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☆ Russia claims its journalists are under attack and facing 'witch hunts' just days after arresting an American reporter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia said its journalists face attacks and "witch hunts" after the death of blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. The claims come days after Russia arrested WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich for alleged espionage. The comments follow abuse of journalists in Russia and come just days after the widely-condemned arrest by Russian authorities of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich for alleged espionage. In her comments on Tatarsky's death, Zakharova also assessed the international reputation of Russian journalists, making broad claims about the discrimination they face that ignore Russian actions at home. These criticisms of how Russia's journalists are treated sharply contrast with the treatment of journalists in Russia, where reporters have been killed or jailed.

☆ Analysis: Russia's arrest of reporter deepens Biden's detainee challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/4] Reporter for U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich, detained on suspicion of espionage, leaves a court building in Moscow, Russia March 30, 2023. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a news briefing on Thursday the Whelan and Gershkovich cases should not be compared. Russia's security service has, without providing evidence, accused Gershkovich of gathering information classified as a state secret about a military factory. Biden on Friday called on Russia to release Gershkovich. The Biden administration has secured the release of at least 25 "wrongfully detained" Americans.

☆ Blinken, Lavrov hold call over detained Wall Street Journal reporter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 2 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday it was unacceptable for Washington to politicise the case of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained and accused of spying in Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov told Blinken in a phone call that Gershkovich's fate would be determined by a court. He reiterated Russia's assertion, for which it has not publicly stated any evidence, that the journalist was caught "red-handed" last week. The conversation was initiated by Blinken, the Russian side said. The Wall Street Journal has vehemently denied that Gershkovich was spying.

Summary Russia accuses detained U.S. journalist of spyingSays he was trying to gather state/military secretsWall Street Journal denies the allegationsMove latest blow to dire Russia-U.S. tiesLONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Russia's FSB security service said on Thursday it had detained a reporter for U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal on suspicion of spying for Washington, the most serious public move against a foreign journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal said in a statement it was "deeply concerned" for Gershkovich's safety and that it "vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter". TOUGH CENSORSHIP LAWS[1/5] Reporter for U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich appears in an undated handout image taken in an unknown location. Other foreign journalists covering Russia expressed support for Gershkovich online, saying he was a professional reporter, not a spy. Gershkovich, who has covered Russia since 2017, previously worked at The Moscow Times newspaper and at Agence-France Presse news agency before joining the Wall Street Journal's Moscow bureau in January last year.

☆ Wall Street Journal reporter in Russia detained on suspicion of spying - Ifax cites FSB
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, March 30 (Reuters) - Russia's FSB security service said on Thursday that a reporter with the U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, had been detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage, the Interfax news agency reported. In a statement quoted by Interfax, the FSB said it had "stopped the illegal activities of U.S. citizen Gershkovich Evan, born in 1991, a correspondent of the Moscow bureau of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, accredited at the Russian Foreign Ministry, who is suspected of spying in the interests of the American government". No comment was immediately available from the newspaper. The statement said Gershkovich had been tasked "by the American side" with gathering information on "the activities of one of the enterprises of the military-defence complex". Reporting by Reuters, Editing by Andrew Osborn and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia warns Armenia against allying with ICC after Putin arrest warrant - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Russia has warned Armenia of "serious consequences" if it submits to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, the RIA news agency reported on Monday. The ICC issued the warrant this month, accusing Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, a move condemned by the Kremlin as a meaningless and outrageously partisan decision. RIA, a state Russian news agency, cited a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying that Moscow regarded Armenia's ICC plans as "unacceptable". The ICC warrant has the potential to complicate Putin's global travel plans if a country he wants to travel to is an official party to the Rome Statute. Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Depleted uranium is a dense by-product left over when uranium is enriched for use in nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. The United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Pakistan produce uranium weapons, which are not classified as nuclear weapons, according to the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons. Ingesting or inhaling quantities of uranium - even depleted uranium - is dangerous: it depresses renal function and raises the risk of developing a range of cancers. "It's worth making sure everyone understands that just because the word uranium is in the title of depleted uranium munitions, they are not nuclear munitions, they are purely conventional munitions," Cleverly said. A spokesperson from Britain's defence ministry said: "The British Army has used depleted uranium in its armour piercing shells for decades."

☆ Putin claimed the UK is ramping up nuclear tensions by sending Ukraine depleted uranium armor-piercing shells. The UK says that's nonsense.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The component: depleted uranium armor-piercing shells, which have no role in nuclear weaponry. Depleted uranium, a by-product of the nuclear enrichment process, is used in making penetrating tank shells because it is extremely dense. "There is no way that you could create a nuclear reaction or a nuclear explosion with depleted uranium." The UK MOD also cited research that it says shows the health risk of depleted uranium munitions is "likely to be low." Depleted uranium is much less radioactive than the original fuel.

