MARGARITA SIMONYAN

MAXIM SHEMETOVRussia’s flagship economic event, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF, which ended over the weekend), served as another reflection of the country’s shifting place in the world. After Russia invaded Ukraine and was largely shunned by the international community, Western investors who had turned up at the event dubbed “the Russian Davos” in droves during previous years were conspicuously absent. Likewise, there would be no foreign moderator. This year’s SPIEF was m

FADEL SENNAA leading Kremlin mouthpiece has warned that the West’s overt backing for Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory could lead not to Russia’s defeat but to the “total annihilation” of Ukraine.The warning from Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the propaganda outlets RT and Sputnik, came after further Ukrainian strikes overnight on the border city of Belgorod, a key supply center for Russian military forces in eastern Ukraine.“Explosions and air defense sirens in Belgorod,” Simonyan

GettyRussian President Vladimir Putin ominously warned on Wednesday that if any other country intervenes in Ukraine, Russia will respond with “instruments… nobody else can boast of, and we will use them if we have to.”In recent days, Russian state media has been hyping up the same rhetoric, bombarding audiences with jarring declarations that World War III is imminent. Every major channel is promoting the idea of an inevitable, never-before-seen escalation over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which

The sharp shift appears deliberate and coordinated in a nation where detailed Kremlin orders on messaging are handed down regularly to state media.

Whether defending Putin or downplaying the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin-backed news operation draws propaganda accusations.

Russia is revving up its sophisticated propaganda machine as its military advances in Ukraine.

Protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resumed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities on Friday, even as authorities sought to push back against the spreading antiwar sentiment and project an image of strength and righteousness, following large demonstrations the day before

Protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resumed in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities on Friday, even as authorities sought to push back against the spreading antiwar sentiment and project an image of strength and righteousness, following large demonstrations the day before.

YouTube says it has shut two German channels of Russian state broadcaster RT in a move centering on alleged coronavirus misinformation.

Iran on Monday named the conservative head of its judiciary and six others as candidates for the June 18 presidential election, ruling out hopefuls aligned to moderate President Hassan Rouhani. Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric who ran against Mr Rouhani in 2017, is now seen as the frontrunner for the upcoming election, in which turnout will be seen as a test of legitimacy for the Islamic republic. Mr Raisi, 60, is believed to be a favourite of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who oversees the Guardian Council, a constitutional monitor that vets presidential candidates. The panel of clerics and jurists considered 590 applications and approved “only seven”, according to Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei. In 2017, 1,630 people applied to run. Among the rejected applications was that of former president Mahmoud Ahmedinijad and former Parliament speaker Ali Larinjani. A conservative who recently rebranded himself a pragmatist and supporter of President Rouhani's nuclear deal, Mr Larinjani indicated on Twitter that he would not challenge the surprise rejection of his candidacy. Reformists had hoped to vote for pragmatist Eshaq Jahangiri, first-vice president to incumbent President Hassan Rouhani, but he was also excluded. "The disqualification of many qualified people [is] a serious threat to public participation and fair competition among political tendencies, especially reformists," he said in a statement. Some Iranians also criticised the shortlist, with one user on the popular online chat application Clubhouse saying “the president has already been selected, we’re just waiting for the election itself,” referring to Mr Raisi’s anticipated victory. Even Mr Raisi indicated he wanted authorities to consider allowing more candidates to run. “I have made contacts and I am holding consultations to make the election scene more competitive and participatory,” he wrote on Twitter. President Rouhani is stepping down after serving his constitutional limit of two consecutive terms. The moderate leader made the 2015 agreement with world powers to limit Iran’s nuclear programme his centrepiece policy. Mr Raisi previously criticised President Rouhani for weakness while negotiating the agreement, accusing him in 2017 of failing "to get adequate guarantees" that the US would honour it. Former US president Donald Trump quit the deal in 2018, vindicating hardliners who said Washington cannot be trusted. Widespread public discontent could make for a low turnout, as ordinary Iranians suffer from an economy in ruins under sanctions and tensions with the West around ongoing negotiations to salvage the nuclear deal, which the United States quit in 2018.

The diplomats and officials that stuff the corridors of power in Brussels breathed a sigh of relief on Monday night. After a string of high profile failures, the EU had finally passed a foreign policy test. The “hijacking” of the Ryanair flight by the Belarusian government, and the arrest of a journalist on a flight between two European capitals full of EU citizens, demanded a severe response. EU leaders ordered new sanctions against Minsk officials and state-owned companies. They demanded the immediate release of Roman Protasevich, an exiled opposition journalist arrested on the diverted flight, and his partner, Sofia Sapega. A French plan to block ground transit links with Belarus did not get the necessary support but the heads of state and governments closed Belarusian airspace and banned Belarus airlines from EU airports. The EU has often struggled to be as decisive and swift In February, the bloc’s chief diplomat was publicly humiliated at a Moscow press conference. He was peppered with planted questions about Cuba as opposition leader Alexei Navalny faced new charges in a Russian court. In April, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, was hung out to dry by Charles Michel, the European Council president, in what became known as ‘sofagate’. Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had provided only one chair for the two presidents and Mr Michel promptly made a beeline for it. Mrs von der Leyen was relegated to a nearby sofa in an embarrassing and sexist episode that brutally exposed the inter-institutional rivalry between Council and Commission.

