Tag Archives: Russia

The BBC reports: The American founder of US-based militant neo-Nazi group The Base is directing the organisation from Russia, a BBC investigation has found. Rinaldo Nazzaro, 46, who uses the aliases “Norman Spear” and “Roman Wolf”, left New York for St Petersburg less than two years ago. The Base is a major counter terrorism focus for the FBI. Seven alleged …

NBC News reports: Presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) sued Hillary Clinton for defamation in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday, claiming Clinton lied about her to harm her campaign. “Clinton falsely stated that Tulsi—an Army National Guard officer and United States Congresswoman who has spent her entire adult life serving this country—is a ‘Russian asset.’ Clinton’s false assertions were …

The Daily Beast reports: Police in Switzerland reportedly uncovered a Russian spying operation in Davos, where world leaders are meeting this week for the annual World Economic Forum. Police arrested two Russian men in the Alpine town last August after they were alerted to their suspiciously long stay in the resort. The men had allegedly claimed diplomatic protections, but had …

The Kansas City Star reports: A Kansas City area radio station can broadcast Russian state-owned media programming, the type that U.S. intelligence called a “propaganda machine,” for six hours a day through a lease agreement struck by a local radio operator. RM Broadcasting LLC, a Florida-based company that has agreements to broadcast the Russian state media program Radio Sputnik, reached …

The Guardian reports: Vladimir Putin has proposed changes to Russia’s constitution that would limit the power of a potential successor if he steps down in 2024, indicating he may occupy a beefed-up role as Russia’s prime minister or in the government’s state council. In a televised speech before senior officials, Putin suggested amending Russia’s constitution to limit a future president …

The New York Times reports: With President Trump facing an impeachment trial over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden, Russian military hackers have been boring into the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the affair, according to security experts. The hacking attempts against Burisma, the Ukrainian …

The Navy Times reports: The warship Farragut was “aggressively approached” by a Russian naval ship Thursday in the North Arabian Sea, U.S. 5th Fleet officials said. The American guided-missile destroyer was conducting routine operations at the time of the approach, according to a statement from the Bahrain-based command. “Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of …

Reuters reports: Brazil has requested that the international police organization Interpol help find and detain a man suspected of attacking the office of producers of a controversial Netflix movie that portrayed Jesus as gay, authorities said. An arrest warrant was issued in Brazil for the suspect authorities say threw fire bombs into the headquarters of Brazilian comedy group Porta dos …

From the Russian state outlet RT News: Julian Assange sounded like a shell of the man he once was during a Christmas Eve phone call, British journalist Vaughan Smith told RT, noting the WikiLeaks founder had trouble speaking and appeared to be drugged. Assange was allowed to make just a single call from the maximum security Belmarsh prison in southeast …

Politico Europe reports: Boris Yeltsin had a reputation for the sensational and the unpredictable, from ordering tanks to shell a rebellious Russian parliament to drunkenly hunting for pizza in Washington in his underwear. But he saved arguably his biggest surprise for last. Twenty years ago this New Year’s Eve, with six months to go until the end of his final …

Reuters reports: Russia said on Sunday it had thwarted terrorism attacks reportedly planned in St. Petersburg thanks to a tip from Washington, bringing personal thanks again from President Vladimir Putin to his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. Russian news agencies cited the Federal Security Service (FSB) as saying that thanks to the information, two Russians were detained on Dec. 27 on …

Agence France-Presse reports: A new intercontinental weapon that can fly 27 times the speed of sound became operational Friday, Russia’s defense minister reported to President Vladimir Putin, bolstering the country’s nuclear strike capability. Putin has described the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle as a technological breakthrough comparable to the 1957 Soviet launch of the first satellite. The new Russian weapon and …

The Associated Press reports: Russia has confirmed that it will appeal its four-year Olympic ban for manipulating doping data. The Russian anti-doping agency, known as RUSADA, sent a formal letter Friday disagreeing with the sanctions imposed earlier this month by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The case is now heading to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Next year’s Olympics in …

Agence France-Presse reports:  China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, China’s defense ministry said on Thursday amid heightened tension in the region between Iran and the US. China will send the Xining, a guided missile destroyer, to the drills, ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly news …

The Daily Beast reports: Russian state media have joined President Vladimir Putin in delivering a full-throated defense of impeached U.S. President Donald J. Trump. Such support would have been implausible for any other U.S. leader, much less one who claims to be “tough on Russia.” One of the Kremlin’s top propagandists, Vladimir Soloviev, heaped praise upon Trump and rattled off …

The Washington Post reports: Almost from the moment he took office, President Trump seized on a theory that troubled his senior aides: Ukraine, he told them on many occasions, had tried to stop him from winning the White House. After meeting privately in July 2017 with Putin at the G20 summit, Trump grew more insistent that Ukraine worked to defeat …

The Associated Press reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin says U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment is far-fetched. Putin said Thursday at his annual news conference in Moscow that the move is a continuation of the Democrats’ fight against Trump. He predicted the impeachment motion will be rejected by the Senate. Putin said that “the party that lost the election is continuing …

The Daily Beast reports: The Trump administration is quietly fighting a new package of sanctions on Russia, The Daily Beast has learned. A Trump State Department official sent a 22-page letter to a top Senate chairman on Tuesday making a wide-ranging case against a new sanctions bill. Sen. Lindsey Graham—usually a staunch ally of the White House—introduced the legislation earlier …

Agence France-Press reports: The Russian space agency Roscosmos is planning to install a nuclear-powered observatory on its future moon base to held spot deadly Earth-threatening asteroids. Establishing a permanent presence near the lunar south pole has been a priority for Roscosmos ever since NASA announced plans to return to the moon earlier this year. The base’s telescopes will work in …

Reuters reports: U.S. lawmakers of both parties are pressuring the White House to extend the last remaining restraints on U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons deployments by demanding intelligence assessments on the costs of allowing the New START treaty to lapse. The demands, contained in three bills that may be harmonized this week, reflect doubts about whether the Trump administration has …