☆ Russia's Putin blasts UK move to send ammo with depleted uranium to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a joint statement with Chinese President Xi Jinping following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich/Kremlin via REUTERSMarch 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday condemned British plans to send tank ammunition that contains depleted uranium to Ukraine, saying Moscow would be forced to respond accordingly. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the British decision left fewer and fewer steps before a potential "nuclear collision" between Russia and the West. "Another step has been taken, and there are fewer and fewer left," he told reporters in remarks cited by domestic agencies. Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the plan the "Yugoslavia scenario", saying the ammunition caused cancer and infected the environment.

☆ Reactions to ICC's arrest warrant for Putin citing Ukraine war crimes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Roman Baluk/File PhotoMarch 17 (Reuters) - Following are reactions to the news on Friday that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes." RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN MARIA ZAKHAROVA"The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it." I welcome the decision of the International Criminal Court."

☆ UN backs Turkey, Ukraine in call for 120-day grain deal rollover
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

UNITED NATIONS, March 16 (Reuters) - The United Nations backed Turkey and Ukraine on Thursday by calling for a 120-day rollover of an agreement allowing the safe export of grain from several Ukrainian Black Sea ports after Russia said it would only extend the pact for 60 days. "For us, the text in the agreement is clear and it calls for a 120-day rollover," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Reuters when asked about remarks by Turkey. Turkey said on Wednesday that it would continue talks to extend the deal for 120 days rather than 60 days. Senior U.N. and Russian officials met in Geneva on Monday to discuss extending the grain deal. Ukraine has so far exported nearly 25 million tonnes of mainly corn and wheat under the deal, according to the United Nations.

☆ Putin says Nord Stream blasts carried out on 'state level'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Caleb Davis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that last year's blasts on the Nord Stream gas pipelines had been carried out on a "state level", dismissing the idea an autonomous pro-Ukraine group was responsible as "complete nonsense". The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea were hit by a series of unexplained explosions last September, in what Moscow has called an act of "international terrorism". 'ANTENNA'Commenting on a report suggesting that a pro-Ukraine had attacked the pipelines, Putin said this was "complete nonsense". Theoretically, of course, the United States is interested," Putin said. The United States strongly denies any involvement in the Nord Stream blasts.

☆ Kremlin elites are fighting over how best to control their Ukraine war narrative, says the Russian foreign ministry's top spokesperson
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Kremlin's leaders can't agree on Russia's narrative on the Ukraine war, a top official said. Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry's press director, said there's a "battle" among Kremlin elites. "There is a battle going on, including among the elites," said Maria Zakharova, director of the Russian foreign ministry's press department, per Russian news outlet Business Gazeta. Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry's top spokesperson, made that statement at a panel with Russian tech entrepreneur Igor Ashmanov and other pundits. It said Zakharova's public statements further show that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has given up control of the Russian information space to "a variety of quasi-independent actors."

☆ A 50% rent increase? Record property demand in Dubai is creating a nightmare for some residents
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Beyond the property market, Dubai's economic boom is evident in everyday life. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) area of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with the Burj Khalifa in the backdrop, Sept. 16, 2022. Property prices have, too — CBRE says that selling prices are up 11.5% on average in the year to February 2023. Christopher Pike | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesAccording to CBRE's research, in the year through February 2023, average Dubai rents increased by 27.7%. In the meantime, no one expects property prices to ease up anytime soon.

☆ Turkey says it is working to renew Black Sea grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. "We are working hard for the smooth implementation and further extension of the Black Sea grain deal," Cavusoglu said in a speech at the United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries being held in Doha, Qatar. Russia has said it would only agree to extend the Black Sea grain deal if the interests of its own agricultural producers are taken into account. Cavusoglu said he also discussed efforts to discuss the extension of the deal with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Almost 23 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs have been exported via the Black Sea Grain Initiative as of March 3, according to the Joint coordination Centre in Turkey which oversees implementation of the deal.

In the past 24 hours Ukrainian forces have repelled more than 170 attacks in the five principal sectors of the front line, Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said on YouTube on Thursday night. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces. In nearby towns and villages, new trenches had been dug on the roadside 20-40 metres (65-130 feet) apart, a sign that Ukrainian forces were strengthening defensive positions. Russia says its "special military operation" aims to degrade the Ukrainian military and remove what it says is a threat to its own security. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke "on the move" for less than 10 minutes.