At least five people were found dead from a shooting on Monday in West Jefferson, Ohio, a suburb of the state's capital and largest city, Columbus, according to local media. At least three people were found shot dead in a building, with more victims dead outside at the same location, though a precise number of casualties was not immediately confirmed, two Columbus-based television stations said. TV stations WSYX and WCMH attributed the information to West Jefferson Police Chief Chris Floyd, who said the shooting took place on a dead-end street, which led him to believe that the victims had been targeted. WCMH said the crime scene was a home in West Jefferson, a town of about 4,000 residents about 15 miles west of Columbus. Police were alerted to the shooting by a passerby who called the emergency number 911. Officers secured the scene and started looking for a suspect and evidence. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Madison County Sheriff's Office were reportedly assisting West Jefferson police in the investigation.

A man who police say spewed anti-Semitic slurs and left human feces outside a Hallandale Beach synagogue is in custody.

Recent tensions felt in Northern Ireland are not a result of the protocol introduced after the UK left the European Union but rather Brexit itself, Ursula von der Leyen said. The European Commission president was speaking following the first day of the EU Council - the first such meeting since the introduction of the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement at the beginning of May. Mrs von der Leyen said: "The beginnings are not easy, tensions are being felt around the access, for example, of EU fishing boats, or tensions are without any doubt there around the implementation of the protocol of Northern Ireland." A new raft of checks on goods at the ports of Belfast and Larne under the terms of the protocol have sparked anger among unionists and loyalists who feel Northern Ireland is being separated from the rest of the UK.

The Security Council condemned killings and attacks against U.N. peacekeepers in the strongest terms Monday and called for prompt prosecution of those responsible. The council underscored the critical importance of safety and security for the U.N.’s more than 90,000 peacekeepers serving in 12 missions from Congo, South Sudan and Mali to the Middle East and India-Pakistan. It said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and countries contributing troops and police to peacekeeping operations should work together to ensure that peacekeepers have adequate resources and are equipped and trained to mitigate threats, including from landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices.

Dominic Cummings on Tuesday will be challenged to out himself as the source behind claims Boris Johnson said he would rather “let the bodies pile high” than order a third lockdown. Three MPs on the parliamentary committees grilling Mr Cummings, the former Number 10 adviser, predicted he would be asked whether the Prime Minister ever made the remark. Mr Johnson has denied publicly making the comment, which was allegedly uttered after the Prime Minister reluctantly agreed to a second lockdown last year. However, numerous unnamed sources were said to have overheard the remark, according to media reports from the Daily Mail, ITV News and BBC News. Mr Cummings has been accused by Number 10 sources of being behind leaks of information this year that politically damaged Mr Johnson, a claim he has publicly denied. One MP attending the hearing told The Telegraph it was “absolutely certain” Mr Cummings will be questioned on the 'bodies pile high' claim, adding: “I would fall off my chair if that question wasn't asked.” Two other MPs said similar things, with one noting the line of questioning could prove “embarrassing for Boris and for Downing Street”. Number 10 is bracing itself for Mr Cummings’s appearance before the House of Commons’s Science and Technology Committee and Health and Social Care Committee at 9.30am on Tuesday. Mr Cummings was once a Boris Johnson ally, working together to defy the odds on the Brexit campaign in the 2016 referendum before teaming up again to win Mr Johnson the premiership and the 2019 general election. However, the pair have fallen out spectacularly since Mr Cummings left Number 10 at the end of last year following tensions between different Downing Street factions. Mr Cummings has continued his criticisms of the Government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, despite having been a central part of the Number 10 team for most of last year.

Supreme Court makes it harder for immigrants to challenge their earlier deportation, even if it was in error.

The animal that has injured the most tourists is ... a squirrel?

The sight isn’t uncommon this time of year, experts say.

Experts say benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh risks of the rare condition.

Texas senator who railed against ‘emasculated’, ‘woke’ military culture was excoriated by veterans after endorsing macho power of Russian army recruitment ad

"There's been a lot that's been said nationally about the Georgia voter laws that turns out not to be true," Cheney told Axios.

May 24—Today the Ohio Lottery is scheduled to draw the first winners of $1 million prize and a full, four-year college scholarship as part of the state's Vax-a-Million campaign. The drawings aim to increase awareness and encourage Ohioans to get vaccinated against coronavirus. Here's what you should know about the drawings: What are the prizes? The Ohio Vax-a-Million campaign will award five ...

Torrents of lava poured into villages after dark in eastern Congo with little warning, leaving at least 15 people dead amid the chaos and destroying more than 500 homes, officials and survivors said Sunday. The eruption of Mount Nyiragongo on Saturday night sent about 5,000 people fleeing from the city of Goma across the nearby border into Rwanda, while another 25,000 others sought refuge to the northwest in Sake, the U.N. children's agency said Sunday. More than 170 children were still feared missing Sunday, and UNICEF officials said they were organizing transit centers to help unaccompanied children in the wake of the disaster.