Month: June 2018

After some final World Cup group matches seemed to turn into “non-games” with teams barely playing or seeming unwilling to score, FIFA said on Friday it had no plan to change rules or how the draw is made. On Thursday, Japan’s 1-0 defeat by Poland turned to farce as the Japanese, level on points, goal difference and goals with Senegal, defended their advantage on FIFA’s fair play criteria by effectively stopping playing — thereby avoiding picking up bookings or red cards that would have jeopardized their second-place finish. Later, the England v Belgium match was overshadowed by talk that, being …

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European leaders have agreed to extend their sanctions against Russia for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. The EU leaders said in statement Friday the sanctions have been extended for six months. The decision was made at the leaders’ summit in Brussels after they had a “very short discussion” on Ukraine, an anonymous source told AFP, the French news agency. The United States, meanwhile, is also holding to sanctions against Russia for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula. The U.S. intelligence community also concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to help Trump win the …

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A trade deal with the European Union expected to be ratified this year will accelerate growth of Vietnam’s export-reliant economy without help from the U.S. market, analysts say. The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement signed in 2015 should speed annual economic growth by half a percent to more than 7 percent by 2019, according to data from the business consultancy Dezan Shira & Associates. European Union members Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom already take 9 percent of all exports from Vietnam, and 28 states belong to the whole bloc. Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said Tuesday the …

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French authorities have charged 10 suspected far-right extremists in connection with an alleged plot to attack Muslims, a judicial source said Thursday. The nine men and one woman, who ranged in age from 32 to 69, were arrested in raids across France on Saturday. They appeared before a judge on Wednesday evening and were charged with “criminal terrorist conspiracy,” the source said. Several were also charged with violations of firearms laws and the manufacture or possession of explosive devices. Police have linked the 10 to a little-known group called Action des Forces Operationnelles (Operational Forces Action), which urges French people to combat …

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Pope Francis gave the Catholic Church 14 new cardinals Thursday, exhorting them to resist any temptation toward haughtiness and instead embrace “the greatest promotion” they can achieve:  tending to those neglected or cast aside by society. Among those receiving the cardinals’ biretta — a crimson-red square cap with three ridges — was his point man for helping Rome’s homeless and poor. Polish Monsignor Konrad Krajewski has handed out sleeping bags to those spending cold nights on the Italian capital’s streets and driven vans taking the poor on seaside daytrips arranged by the Vatican. The choices of many of the new …

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Russia’s leading social network is cracking down on chat groups created to shame women during the World cup amid growing complaints of sexist abuse during the tournament. Social network VKontakte told The Associated Press on Thursday it issued warnings to the administrators of such groups. VKontakte reminded administrators that “offensive behavior is unacceptable” and told them to better moderate their sites, including blocking content. But sexist comments continued to appear Thursday on at least one of the targeted sites, which was named after an offensive Portuguese phrase for the female anatomy. The site’s administrators openly criticize what they call inappropriate …

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European Union leaders were gathering Thursday to examine new ways to stop migrants entering Europe, desperate to ensure that their differences over managing the flows do not tear the 28-nation bloc apart. The number of people arriving in Europe seeking sanctuary or better lives has dropped significantly, but anti-migrant parties have consolidated their powers, winning votes as they exploit fear of foreigners. The political crisis caused by the EU’s inability to share responsibility for those entering is undermining German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership. It’s also helped bring an anti-European government to power in Italy. Italy, the main landing point for …

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is boasting about his country’s prospective nuclear weapons, saying they are years and even decades ahead of foreign designs. Speaking Thursday before the graduates of Russian military academies in the Kremlin, Putin said the new weapons represent a quantum leap in the nation’s military capability. He said Russia has achieved a “real breakthrough” in designing new weapons. The Russian leader singled out the new Avangard hypersonic vehicle and the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, which are set to enter service in the next few years. Putin also mentioned the Kinzhal hypersonic missile that has already been …

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