russia - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Russia, Germany, UK urge restraint as Iranian threat puts Middle East on edge

RUSSIA, Germany and Britain urged countries in the Middle East to show restraint and Israel said it was preparing to "meet all its security needs" in a region on edge over an Iranian threat to strike Israel. The German airline Lufthansa, one of only two Western carriers flying to Tehran, extended a suspension of its flights to the Iranian capital and Russia warned against travel to the Middle East. Iran has vowed revenge for the April 1 airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus that killed a top Iranian general and six other Iranian military officers, ratcheting up tension in a region already…

Apr

2024

By IRSHAD HUSSAIN and MUBASHIR NAIK

Russia jobs scam traps Indians on Ukraine war frontlines

WORLD

WHEN Raja Begum heard an Indian had died in Ukraine, she collapsed to the ground, convinced it was her missing son - one of dozens of young men lured to Russia on the promise of jobs, then sent to fight in the Ukraine war. "I can't stop thinking about the last message my son sent," said Begum, 60, who has not heard from the 31-year-old tech graduate since January - just weeks after he left the family's village in Indian-administered Kashmir to head to Moscow. Indian federal investigators say a major human trafficking network duped at least 35 men, who…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Russia demands Ukraine hand over head of security service, others

WORLD

RUSSIA is demanding that Ukraine hand over all people connected with terrorist acts committed in Russia, including the head of the country's SBU Security Service, the foreign ministry said. A ministry statement listed violent incidents that have occurred in Russia since the Kremlin's forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, including bombings that killed the daughter of a prominent nationalist and a war blogger, and another incident in which a writer was seriously hurt. It said investigation of these incidents showed that "the traces of these crimes lead to Ukraine." "Russia has turned over to Ukrainian authorities its demands ... for the immediate arrest…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Russians lower flags, lay flowers to honour concert hall attack victims

WORLD

RUSSIA lowered flags to half-mast for a day of mourning after scores of people were gunned down with automatic weapons at a rock concert outside Moscow in the deadliest attack inside Russia for two decades. President Vladimir Putin declared a national day of mourning after pledging to track down and punish all those behind the attack on Friday evening, in which 137 people were killed, including three children, and 180 were injured. Over 100 people remained in hospital, some of them in a serious condition. Putin lit a candle at a church at his residence outside Moscow on Sunday evening to honour those who…

Mar

2024

By DAPHNE PSALEDAKIS and DAVID BRUNNSTROM

Russia, China veto US-led UN resolution on Gaza ceasefire

WORLD

THE United Nations Security Council turned down a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an Israel-Hamas hostage deal after Russia and China vetoed the measure proposed by the United States. The resolution, on which Algeria also voted no and Guyana abstained, called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire lasting roughly six weeks that would protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Eleven of the 15 council members voted for the resolution, but the Russia and China vetoes stopped its passage. The council will meet at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) on Monday to vote on an…

Mar

2024

By PHIL STEWART

US warned Niger about ties to Russia, Iran before junta revoked accord, Pentagon says

NEWS

U.S. officials travelled to Niger last week to express concerns about the country's potential development of ties to Russia and Iran before the ruling junta revoked an accord governing the roughly 1,000 U.S. military personnel there, the Pentagon said. The Pentagon added it was seeking clarification about the way ahead. Niger said on Saturday it had revoked "with immediate effect" its military accord with the United States that had allowed Pentagon personnel to operate on its soil. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the U.S. government had "direct and frank" conversations in Niger ahead of the junta's announcement, and was continuing…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Reactions abroad to Russia’s presidential election

WORLD

FOLLOWING are reactions from foreign governments and officials to Russia's presidential election, which handed Vladimir Putin a landslide win and another six-year term in office, according to first official results. WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON "The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him." UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY "These days, the Russian dictator is simulating another election. It is clear to everyone in the world that this figure, as it has already often happened in the course of history, is simply sick for power and is doing everything to…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Russia accuses Kyiv of election sabotage, Medvedev warns ‘traitors’

WORLD

RUSSIA accused Ukraine of using "terrorist activities" to try to disrupt its presidential election and former President Dmitry Medvedev decried as "traitors" the scattered protesters who have tried to set fire to voting booths and pour dye into ballot boxes. The Ukraine war has cast a shadow over voting in the election, which is all but certain to hand President Vladimir Putin six more years in the Kremlin but has been marked by sporadic acts of protest. On the second of three days of voting, the Russian foreign ministry said Kyiv had "intensified its terrorist activities" in connection with the election "to demonstrate its…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Ukraine rebuffs Pope Francis calling for talks with Russia

WORLD

UKRAINE rebuffed Pope Francis's call to negotiate an end to the war with Russia, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the pontiff was engaging in "virtual mediation" and his foreign minister saying Kyiv would never capitulate. Francis said that when things were going badly for a party to a conflict one had to show the "courage of the white flag" and negotiate. The pope's interview was believed to be the first time Francis has used terms like "white flag" or "defeated" in discussing the Ukraine war, though he has referred in the past to the need for talks. Zelenskiy made no direct reference to…

Mar

2024

By DAPHNE PSALEDAKIS and KANISHKA SINGH

US issues sanctions on Russian, Central African Republic entities over Wagner ties

NEWS

THE United States imposed sanctions on two entities it accused of advancing Russia's "malign activities" in the Central African Republic (CAR) and enabling the Wagner mercenary group, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement. The entities, a CAR-based timber company and a Russia-based company sought to benefit financially "from illicit natural resource extraction and provided material and financial support to the Wagner Group and other organizations" tied to Wagner's former owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who died in a 2023 plane explosion in Russia, the Treasury said. The action targets CAR-based Bois Rouge SARLU for its ties to Wagner and St. Petersburg-based Broker Expert…