Category: Світ

A judge in the trial of Russian theater director Kirill Serebrennikov and his co-defendants wants to send the controversial embezzlement case back to prosecutors.Judge Irina Akkuratova said at the trial on Wednesday that the texts of the official charges contained “inconsistent and controversial clauses” and therefore she was inclined to send the whole case back …

Police have arrested two people, including a player’s agent, as part of an international money laundering and corruption investigation in soccer.Brussels prosecutors said that several raids took place in Monaco, Belgium and London on Tuesday and Wednesday. Belgian police cooperated with their Monaco and British counterparts, leading to the arrest of the agent in Monaco. …

Britain’s parliament has been officially suspended, just weeks before the country is to crash out of the European Union. Opposition lawmakers have branded the move a coup by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and have vowed to take him to court if he refuses to request a Brexit extension from the European Union. Britain is to …

A Scottish court ruled Wednesday that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to suspend parliament was unlawful.The judges did not order the suspension overturned, but rather said the matter needs to be decided by Britain’s Supreme Court.The government objected to the court’s ruling and said it would file an appeal.A five-week suspension of parliament went …

Russian voters this week dealt the party of President Vladimir Putin a heavy blow in local elections that were marred by street protests and police crackdowns in Moscow.  Putin’s United Russia party lost control of key regions, including the capital, raising questions of how long he may continue to lead what some analysts say is …

Britain’s foreign minister on Tuesday said Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1 had sold its crude oil to the Assad regime in Syria, breaking assurances it had given not to sell crude to the country.The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was seized by British Royal Marine commandos on July 4 on suspicion of being en route …

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met business tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky on Tuesday, the president’s office said, the first reported meeting since Zelenskiy’s inauguration in May between the two men who had long-standing business ties.The president’s relationship with Kolomoisky, one of the richest businessman in Ukraine, has been under heavy scrutiny since the start of Zelenskiy’s election …

This story originated from FILE – A view of the pre-trial detention center Lefortovo, where former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan is reportedly held in custody, in Moscow, Jan. 3, 2019.A frequent visitor to Russia, Whelan was detained in central Moscow’s Metropol Hotel on Dec. 28 and accused of carrying Russian state secrets on a flash …

Bulgarian prosecutors charged the head of a non-governmental organization (NGO) on Tuesday with spying for Russia as part of a scheme they said aimed to draw Bulgaria away from its Western allies and toward Moscow.Bulgaria, Moscow’s most loyal satellite in Soviet times, is now a member of NATO and the European Union but has close …

An Israeli spyware company that has been accused of helping authoritarian governments stifle dissent says it has adopted “a new human rights policy” to ensure its software is not misused.   The NSO Group said Tuesday it would institute a series of oversight measures to ensure adherence and would henceforth evaluate potential clients’ “past human …

World leaders have offered their support to Brigitte Macron, the wife of France’s president, after a string of public insults from Brazilian leaders targeting her appearance.The insults came as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and French President Emmanuel Macron have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks over fires in the Amazon rainforest and climate change.An official close …

Former Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni was nominated Tuesday to take the key role of European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, where he will oversee public spending in member states, most notably in Italy.The choice of Gentiloni was a surprise move by Ursula von der Leyen, the incoming head of the European Commission, who named her …

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had a source with high-level access to the Kremlin who played a key role in the assessment that President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign aimed at the 2016 U.S. election, The New York Times and CNN reported Monday.Neither U.S. news organization identified the source by name, but several Russian …

Britain’s parliament has for the second time rejected Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to hold early elections in an attempt to break the Brexit deadlock.Johnson had lobbied for snap elections on October 15 in an effort to win a parliamentary majority to approve his Brexit plans ahead of an EU summit of the continent’s leaders.Following …

Barcelona could cut deaths from air pollution and improve quality of life by implementing in full a plan to calm traffic and free up space for residents, researchers said Monday.The compact Spanish city is home to more than 1.6 million people and is plagued by contaminants and noise largely due to heavy density of traffic, …

Facebook and Instagram on Monday blocked the social media accounts of two Italian neo-fascist groups and some of their activists because they had violated the platforms’ policies against spreading hate, Facebook said.Casapound and Forza Nuova, which espouse extreme right-wing ideologies, have boosted their profile in Italy by leading anti-migrant campaigns on their social media sites.”People …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is tightening his grip on his ruling party, expelling rivals amid weakening public support and challenges from former allies.”Mischief makers,” Erdogan called once-close allies at a recent rally of his supporters in the central provincial city of Sivas. “If we keep our brotherhood strong, then seeds of unrest can’t grow,” he …

After Boris Johnson won the Conservative party contest in July to succeed Theresa May as Britain’s prime minister, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed his victory, praising him as “Britain Trump.”Since entering Downing Street, Johnson seems to be paying the American leader the highest form of flattery by imitating Trump’s political and media tactics, echoing his …

A colorful era in British parliamentary history is coming to a close with Speaker of the House John Bercow’s abrupt announcement Monday that he will leave his influential post by the end of October.That means he won’t be sporting his festive designer ties beneath his solemn robes or clamping down on rude lawmakers with his …

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth gave her approval Monday to legislation seeking to block Prime Minister Boris Johnson from carrying out a no-deal Brexit, his plan to take the country out of the European Union on October 31 without spelling out the terms of the split.FILE – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Boris Johnson, then newly-elected leader …

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has issued a stark warning that climate change poses a rapidly growing global threat to human rights as dwindling resources due to global warming lead to increased hunger, migration and conflict.  Bachelet spoke at the opening of the 42nd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council.In a prelude to …

British Airways has canceled almost all its flights for 48 hours, affecting as many as 195,000 travelers, due to a strike by pilots over pay.The U.K.’s flagship carrier said in a statement Monday that it had “no way of predicting how many (pilots) would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly.”As …

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, facing staunch opposition at home, told Ireland’s leader Monday that a new Brexit deal can be reached so Britain leaves the European Union by the Oct. 31 deadline.Speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Dublin, Johnson said a deal on the Irish border question can be secured in time …

Russian voters handed setbacks to Kremlin-affiliated candidates in Moscow and other local elections nationwide — losses that came despite a near total ban on opposition candidates that sparked a summer of street protests and mass arrests in the capital.  With most of the vote counted, returns showed pro-Kremlin candidates lost over a third of seats in …

More than 2,000 people – including the U.S. ambassador and several other Western diplomats – marched in Sarajevo Sunday for Bosnia’s first-ever gay pride parade.There were nearly as many riot police and other security forces at the march as participants after conservative Muslims and other religious groups demanded it be canceled.The marchers waved the universal …

World War II veteran Henry Ochsner, who landed on the beach at Normandy on D-Day and later received the French government’s highest honor for his service, has died. He was 96.Family friend Dennis Anderson says Ochsner died Saturday at his home in California City of complications from cancer and old age.As part of the U.S. …