we finally have put to bed the notion about whether or not Ukraine is welcome in NATO. It is an investment in global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way," he told U.S. lawmakers.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Zelenskyy, Kevin McCarthy's, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Blinken Organizations: Capitol, NBC News, NBC, White, United Nations General Assembly, Zelenskyy, NATO, State Department, U.S Locations: Ky, New York City, U.S, Ukrainian, Vilnius, Lithuania, Ukraine, Kyiv, United States

☆ Mexican capo Ovidio Guzman extradited to US in win on fentanyl war
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Two Mexican officials familiar with the matter also confirmed the extradition of the 33-year-old Guzman. He was captured in January after an intense firefight in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa. The removal of Ovidio Guzman was even quicker than that of his father, who was flown to the U.S. barely a year after his final arrest in Sinaloa in early 2016. The State Department has been offering a reward worth millions of dollars for information leading to the arrest or conviction or Ovidio Guzman and three of his brothers. He was extradited to the United States in 2017 after twice escaping from prison in Mexico.

Persons: Ovidio Guzman, Joaquin, El, Guzman, General Merrick Garland, Ovidio, Garland, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Biden, Dave Graham, Drazen Jorgic, Kanishka Singh, Dan Whitcomb, William Mallard Organizations: Government, REUTERS Acquire, Biden, U.S, Department, State Department, Thomson Locations: Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, MEXICO, United States, Mexican, Sinaloa . U.S, The U.S, U.S, Colorado, Mexico City, Washington

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will no longer change transgender people's birth certificates to reflect their gender identities, the state health department said Friday, citing a new law that prevents the state from legally recognizing those identities. The decision from the state Department of Health and Environment makes Kansas one of a handful of states that won't change transgender people's birth certificates. They came in response to court filings by conservative Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach to enforce the new state law. Under the conservative Republicans who were governor before Kelly, transgender residents also couldn’t change their birth certificates. A federal judge signed off on a settlement agreement requiring the state to change transgender people’s birth certificates.

Persons: Laura Kelly's, Kris Kobach, Jaelynn, I’ve, ” Abegg, Kobach, Kelly, ” Omar Gonzalez, ”, ” Kobach, they've, ___ Hollingsworth, ___, John Hanna Organizations: of Health, Environment, Democratic Gov, Republican, GOP, Kansas, Lambda, Republicans, Lambda Legal, Kansas Supreme, American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas Locations: TOPEKA, Kan, Kansas, Wichita, U.S . Montana , Oklahoma, Tennessee, Montana, Mission , Kansas, kansas

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced new U.S. sanctions Friday on “some of Iran's more egregious human rights abusers” as he marked the anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while being held by the country's morality police. Amini had been detained for allegedly wearing her hijab too loosely in violation of laws that require women in public to wear the Islamic headscarf. Her death set off protests in dozens of cities across the country of 80 million people, with young women marching in the streets and publicly exposing and cutting off their hair. Taken in coordination with the U.K., Canada, Australia, and other nations, this is the United States' 13th round of sanctions designations in response to Iran’s crackdown on protests. The U.S. has already sanctioned over 70 Iranian people and entities “responsible for supporting the regime’s oppression of its people," Biden said.

Persons: Joe Biden, ”, Amini, Biden, Antony Blinken, ” Blinken, Jon Gambrell Organizations: WASHINGTON, Treasury’s, Foreign, Iran’s Prisons Organization, paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Press, State Department, Associated Press Locations: Islamic Republic, Iran, Fars, U.S, Canada, Australia, United States, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

To boost his profile, Zuberi also donated to, or hired, several Washington advocacy groups, lobbying shops and public relations firms. Those officials included Olson, former NATO supreme commander Gen. Wesley Clark and former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement John Sandweg. The trio lobbied U.S. officials after returning from their Doha meeting with Qatari officials, the FBI said. He added that one of his greatest regrets was recruiting Allen into the effort because of the subsequent negative publicity. Allen has denied any wrongdoing but stepped down as president of the Brookings Institution, a prestigious Washington think tank, amid the FBI investigation.

