Tag: Region Asias

ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland has expanded its sanctions against Russia to include additional measures recently taken up by the European Union against Moscow over its ongoing aggression against Ukraine, the Swiss government said on Tuesday. Pointing to a package of measures adopted by the EU against Russia on June 24, the Swiss economy ministry said in a statement that it would impose sanctions within its jurisdiction on a further 69 individuals and 86 entities. These sanctions mainly target “businesspersons, propagandists,…

CAIRO (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s king and crown prince congratulated Masoud Pezeshkian on his election as Iran’s president, state news agency SPA reported on Saturday. “I affirm my keenness on developing and deepening the relations between our countries and people and serve our mutual interests,” SPA quoted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as saying. In March 2023, Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a landmark China-brokered deal to re-establish relations after years of regional rivalry. Since then, officials from both…

WASHINGTON, July 6. /TASS/. The US administration views Moscow’s cooperation with Beijing which Washington alleges has supported Russia’s defense industry as a long-term challenge for security in Europe. Speaking at a special press briefing in the run-up to NATO’s summit in Washington on July 9-11, a senior US official said that the summit communique would have “strong language” on China. “The draft communique text on the PRC is very solid. You’ll see that when it’s unveiled,” the official said. “And…

Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added journalist Artyom Kriger to its list of “terrorists and extremists,” his employer SOTAvision reported on Thursday. Russia’s state financial watchdog Rosfinmonitoring has added journalist Artyom Kriger to its list of “terrorists and extremists,” his employer SOTAvisionreported on Thursday. Kriger, 23, was arrested last week on charges related to the “extremism” case against late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, according to SOTAvision, an independent news outlet. The journalist was accused of “participation in an extremist…

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s Justice Department announced Tuesday that it is suing at least 30 ex-government officials accused of corruption to recover more than $30 million in public funds. Among those sued are three former legislators, including María Milagros Charbonier, who was sentenced in May to eight years in federal prison after being found guilty of theft, bribery and a kickback scheme. “We are going to recover the Puerto Rican people’s money and claim an amount…

Wikileaks founder, publisher, journalist and DiEM25 founding member, Julian Assange, will reportedly enter into a plea deal with the United States prosecutors and be sentenced with time served.

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. The International Boxing Federation said it lifted sanctions against Russian athletes. “Restrictions against Russian boxers have been lifted, and they can be rated,” a representative of the organization told TASS. Russian boxers were earlier excluded from IBF ratings in connection with the special military operation in Ukraine. The IBF light-heavyweight champion is Russian national Artur Beterbiev.

  Four Vietnamese nationals linked to the international cybercrime group FIN9 have been indicted for their involvement in a series of computer intrusions that caused over $71 million in losses to companies in the U.S. The defendants, identified as Ta Van Tai, Nguyen Viet Quoc, Nguyen Trang Xuyen, and Nguyen Van Truong, carried out their cybercrimes from May 2018 until October 2021, stealing both data and funds directly from U.S. organizations. “The FIN9 defendants were prolific international hackers who, for years, allegedly…

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Monday slapped new sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, targeting Moscow’s shadow fleet of tankers moving liquefied natural gas through Europe as well as several companies. At a meeting in Luxembourg, where the sanctions were endorsed, EU foreign ministers also agreed on new financial support to help Ukraine defend itself. Some expressed concern about a rise in hybrid attacks by Russia – including allegations of election interference, cyber-attacks and sabotage. In…

BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday it has banned a number of business units of American aviation manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. and three of its executives over arms deals the company has signed with Taiwan, the self-ruling island it claims as its own territory. The statement from China’s Foreign Ministry said the company’s cooperation with Taiwan had violated the country’s sovereignty, standard terminology in its discussions of any outside dealings that support the island’s government. The effects of the sanctions…

WASHINGTON – The US Treasury on June 20 said no major trading partner appeared to have manipulated its currency in 2023, but it added Japan to a foreign exchange “monitoring list”, alongside Singapore, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Germany, which were on the previous list. The Treasury’s semi-annual currency report found that none of the countries examined met all three criteria triggering “enhanced analysis” of their foreign exchange practices during the four quarters through December 2023. Countries are automatically added…

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia-China trade options have narrowed since the U.S. imposed sanctions last week on the only Russian bank branch in China, but President Vladimir Putin’s Chinese visit last month has helped ensure the two countries have payment alternatives for now, three sources said. Since Putin’s visit, specially authorised banks have been set up in border regions which allow Russian firms to open non-resident accounts (NRA) with Chinese banks, a step that has become more important since VTB’s Shanghai branch…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department said Thursday that it fined Middle Eastern airline Emirates $1.8 million for flights in regions off-limits to U.S. airlines while it allowed JetBlue Airways to sell seats on the planes. The fine involves a “significant number” of flights from December 2021 to August 2022 that passed over Iraq on their way between the United States and the United Arab Emirates. UAE-based Emirates was fined $400,000 in 2020 for similar flights and agreed not to…

USS Helena, a Los Angeles-class boat, arrived on Thursday for a “routine port visit,” the US Southern Command said in a statement.  “The vessel’s location and transit were previously planned,” SOUTHCOM added, noting that the Helena is “conducting its global maritime security and national defense mission.” AP described the submarine’s arrival as “a show of force” by Washington, in response to the presence of Russian ships so close to US shores. A four-vessel task force of the Russian Navy’s Northern…

The bloc’s top court also hit Hungary with a €1 million-a-day penalty until the asylum law is fully implemented by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to pay €200 million ($216 million) for failing to comply with EU asylum rules. In addition to the one-off penalty, the Luxembourg-based court also ruled that Budapest must pay €1 million per day until it fully implements the legislation. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has criticized the ruling as “outrageous and unacceptable.” “It seems…