Month: February 2022

A German newspaper and other media on Sunday said a leak of data from Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-biggest bank, reveals details of the accounts of more than 30,000 clients — some of them unsavory — and points to possible failures of due diligence in checks on many customers. Credit Suisse said in a statement that it “strongly rejects the allegations and insinuations about the bank’s purported business practices.” The German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said it received the data anonymously through a secure digital mailbox over a year ago. It said it’s unclear whether the source was an individual or a …

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Russia on Sunday extended its military drills in Belarus, along Ukraine’s northern border, after two days of sustained shelling in eastern Ukraine between Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. The Russian exercises with Belarusian forces had been scheduled to end Sunday. They were extended amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s show of force along the Ukrainian border with the massing of some 150,000 troops, accompanied by naval exercises in the Black Sea to the south of Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN’s “State of the Union” show that the sharp increase in Russian troop deployments in recent weeks, cyberattacks …

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Firefighters are struggling to put out a fire that broke out on Wednesday on a vessel carrying thousands of luxury cars, which is adrift off the coast of Portugal’s Azores islands, a port official said, adding it was unclear when they would succeed. The Felicity Ace ship, carrying around 4,000 vehicles including Porsches, Audis and Bentleys, some electric with lithium-ion batteries, caught fire in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday. The 22 crew members on board were evacuated on the same day. “The intervention [to put out the blaze] has to be done very slowly,” João Mendes Cabañas, …

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Queen Elizabeth, 95, has tested positive for COVID and is experiencing mild symptoms but expects to continue light duties this week, Buckingham Palace said on Sunday. “The queen has today tested positive for COVID,” the Palace said. “Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week.” “She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all appropriate guidelines,” the Palace said. Charles, 73, the heir to the throne, earlier this month pulled out of an event after contracting coronavirus for a second time. A palace source said he …

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday that “now is the moment of truth” to determine whether Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers can be salvaged, and the Iranian leadership needs to make a choice. Iran’s foreign minister, though, said that it’s up to Western countries to show flexibility and “the ball is now in their court.” Negotiators from Iran and the remaining parties to the agreement — Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — are working in Vienna to restore life to the accord, which granted Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program. The United …

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Many buildings in the town of Novoluganske, in eastern Ukraine, have been abandoned for years. The wooden boards on the doors and windows are rotted by weather, and nearby factories are rusted and shuttered. You would never know that violent incidents in the region have increased by more than 1,000% in the past three days. But we weren’t there long on Saturday before heavy fire crashed into town and the soldiers hosting our tour of the war zone swiftly herded our group of more than a dozen journalists back onto a bus. Some colleagues in another part of town ducked …

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As Ukraine braces for a possible attack from Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he wanted to convene a meeting of world powers to secure new security guarantees for his country as the current global system is no longer fit for the purpose. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskiy also called on NATO members to be honest about whether they wanted Ukraine to join the alliance or not. The 44-year-old leader received a standing ovation before starting remarks in which he called on the world to learn the “terrible lessons from history” and chided the international community for …

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Crews cleared fallen trees and worked to restore power to about 400,000 people in Britain as Western Europe cleaned up Saturday after one of the most damaging storms in years.  At least 12 people were killed, many by falling trees, in Ireland, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Named Storm Eunice by the British and Irish weather services, and Storm Zeynep in Germany, Friday’s storm was the second to hit the region in a week.   Winds toppled the spire of a church in Wells, southwest England, ripped off parts of the domed roof of London’s O2 Arena and left …

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Shelling and mortar fire picked up tempo overnight Saturday in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, with the heavy bombardment spurring fears a major military clash is in the offing. The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic Saturday issued a mobilization order for able-bodied males to present themselves to “military commissars” to sign up with local militias. Men aged between 18 and 55 are also being barred from leaving the pro-Russian self-styled republic on the eastern edge of Ukraine. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Saturday reported more violations of an often-broken ceasefire agreed to in 2015 in …

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