[1/4] A Ukrainian service member prepares to shoot from a howitzer at a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 2, 2023. Russian forces have been attacking Bakhmut in Donetsk province for months, sometimes in waves and the site has become one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces. Russian shelling hit Bakhmut and several nearby towns - including Chasiv Yar, the biggest town to the west - and two towns south of Bakhmut, it said. In central Zaporizhzhia region and in Kherson region on the southern front, Russian forces shelled more than 40 towns and villages, the Ukrainian military statement said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to end the war and urged Moscow to reverse its suspension of the New START nuclear treaty, a senior U.S. official said. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke "on the move" for less than 10 minutes at the end of the closed-door session, and did not engage in any negotiations, Russian news agencies reported. Blinken later told a news conference he had told Lavrov to engage in diplomacy during the unscheduled encounter. [1/6] U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken (top L) walks past Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (lower) during the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi on March 2, 2023. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the war in Ukraine had hurt "almost every country on the planet, in terms of food, energy, inflation".

[1/6] A man arranges the flags kept outside the venue for G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, India, March 2, 2023. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke "on the move" but did not hold negotiations or a meeting, Russian news agencies reported. News of the exchange came at the end of the day-long G20 meeting which, as expected, was overshadowed by the Ukraine war. "Unfortunately, this meeting has again been marred by Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine," Blinken said. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the war in Ukraine had hurt "almost every country on the planet, in terms of food, energy, inflation".

☆ Blinken has 'no plans' to meet Russian, Chinese counterparts at Delhi G20 meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the Hyatt Regency in Tashkent, Uzbekistan March 1, 2023. Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERSTASHKENT, March 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he has no plans to meet either the foreign ministers of Russia or of China during the Group of 20 (G20) meeting in New Delhi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang are attending the meeting. A Russian foreign ministry official said Lavrov was aiming to meet at least seven foreign ministers before India hosts a welcome dinner on Wednesday for delegates from 40 countries. During his trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Blinken met with counterparts from all five Central Asian countries that used to be ruled from Moscow and have strong trade links with Beijing, ahead of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting.

☆ Russia shoots down China's peace plan for the Ukraine war as Beijing becomes more entangled in the conflict a year into the fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Kremlin said the conditions are not right to pursue China's plan for peace in Ukraine. China introduced a peace plan last week, which has been met with skepticism by the West. China's peace plan calls for the territorial integrity of all countries to be upheld but does not push for Russian troops to leave occupied Ukrainian territories. US President Joe Biden in an interview that aired on Sunday told ABC that China's plan would overwhelmingly benefit Russia. China's peace plan was also unveiled days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Beijing could send lethal weapons to Russia to be used in Ukraine.

☆ Biden, Putin display their alliances with Ukraine war backdrop
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Washington is concerned Beijing could provide material support for Moscow's war in Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24 last year and has become the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War Two. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world," Biden said. In two speeches last September Putin indicated that he would, if needed, use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. "We have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable.

☆ Russia urges Sweden again to share Nord Stream probe findings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lidia Kelly | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia renewed its calls on Sweden late on Monday to share its findings from the ongoing investigation into the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year. "Almost five months have passed since the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. All this time, however, the Swedish authorities, as if on cue, remain silent," Russia's embassy to Sweden said on the Telegram messaging platform. It also reiterated Moscow's stance, without providing evidence, that the West was behind the blasts affecting the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines - multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects that carried Russian gas to Germany. Construction of Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021, but was never put into operation after Germany shelved certification just days before Russia sent its troops into Ukraine a year ago this week.

☆ Russia condemns Israeli strike on Damascus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova listens during the annual news conference of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not pictured) in Moscow, Russia January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Shamil ZhumatovFeb 19 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry on Sunday said that it strongly condemned an Israeli air strike on the Syrian city of Damascus and its surroundings, calling it a "flagrant violation" of international law. "We strongly urge the Israeli side to stop armed provocations against the Syrian Arab Republic and refrain from steps that are fraught with dangerous consequences for the entire region," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Witnesses and officials said an Israeli rocket strike early on Sunday hit a building in central Damascus's Kafr Sousa neighbourhood near a large, heavily guarded security complex close to Iranian installations, killing five people. Reporting by Reuters Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Netherlands orders Russian embassy to downsize, Moscow says it will respond
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The Dutch government on Saturday said it would close its consulate in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and that it would limit the number of Russian diplomats allowed at the Russian embassy in The Hague. "At the same time Russia refuses to give visas to Dutch diplomats who would work at the consulate in St Petersburg or the embassy in Moscow." In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said it would respond to the move, RIA news agency reported. The Dutch government said it had decided to limit the number of diplomats at the Russian embassy in The Hague to match the number of those at the Dutch embassy in Moscow. "A number of diplomats shall therefore have to leave the country within two weeks," The Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement, without giving a specific number.

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