Persons: —, Richard G, Olson, Obama, Imaad Zuberi, Judge G, Michael Harvey, Harvey, Prosecutors, Evan Turgeon, Turgeon, Zuberi, Harvey's, “, Joe Biden, Zubari, Wesley Clark, John Sandweg, John Allen, Allen, strategize, ___ Mustian Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, State, Prosecutors, FBI, Justice Department's, Press, NATO, . Immigration, Allen, Brookings Institution Locations: Persian, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Zuberi, Washington, Doha, U.S, New York

CNN —Ovidio Guzman Lopez, son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, has been extradited from Mexico to the United States, the US Department of Justice has announced. Guzman was flown to Chicago and landed Friday afternoon, Northern District of Illinois Assistant US Attorney Joseph D. Fitzpatrick told CNN. Following his arrest in Culiacán, chaos erupted in the city with authorities asking citizens to shelter at home as law enforcement clashed with cartel members in various parts of the city. In his statement following the extradition, Attorney General Garland paid tribute to the law enforcement officials involved. “The fight against the cartels has involved incredible courage by United States law enforcement and Mexican law enforcement and military service members, many of whom have given their lives in the pursuit of justice,” Garland said.

Persons: CNN — Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Joaquin “ El Chapo ” Guzman, General Merrick B, Garland, Guzman, ” Garland, Joseph D, Fitzpatrick, hasn’t, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Emma Coronel Aispuro, El, Chapo ”, Joaquín Guzman, Lopez, “, Edgar Guzman, ”, General Garland, “ El Organizations: CNN, US Department of Justice, Northern District of Illinois, US, US State Department, State Department, United, Department Locations: Mexico, United States, Sinaloa, Chicago, Northern District, Culiacán, Colombia, Argentina, ”, Altiplano

Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (not pictured), speaks at the U.S. The ambassador, Rahm Emanuel, has always spoken in "a colorful manner," said Matthew Miller, restraining a smile, although he declined to say whether Emanuel's comments had been cleared by the State Department. "I would guess that the Chinese government views Ambassador Emanuel's remarks as authoritative and deliberate signaling. I doubt that's the case," said Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. All of that suggests that the administration is unlikely to rein in its Japan ambassador.

Persons: Japan Rahm Emanuel, Antony Blinken, Andrew Harnik, Rahm Emanuel, Matthew Miller, Emanuel, Agatha Christie's, Qin Gang, Li Shangfu hasn't, Li, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Obama, Emanuel's, Bonnie Glaser, Biden, Rahm, AMBASSADOR Emanuel, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama's, Laquan McDonald, Fumio Kishida, Yun Sun, He's, Humeyra Pamuk, David Brunnstrom, Michael Martina, Trevor Hunnicutt, Patricia Zengerle, Timothy Kelly, Don Durfee, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: U.S, Ambassador's, WASHINGTON, . State Department, State Department, Foreign, Rocket Force, Defense, Reuters, German Marshall Fund of, CHINA U.S, AMBASSADOR, Obama, House, West Wing, China Program, Stimson, Biden, Thomson Locations: Japan, Tokyo, TOKYO, Washington, Britain, China, United States, Beijing, U.S, CHINA, Chicago

☆ U.S. Aims New Sanctions at Russian Military Supply Chains
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Gaya Gupta | More About Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The sanctions are part of the U.S. effort “to target Russia’s military supply chains and deprive Putin of the equipment, technology, and services he needs to wage his barbaric war on Ukraine,” Janet L. Yellen, secretary of the Treasury, said in a statement. “Today’s actions show our global reach in imposing severe costs on Putin’s oligarchs,” she added. The Treasury Department’s sanctions targeted nearly 100 Russian military-linked elites and individuals — including some in Turkey, Georgia, Finland and the United Arab Emirates — involved with Russia’s industrial, financial and technology industries. One individual, Vitalij Victorovich Perfilev, was identified as an official with the Wagner mercenary group who served as the national security adviser to the Central African Republic’s president. Among the other targets were a Georgian-Russian oligarch, Otar Anzorovich Partskhaladze, and a Russian intelligence officer, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Onishchenko.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, ” Janet L, Yellen, “, ”, Victorovich, Wagner, Pavel Pavlovich Shevelin, Anzorovich, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Onishchenko Organizations: Kremlin, Treasury, United, United Arab Emirates, Central African Locations: States, Ukraine, U.S, Turkey , Georgia, Finland, United Arab, State, North Korea, Russia, Georgian, Russian

