Presidents russia

MOSCOW: Russia's suspended athletics federation said on Thursday (Jul 2) it had missed a Jul 1 deadline to pay US$5 million of a fine to World Athletics, jeopardising the chances of its track and field athletes being able to compete internationally as neutrals. World Athletics, the sport's global governing body, in March handed the federation a US$10 million fine for breaching anti-doping rules. World Athletics at the time reinstated the process by which Russian athletes could apply to compete internationally as neutrals after demonstrating that they train in a doping-free environment. It said, however, that this process would again be suspended if half of the fine was not paid by Jul 1. The Russian federation told TASS agency on Thursday that the fine had not been paid as of Jul 2, a day after the federation's president said it did not have sufficient funds to do so. The federation was suspended in 2015 after a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) … [Read more...] about Russia misses deadline to pay doping fine

LONDON: The United Kingdom said on Thursday (Jun 18) that China, Russia and Iran were looking to exploit weaknesses shown by the coronavirus outbreak, amid suggestions Beijing had used the crisis to push through new security legislation for Hong Kong. "Coronavirus and the challenges that it has created has created an opportunity or a perceived opportunity for various different state and non-state actors through cyber, through other means," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News. "I think we've seen it in relation to Hong Kong, I think some people are arguing - it's difficult to glean whether it is true or not - that this is something, the national security legislation that is being put forward, is being done at a time when the world's attention has been on coronavirus," he said. Governments across the world have been severely strained by the coronavirus outbreak, seen as the biggest public health crisis since the 1918 influenza outbreak. US President Donald Trump has … [Read more...] about UK says China and Russia trying to exploit coronavirus crisis

MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin is considering running for a new term as Russia's president if voters approve constitutional changes that would enable him to do so, Russian news agencies quoted him as saying in an interview on Sunday (Jun 21). Russia will hold a nationwide vote from Jun 25 to Jul 1 on proposed changes to the constitution, including an amendment that would allow Putin to seek two more six-year terms as president when his current mandate ends in 2024. Opponents say the reforms are designed to allow Putin to keep power until 2036 and amount to a constitutional coup. The Kremlin says they are needed to strengthen the role of parliament and improve social policy and public administration. "I do not rule out the possibility of running for office, if this (option) comes up in the constitution. We'll see," Putin was quoted as saying in an interview with state TV that was shown in Russia's far east before airing in western Russia. "I have not decided anything for myself yet." … [Read more...] about Russia’s Putin says he may seek another term if constitutional changes passed

U.S. Donald Trump Ronald Reagan FBI Russia probe Trump It all sounds so familiar. A celebrity turned Republican presidential candidate wins over the white working class with promises to restore American greatness, only to become ensnared in a scandal involving dubious dealings with a hostile regime. As the press digs in, the White House appears flustered, and the Justice Department appoints an independent counsel to investigate the president, as well as trusted members of his National Security Council and former campaign staff. Are you thinking Donald Trump? Well, yes. But also Ronald Reagan. Three decades ago, the Gipper was embroiled in a major investigation, now known as the Iran-Contra affair. The thrust of the scandal: a bizarre scheme that involved the U.S. selling weapons to Tehran—a state sponsor of terrorism, according to Washington—and using the proceeds to covertly (and illegally) fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua. RELATED: What Brennan couldn't … [Read more...] about Can Trump Pull a Reagan and Beat Back the Russia Investigations? Lessons From the Iran-Contra Affair

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin is protected from the novel coronavirus by a special disinfection tunnel that anyone visiting his residence outside Moscow must pass through, the state-controlled RIA news agency reported on Tuesday (Jun 16). The special tunnel, manufactured by a Russian company based in the town of Penza, has been installed at his official Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow where he receives visitors, it said. Putin has been self-isolating at Novo-Ogaryovo, although he made a public appearance without a mask at an outdoor event on the Jun 12 Russia Day holiday. Demonstration footage of the tunnel, published by RIA, showed masked people passing through it being sprayed with disinfectant from the ceiling and from the side. The Russian news agency described the disinfectant as a fine cloud of liquid that covered people's clothes and any exposed upper body flesh. The authorities in Penza region east of Moscow where the device was made boasted that … [Read more...] about Russia’s Putin protected from COVID-19 by disinfection tunnel: Report