Month: December 2021

US Cites ‘Progress’ but Warns Nuclear Deal Could Die Without Urgent Iranian Action 

The U.S. says its indirect talks with Iran on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal made modest progress in the latest round that ended Friday, but it also says much work remains to be done to prevent what is left of the agreement between Tehran and world powers from quickly falling apart. In a phone briefing with reporters, a senior State Department official cited two examples of “modest” progress at the talks in Vienna involving the U.S., Iran and five world powers acting as mediators between the two sides. The first was Iran’s Wednesday agreement to let the International Atomic Energy …

READ MORE

Experts: US, Allies Not Likely to Agree to Russian ‘Security Guarantees’

Russia should not expect the United States and its allies to go along with its recent demand for an expansive set of “security guarantees,” including a ban on the further expansion of NATO and a cessation of all military activity by the alliance in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, experts and U.S. officials said Friday.  The United States and its NATO allies, however, signaled that they might be willing to enter talks with Russia, especially if the Kremlin agrees to draw down troop levels along its border with Ukraine that have raised concerns about a possible invasion.  The …

READ MORE

Poland Pushes Controversial Media Law Though Parliament, Angering US

Poland’s parliament passed a media bill on Friday that critics say aims to silence a news channel critical of the government, in an unexpected move that will stoke concern over media freedom and reopen a diplomatic dispute with the United States.  Critics say the legislation will affect the ability of news channel TVN24, owned by U.S. media company Discovery Inc., to operate because it tightens the rules around foreign ownership of media in Poland.  The vote sours relations with the U.S., Poland’s most powerful ally, at a time of heightened tension in Eastern Europe over an increasingly assertive Russia.  Lawmakers …

READ MORE

Denmark Proposes New Lockdown Measures Amid World Omicron Spread

Denmark proposed new lockdown measures Friday to curb the alarming spread of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus, as other European countries consider imposing travel and other restrictions to stem the variant’s spread. The new variant has fueled infections in Britain close to the peak levels of early 2021, while other European countries and the United States are also experiencing surges. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a news conference the restrictions, which need parliamentary approval, would include crowd limits in stores, the closure of theaters, other entertainment venues and conference centers, and a mandatory mask requirement in most public places. The Danish government reported 11,559 omicron cases Friday – a sharp increase from a day earlier – and said the new variant, which is more transmissible than earlier variants, now …

READ MORE

Russia Publishes Details of Security Proposal With West

Russia published draft details Friday of a security package it has sent the United States and NATO allies, which calls for restrictions on western military activity in Europe, as well as a halt to expansion by the alliance into eastern Europe. The security proposal, submitted to the U.S. and its allies earlier this week, also calls for a ban on the deployment of U.S. and Russian warships and aircraft to areas from where they can strike each other’s territory. Many of the demands, such as a ban on NATO membership for Ukraine, already have been rejected by the U.S. and …

READ MORE

Військова контррозвідка СБУ за час гібридної війни затримала майже 1100 бойовиків – звіт

«За цей період також було викрито і затримано 133 агенти іноземних спецслужб, припинено діяльність 6 терористичних груп, ліквідовано 210 схронів зі зброєю», – ідеться в повідомленні …

READ MORE

UK PM Johnson Suffers By-Election Disaster

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday suffered a crushing by-election defeat in a constituency never previously lost by his Conservative Party, a result which raises serious questions about his leadership. His party won the seat in North Shropshire, central England, by a massive majority in 2019, but that was wiped out by the Liberal Democrats in Thursday’s vote in a result that will intensify the mutinous mood among Conservative MPs. Johnson, 57, was already reeling after roughly 100 of his MPs rebelled in parliament Tuesday against the government’s introduction of vaccine passes for large events. The UK leader’s authority …

READ MORE