Finland is a European Union member that supports sanctions on Russia and the most recent to join NATO. Both Turkey and the UAE have condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but have not joined Western sanctions and sought to maintain ties with Russia. The latest sanctions package targets Russian companies that repair, develop and manufacture weapons, including the Kalibr cruise missile. Turkey, meanwhile, has tried to balance its close ties with both Russia and Ukraine, positioning itself as a mediator. Including the latest sanctions, the U.S. has targeted almost 3,000 businesses and people since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to State.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, ” James O’Brien, Putin, O’Brien, “, ” O’Brien, ”, Richard Connolly, Alexander, Lukashenko, ” Connolly, Denis Manturov, Connolly, Tom Keatinge, Andrei Bokarev, Sergei Shoigu, Iskander Makhmudov, Alexei Krivoruchko, Wagner, Otar, Partskhaladze, Antony Blinken, Suzan Fraser, Jon Gambrell, Antony Blinken’s Organizations: United Arab, State, Treasury, NATO, State Department’s Office, Associated Press, State Department, European Union, The State Department, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Oxford, Western, Russian Industry, Trade, Centre for Financial, Security, Royal United Services Institute, “, U.S, Russian Defense, Russian, Federal Security Service Locations: States, Russia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Ukraine, U.S, UAE, Russia’s, Moscow, Finland, European, Belarus, Russian, ”, London, North Korea, Georgian, State, Ankara, Dubai

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Thursday that it has not restarted counterterrorism operations in Niger, a day after the head of U.S. airpower for Europe and Africa said those flights had resumed. Gen. James Hecker, responding to a question from The Associated Press at a security conference Wednesday, said the U.S. military has been able to resume some manned aircraft and drone counterterrorism operations in Niger. In the weeks since, the approximately 1,100 U.S. forces deployed there have been confined inside their military bases. And we’re able to do some of our surveillance operations primarily for force protection in the area. The bases are a critical part of America’s overall counterterrorism efforts in West Africa.

Persons: James Hecker, Sabrina Singh, “, ”, Robert Firman, Hecker, ” Hecker Organizations: WASHINGTON, Pentagon, Associated Press, U.S ., Nigerien, Department, Atlantic Council, State Department Locations: Niger, Europe, Africa, U.S, Niamey, Niger’s, West Africa

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Thursday that Egypt's poor human rights record hasn't improved, but it won't withhold as much military aid as it did last year regardless. Egypt has been a top recipient of U.S. military aid since it signed a U.S.-brokered peace deal with Israel in 1979. Congress in recent years has attached restrictions meant to pressure Egyptian leaders to curb human rights abuses to a comparatively small portion of the more than $1 billion in annual military aid to the country. Rights groups and some congressional Democrats had urged the Biden administration to take a hard line against Egypt on human rights, while some lawmakers said strategic interests should be prioritized. U.S. officials said the decision announced Thursday did not signal that the U.S. believed Egypt had made progress on human rights.

Persons: —, Biden, Abdel Fattah el, ” Amr Magdi, ” Magdi, Hisham Kassem, Sen, Chris Murphy, Sisi, Kassem, Jamal Khashoggi, “, Matthew Lee Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, State Department, Human Rights, Connecticut Democrat, Freedom, U.S . State Department, PEN, Amnesty International, Amnesty, Saudi, Newsweek Locations: Egypt, U.S, Israel, Connecticut, Taiwan, Ukraine, PEN America, Saudi Arabia

☆ Russia Repels Attack on Ship in Crimea: Live Ukraine War Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Andrés R. Martínez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

News AnalysisA photograph released by North Korean state media showing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia on Wednesday. The Korean War never officially ended after the guns fell silent in a cease-fire in 1953. North Korea, though isolated and impoverished, has prioritized a military buildup, with its propaganda machines urging constant vigilance against American invasion. Image At the border between North Korea and South Korea. “Trust is so low among Russia, North Korea and China that a real alliance of the three isn’t credible or sustainable.”

