Russia anxiously awaits Navalny’s fate as life hangs in the balance April 20, 2021 Tension is building in Russia after jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was transferred to a prison hospital amid concerns that he is dangerously ill following a three-week hunger strike. Navalny’s transfer came after his doctors warned at the weekend that he was in danger of a heart attack or kidney failure. The Russian opposition leader’s [...]
Markets: Wall Street slips from record levels April 19, 2021 Major U.S. stock indexes fell from record levels on Monday as investors sought cues from first-quarter earnings reports to justify the rich valuation of equities. Tesla was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, with the electric-car maker down three per cent after a Tesla vehicle, which was believed to be operating [...]
UK puts India on travel ‘red list’ after surge in Covid cases April 19, 2021 The UK has this afternoon added India to its “red list” of countries due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases. From Friday, India will be placed on the list, meaning travellers will be subject to the strongest level of restrictions, said health secretary Matt Hancock today. “We’ve made the difficult but vital decision to [...]
Donald Tusk: Stop Russian aggression by cancelling Nord Stream 2 April 19, 2021 The former President of the European Council has called for the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to be cancelled in response to a build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border. Writing on Twitter, Donald Tusk said: “If you really want to stop Russian aggression against Ukraine, you have to stop Nord Stream 2. [...]
Russia expels 20 Czech diplomats over explosion allegations April 19, 2021 Moscow expelled 20 Czech diplomats on Sunday amid allegations that two Russian spies were behind an explosion that killed two people at a Czech ammunition depot. The same two spies are also accused of a nerve agent poisoning in Britain in 2018. Prague had ordered out 18 Russian diplomats on Saturday, prompting the country to [...]
US slaps sanctions on Russia for election interference and cyber hacks April 16, 2021 The US last night slapped sanctions on Russia in response to “harmful foreign activities” including interference in 2020’s Presidential election. The White House has targeted the economic punishments against a combination of officials and companies over accusations of cyber attacks and other destabilising activities. President Joe Biden said that the US had stopped short of [...]
Russian rouble tumbles as threat of US sanctions resurfaces April 15, 2021 The Russian rouble fell two per cent against the dollar on Thursday, giving up gains made earlier this week as the threat of US sanctions on Moscow reared its head again. The US may announce sanctions on Russia as soon as today for alleged interference in its elections and malicious cyber activity targeting several individuals [...]
Screenshot: Can cinemas bring Brits back to the big screen? April 9, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Every dog has its day **Can cinemas bring Brits back to the big screen? **Is Clubhouse really worth $4bn? Media Moment of the Week: Every dog has its day Doing a live piece to camera comes with risks, as any broadcast journalist will tell you. But one thing [...]
Fighting Russian and Chinese disinformation requires a cohesive strategy from Western governments April 8, 2021 Given the world of the internet and multiple platforms, there is undoubtedly more content out there than at any other time in the history of man. Unfortunately, and predictably, along with this news explosion, the very unhealthy scourge of state-sponsored disinformation–with the West’s authoritarian foes trying to take advantage of this editorially unregulated Wild West [...]
Russia’s Sputnik news agency halts operations in Britain April 2, 2021 Russian news agency Sputnik will halt operations in Britain and move its English language service to Moscow and Washington, the media group that launched it in 2014 said on Friday, at a time when Russian-British relations have hit a low point. Rossiya Segodnya said the move was part of a plan to reorganize its international [...]