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Kim Jong, Matthew Miller, , Putin “ , Chang W, Lee, ”, Yang Uk, Yoon Suk Yeol, It’s, ” Mr, Yang, Michael Park, Kim, “, Siemon, Mr, Wezeman, Hong Min, Hong, David Guttenfelder, Leif, Eric Easley Organizations: North, North Korean, Vostochny, United Nations, State Department, New York Times, Asan Institute, Policy Studies, ” Artillery, ., The New York Times, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, NATO, Korea Institute for National Unification, Russian, Mr, Ewha Womans University Locations: North Korean, Russia, . Washington, Moscow, South, United States, Ukraine, Russia’s, North Korea, Pyongyang, Washington, South Korea, Soviet, Syria, Iran, Korea, “, Seoul, Changwon, Stockholm, Sweden, North, , Zaporizhzhia, Komsomolsk, Vladivostok, China

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it was expelling two U.S. diplomats whom it accused of working with a Russian national charged with collaborating with a foreign state. "The named people conducted illegal activity, maintaining contact with Russian citizen R. Shonov, accused of 'confidential cooperation' with a foreign state," the Russian statement said. In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Shonov had been paid to complete tasks aimed at damaging Russia's national security. Relations between Russia and the United States have plunged to their worst point for more than 60 years because of the war in Ukraine. The United States is providing advanced weaponry to Ukraine and has hit Russia with sanctions in response to its invasion in February 2022.

Persons: Lynne Tracy, Jeffrey Sillin, David Bernstein, Shonov, Robert Shonov, Sillin, Bernstein, Tracy, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Foreign Ministry, State Department, U.S . Consulate, United, Russian Foreign Ministry, Thomson Locations: Russia, Russian, U.S, Washington, Vladivostok, Ukraine, United States, Moscow

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Turkish companies and a Turkish national, accusing them of helping Russia evade sanctions and supporting Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The move is part of a bigger package of measures hitting Russia with sanctions on more than 150 targets, including the country's largest carmaker. The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on Denkar Ship Construction for providing ship repair services to previously designated vessels of a company connected to the Russian Defense Ministry. The U.S. also imposed sanctions on a major local copper producer - Russian Copper Company. The Treasury slapped sanctions on Finland-based logistics firms Siberica Oy and Luminor Oy, accusing them of sending a wide variety of electronics into Russia.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Jonathan Ernst, reconvenes, Wally Adeyemo, we've, Sanayi, Denkar, Ilker Dogruyol, Dogruyol, Tayyip Erdogan, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis, Polina Devitt, Gleb Stolyarov, Don Durfee, Alexandra Hudson, William Maclean, Paul Simao Organizations: Cancer, White, REUTERS, Rights, Turkish, Ukraine, Reuters, NATO, Treasury, . Treasury Department, U.S . State Department, Denkar, Russian Defense Ministry, State Department, ID Ship Agency, GAZ Group, Russian Copper Company, Siberica, Luminor, U.S, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, United, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Russia, Moscow, Turkey, Washington, Ankara, Sweden, United States, Ukraine, Sea, Turkish, U.S, Finland, Kyiv, Hungary, London

The administration said it would redirect $55 million worth of that funding to Taiwan and $30 million to Lebanon, the sources said. However, the administration will allow Cairo to access $235 million of the total of $320 million in foreign military financing that is conditioned on human rights issues, a senior State Department official said Thursday. The US provides more than $1 billion in foreign military financing to Egypt and the vast majority of it is not conditional. “Our position on the very serious human rights situation in Egypt absolutely has not changed and we’re going to continue to raise those issues in Egypt consistently and at the most senior levels,” they added. “The Secretary is determined that Egypt has not fulfilled his conditions and therefore we are reprogramming that 85 million,” the official said.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Antony Blinken “, ”, Antony Blinken, “, Gregory Meeks Organizations: CNN, State Department, Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, House Foreign, Administration Locations: Egypt, Taiwan, Lebanon, Cairo, U.S, China

☆ Elon Musk says Joe Biden and the US government are the ones to blame for the Crimea Starlink debacle, not him
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian officials have slammed Elon Musk for not allowing Ukraine to access Starlink satellites. Musk said the US government did not give him the OK to turn on Starlink access in Crimea. Musk said he would have given Ukraine access to the satellites if Biden gave the green light. Access to Starlink in the territory near Crimea was "turned off" because the US has sanctions against Russia, Musk said. AdvertisementAdvertisementMusk did not specify who turned Starlink access off, or when exactly it was turned off.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Biden, Starlink, Walter Isaacson, Elon, it's Organizations: Service, Crimea —, Russia, SpaceX, Elon, The State Department, White Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Wall, Silicon, Starlink, Russia, Ukrainian, Russian, Harbor, Japan

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